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.
jill
I haven’t tried LED light bulbs (only Christmas lights, which I don’t really care for). But I plan to try them out. I’d like to see what difference it will make in our annual electric bill. And what a great idea about storing your CFL bulbs to replace your LEDs when you move, which we plan to do in the next couple of years.
Holly
Yes, we bought new lights for our kitchen that were designed to only use the LED’s. We love them!
diane givens
we have began replacing our bulbs with led’s.
Angela Pope
We have used a few. We are slowly switching over as we catch sales.
amanda
I haven’t used LEDs except for a couple nightlights. But now I am interested in trying them throughout the house.
Dara
I haven’t yet tried the LED lightbulbs. I do plan on trying them when we move into our new home next month. The CFL’s don’t seem to give off enough light, and they take at least 5 minutes to “warm up.” I’m going to try them in our master bathroom first, but we have a lot of work throughout the rest of the house before I worry about lightbulbs!
Elaine C.
I have one, they are kind of pricey. great for outdoors like by the garage. It is a very bright light and may deter criminals.
Cynthia Kirk
Haven’t tried them yet. Keep saying we are going to but just haven’t.
Donald
We just made the switch, love the LEDs and how versatile they are
Donna Y
Never knew that was an option! I’m not super thrilled with CFLs, so I will check them out!
Amy
I haven’t tried the LED’s – mostly because of cost and as many others, we have alot of CFLs. I do not like the CFLs as they are not very bright. I am hoping the LEDs are much brighter as compared to old incandescent light bulbs. I hope to slowly start replacing as old ones burn out. Thanks for the report. Another reason your bill continues to go up may be because overall utilities are just charging more per kwh
Camilla
Currently we have some CFLs, but after reading, I am tempted to make the switch.
Amber
I have not yet tried LEDs, but I’d like to!
Jessica
I don’t have LED light bulbs and have not tried them.. i am not opposed guess i have just not taken the time to look at the cost differnce.. this article was helpful
Jamie
I have tried them. Put them in our kitchen. Took awhile to warm up but very bright light!
Lisa
We’ve used CFL’s before, but I might try LED’s, especially in the bathroom.
Teresa
I have not tried the LED lights, but after reading about them I am going to give them a try. I hate having to change a bulb because they seem to always go out at night.
Jessica
I would like to try LEDs, but so far the upfront cost has been prohibitive. Especially when CFLs have been free @ Rite Aid!
Roxanne
Just recently i tried one in my daughters playroom. I’m planning on replacing the rest of the house and see how much we can save.
Bethany
I probably will stick to the CFL’s we’re currently using, until LED’s are comparable in price and show themselves to be worth the switch.
Jessica
Currently half my house is CFL’s and the other is LED. I am hoping to make the switch to all LED’s this spring. I was hoping it would give me some relief in my electric bill but alas you have dashed that hope.. I will probably still do it just to save money and not replacing them every few months. Thank you for your research!
Jess T
I haven’t tried led bulbs yet, but might when I need to replace my current cfls.
Sara
We haven’t tried the LCD bulbs, but we do have a light fixture in our master bath like the one in your picture, the regular bulbs get sooo hot and I know are eating energy for breakfast! Our electric bill is about 360 bucks a month (which is killing us), so I am VERY interested in trying the LCD bulbs all throughout the house! Thanks for the review.
Kenneth L Shock
I have not used led bulbs, but will be when I replace current bulbs.
Kathy
I have only used small LEDs in desk lamps, but will definitely use them in other places in the future.
Jill S
I haven’t tried LED’s, but if they are better than CFL’s, I just might.
Terri
I have not tried LED lightbulbs. I have used the Christmas lights. We have CFL bulbs right now in most areas, and, while I like them, I too am concerned about the mercury. I would definitely give LED a try.
Andrea
I haven’t tried LEDs yet, but I have many CFLs in the house. I would be interested in trying LEDs, since the only thing I don’t like about CFLs is the whole disposal issue. Thanks!
Jillaine Comardo
We put them in the can lights in the kitchen and have been replacing others as they burn out.
Chasity
I have not tried LED bulbs yet and would love to!!