Saving energy is always a priority for both home owners and businesses. After all, using less energy, means lower utility bills which results in more money in your pocket. Many switch to more efficient lighting solutions to cut back on their electrical costs. CFL light bulbs have been a great choice for many years to lower your electricity consumption. They give off the same amount of light as incandescent light bulbs, yet they use 50-75% less electricity. The downside to CFL light bulbs are the fact that they contain small amounts of mercury and they are very breakable.

LED light bulbs are now starting to emerge and take over as the best choice for saving energy. LED light bulbs not only use less electricity than CFL bulbs, they also do not contain mercury and are also very durable. Most say that the price of LED light bulbs make the payback time not worth switching to the new technology. However, most people only look at the energy savings when they figure out the payback time.

So let’s look at the big picture when it comes to lighting. An average CFL light bulb should last around 5-8000 hours. They cost around $2-5 each. A high quality LED light bulb costs $40-80 each, but they should last around 50,000 hours. You will buy around 10 CFL light bulbs to one LED light bulb, if you play by the numbers, or $20-50 worth of bulbs. However, one thing people don’t think about is the durability of CFL light bulbs. They don’t like to be turned off and on and they are also made of glass. Realistically, a CFL light bulb will not come close to it’s estimated lifetime unless it is a bulb that is turned on and left on, and is also well guarded from breakage! A household CFL that gets used on a regular basis, will most likely only last 1-3000 hours, meaning you would need to have 16 to 50 bulbs per one LED, or $32 to $250 worth! That LED bulb isn’t looking as expensive after all!

I believe that the durability of LED light bulbs is what saves money over time. By using fewer CFL light bulbs, spending less time and money changing bulbs and having a safer lighting solution, makes LED lighting the big money saver. The small electricity savings over a CFL is just an added bonus!  

Brian Holzheuer
Owner of Environmental LED

Author: Brian Holzheuer
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: DIY Wind Power