Back in January I shared some interesting facts about LED light bulbs and I took you shopping with me at The Home Depot as we replaced all of the fixtures on the first level of our home with LEDs. I’d hoped to wow you by reporting dramatic savings on my electric bill, but sadly our bill is actually slightly higher year over year. BUT I have some good theories on why this is the case which I’ll share in a moment.
The installation process was easy as can be — we just unscrewed all of our old CFL bulbs and screwed in the new LED light bulbs. Note that we chose not to discard our CFL bulbs since they’re all still in good working condition. Instead we boxed them up and put them in the crawl space in the basement so that we can take our new LED light bulbs with us when we move. However, if have CFL bulbs that you need to dispose of, I’d encourage you to read the information here on CFL cleanup and disposal.
What immediately struck me after replacing all of the bulbs was the difference in the quality of light. It’s not necessarily a good or bad difference — it’s just brighter and, well, different. I found it most noticeable in the bathroom where the light is forced out of the bulbs rather than being dispersed evenly from the entire bulb because of the way the bulbs are constructed. You can see in the image above that only the forward half of the bulb is giving off light. However, I quickly got used to this within a few days and now it’s not even noticeable to me.
So I mentioned that our electric bill is actually up slightly year over year when I had anticipated it going down based on my research. I have a few theories about why this is occurring:
- First, we already had CFL bulbs installed throughout the entire house courtesy of a great deal at Target a few years ago. Because our electric usage from lighting was already incredibly low, we’re not seeing a noticeable decrease from switching to LEDs. We’ll still see savings in the long run; however, they will come from the fact that we won’t have to replace the bulbs for many, many years to come. I’m also glad to not have to worry about the complications of cleaning up the mercury if a CFL bulb should break.
- Second, we also already have many electricity-saving measures installed in the house. Our kitchen light is on an automatic switch so it shuts off automatically after no movement has been sensed for five minutes. We also have a device that monitors our electric usage constantly so we can see how high our load is. And we tend to use our large appliances like our washer and dryer and dishwasher in the evening and early mornings outside of the peak load times which have a higher cost.
- Finally, as our children get older we’re naturally using more electricity as they start using more technology and such throughout the day, taking more frequent showers instead of baths, and increasing our laundry with sports involvement.
I found it interesting to note that my father’s electric bill was roughly the same as ours. We have houses of similar size; however, he has a two-person household with a regular work schedule outside of the home. In contrast, we have a seven-person household where there are nearly constantly members home since I work from home and my husband is still unemployed.
Overall, I’m impressed with the LED light bulbs and I think they definitely have an integral part in saving on our electricity. I just believe that our savings will take more time to become apparent than a household that was not already somewhat frugal with their electric usage.
Thanks for following along with me as I gave this new technology a try, and I’ve got one more $50 The Home Depot gift card to give away!
To enter: Just tell me — have you given LED light bulbs a try yet? Or after reading more about them, are they something you’ll consider when making your next light bulb replacement?
This giveaway will close at 3:00pm EST on 3/3/11.
The Home Depot works with bloggers such as myself to conduct product reviews. They do not tell bloggers what to say about their products or how to say it. THD fundamentally believes that people should be free to form their own opinions and share them in their own words. The Home Depot often provides product – free of charge – to bloggers for review as they did for this post. The Home Depot’s policies align with WOMMA Ethics Code, FTC guidelines and social media engagement recommendations.
Leah Craig
We have not tried LED’s yet, but plan to soon.
Shannon Marquess
We haven’t tried LED bulbs yet. We have been using CFLs for years though. They hardly ever die!
Val
no not yet, will start thinking about it – its kind of pricey
Holly
We haven’t tried LED’s but have had CFL’s installed since we moved into our new house 8 months ago. I’m not sure if I would like the tint of a CFL.
hbolduc5209 at gmail dot com
Joe
I leave that up to my wife but she hasn’t done anything yet
Nicole hamilton
We have them in our kitchen but no other rooms.. We have started trying to switch them over but the cost can be really intimidating!!!
Katie Ringbauer
We do have some but the cost to buy them is so high that it will take time- I do like them though! I am trying to convert all of the christmas lights to led- in time!!
Marcia
I haven’t tried LED lightbulbs yet, but I want to try them out (maybe starting in one room to see how we like them!)
Angela
We have a mixed batch in our house. We are slowly changing over. It is hard when I get lightbulbs for free or almost free to spend money on the LED ones but I am making myself do it over time.
Shannon L
I’ve been using CFL’s for a long time. I’m hesitant to try LED’s merely due to the cost and that I haven’t seen them in real use either. I am interested in giving them a try. Thanks for sharing your transformation.
Barb
I haven’t used LED lightbulbs. I can’t say that I like CFL.s, I plan to stock up on regular old fashioned light bulbs before they are outlawed!
JEN C
We have a few LED bulbs. I’ve been slowly switching them out as I find them on sale.
PS
We haven’t done it yet, but have been considering it. We hope to install several new lights soon.
Tashina Kirk
Haven’t tried the LED lights yet. I know I’m not a fan of the CFL lights. They seem to burn out faster and don’t give off as much light as the regular ones. Might try LED’s soon to see if they are any better.
jamie Smith
We haven’t tried them yet, mainly because our electric company gave us enough CFL’s to last a lifetime.
Jami Lynn
We have CFL’s but I would definitely consider switching.
Ellen B
We use them but I really don’t see a difference
sarah
I love them! We bought a new house about 2 years ago and as the original light bulbs go out we are replacing them with LED!
Sheree Warner
I have not tried the LED bulbs yet but am very interested in trying them. Do the bulbs get as hot as regular old time bulbs? I actually hadn’t heard of these before and now I have my homework cut out for me to study them more and keep my fingers crossed that I will win! Thanks for offering this!
Jen
I like LED bulbs. We bought them when we moved into our new house.
Georgia Diehl
I’ve given LED a try, but haven’t had the time or budget to upgrade all of the bulbs in the house, I do like them though, and plan to at some point!!
Pam B.
We have been using the CFL’s for awhile now. We are planning on switching to LED’s as these bulbs need replacing, if the budget allows :-)
Carolyn
Great piece, definitely am going to talk to hubby about making the switch!
Babs Harrell
We have tried them and use them when they are on sale but if we dont have a good sale we still buy the cheap ones.. :0
Sharon
I switched out pretty much all of my lights. The only ones that are left ar on the fans, quite small lights. I do like the color that they emit. It takes a minute sometimes for them to “get bright”. But I’m glad that I switched.
Sandra
We haven’t tried the LED bulbs yet but have kicked around the idea. Honestly, we’ve just now gotten used to the switch to CFL (reluctantly). Since our entire house is now converted to CFL we’re a little reluctant to take the plunge completely.
Brenda
I’ve tried them and like them for anywhere except the bathroom.
Jen Maddox
I have thought about doing it but hadn’t taken the time to research the info. I really liked the comparison to your parents bill being the same as a home of 7 which is using more energy.
Shannon
We have a few LED lights, we are testing the difference, as our older bulbs go, we are slowly switching.
Laurie
I have not tried the LED bulbs yet but after your report I think I may give them a try! Thanks!