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.
Frank murphy
I haven’t made the switch yet though we have cfls through out the house, also havent really thought of the clean up involved with the cfls will slowly make the switch as bargains come our way, or 50.00 gift cards. Hint hint :-)
Barb M.
I havent given them a try yet. But I am for anything thats gives brighter lighting!
Dusti
We have switched them out in our bathroom, and sons bedroom (nightlight) but being a one income house that is all we could afford to do right now. We hope to switch out more, and lower our electric bill.
Amy L
I have tried them and I still seem to blow them within 2 months. What is it with me and recessed lighting in the kitchen? So I no longer buy them since they last the same and the others are way cheaper.
Carolina
Amy,
Try not touching the bulb when you put it in, use a klennex or t-shirt to do it. They seem to last a little bit longer. Make sure to do that with all bukbs, including the ones for blinkers in the cars. GOood luck, hope ot helps
Denyse
I have not tried the LED bulbs yet. They just look so different.
Tobi
We have only switched to LED’s with Christmas tree lights so far, but always looking for the best option and changing bulbs as needed.
Bethany
I haven’t tried them yet but plan on starting to replace bulbs as they burn out. The mercury bit scares me …
Heather
They sound great! We switched to all CFLs when they first came out but I didn’t realize there was another option.
Betty H
I haven’t tried LED bulbs yet, but I will consider it next time I go shop for light bulbs.
Margaret
After your review, I really want to try using LED light bulbs! Thanks for the support. I think it’s better for the environment.
Kim
LED light bulbs are fantastic! They are super bright and have lowered our electric bill!
Karina House
I will consider the LEDs; I’m not a fan of CFLs because of the clean up and other things.
Renee McDonnell
I have them in every room possible. For those dimmer lights we can’t switch yet. We lowered our bill a lot thanks to this and other money saving tips.
Ann
I have a few LED and lots of CFLs in our house. I like the LED better than the CFL because you don’t have to wait for them to warm up. Plan on changing more when sales (or gift cards) become available.
sandy
I have begun using the new bulbs. they are ok for regular use. where i have major problems is I have some site problems that cannot be fixed with eyeware. The new lights cannot get bright enough for me to do some of my craft work. It is the fine work that takes good light and sometimes even maginafing glass.
Putting on makeup can be hard. Feel like I am doing it half blind. But I can generally read unless the print is too small.
Carrie Bryant
Haven’t made switch yet, except for some Christmas lights. Would love to win!
carolyn
I have not tried the LED lights but when there is a good sale I have been switching out the old light bulbs for the cfl ones. I have not even heard of the LED ones untill you posted
Carolina
Tried the LED bulbs and didn’t like them because of the color. I guess we are just used of the old kind and we went and got some extras of the old ones. Good research you did!
Theresa
I haven’t totally converted but we do switch out old burnt out bulbs all with the new CFL ones.
Andrea Baker
We haven’t made the switch to LED yet, but plan to as our CFL bulbs die or break. BTW, could you give us some more info on the electricity monitoring system you use. My husband and I want to do some monitoring, but aren’t sure where to start.
Meggan
haven’t tried LED bulbs yet – but, when we bought our house, we switched to all CFL light bulbs at that time. Maybe it’s time to switch again! :)
Nicole Burleson
We have the same bulbs from Home Depot.
Rebecca
We have not tried LED yet but I will definitely discuss them with my husband now!
Claire
I haven’t tried but would love to! Thanks!
Amy W
I have tried them, but don’t really like the light they give off. It feels kind of “harsh” to me. We also have a lot of clear decrorative lights in the house, and the LED bulbs tend to look awful in those. I wish they were more attractive.
Connie
The only LED I have bought so far is a spot light for outside. I have CFLs all through my house rightnow.
Krista
I have yet to try out LED light bulbs and to be honest was not really aware of them. I have made the change to CFLs but only in my ceiling fan since it takes a different size bulb then all my lighting fixtures. As a single mom to a four year old I am constantly trying to find ways to save money. So even though you stated you saw an increase in your bill some of the other information you provided was very beneficial such as the automatic lights in the kitchen and using a device to measure your usage. I am going to look into all this and hope to start saving some money. Also seeing that the LED gives off a brighter light these should definitely make a difference for me as I use three light fixtures in my living room alone when working on school work just so I have enough light. Seems like it would be worth switching to one LED light as opposed to three regular light bulbs if I can get the same amount of light output. Thank you so much for the post.
Kelli
I have not tried these lightbulbs yet! However, after reading this post, I am seriously considering purchasing them the next time I need bulbs!
veronica Charles
I heard the CFL’s give off mercury emissions as well as the “what if i drop it” feeling. I would love to give the new LED bulbs a try! And does Home Depot have those sensor lights you were talking about? That would be perfect for our household of 5 ! A penny saved is a penny earned right? ;)
Mary
I have not tried the LED bulbs. I probably will at some point. Thanks