The switch to LED light bulbs has several benefits and very few drawbacks. Many people focus too much on the cost of something upfront rather than its value throughout the lifetime of that item. This is one of the hurdles that the world needs to conquer to lead into a more sustainable future for the environment and its inhabitants. The payback period varies for every sustainable alternative to fossil fuels and traditional energy sources. Things like LED light bulbs, wind energy, and solar energy have different pros and cons as well. However, there is plenty of research that shows all of these transitions are beneficial for both the environment and your bank account.
Switch to LED Light Bulbs #5 – Cost Savings
Light-Emitting Diodes (LEDs) are slightly more expensive than incandescent bulbs and Compact Fluorescent Lights (CFLs). LEDs also last much longer and take way less energy. You will be able to see your electric bill decrease if you change a significant number of your bulbs over to LEDs. If you think about how many fewer light bulbs you will need to purchase over your lifetime, the cost of the bulbs themselves are also more affordable when you switch to LEDs. The NDRC estimates that one LED light bulb will save you between $50-100 over its entire lifetime. Imagine that savings for every single light you have in your house or place of work.
Switch to LED Light Bulbs #4 – Efficiency
This fact right here is the only reason you really need to switch to LEDs. According to the NDRC, out of the energy that goes into lighting an incandescent light bulb, 90% is wasted as heat energy with no benefit. That means LEDs are 90% more efficient than incandescent bulbs. Efficiency is king in terms of economics. It is also the key for many things to become more sustainable, energy being one example. LEDs are more efficient in terms of energy as well as cost. There is plenty of research in addition to the chart above if you want to find out more.
#3 – Energy Savings
Who doesn’t love to save energy? Here’s an entire article dedicated to a few simple ways you can reduce your power consumption. One of those tips tells you that LED light bulbs are much more energy efficient. Saving energy has many benefits. It allows you to sleep a little bit better at night knowing you are taking one small step to combat climate change since your contribution to emitting greenhouse gasses will decrease. It also saves you money and conserves some of the world’s resources. Whether your electricity is coming from coal, natural gas, petroleum, nuclear, wind, or solar, that energy can be directed somewhere else or be saved for another day. Even if you don’t know where your power plant gets its energy, saving some extra is always a good thing.
#2 – Fewer Light Bulbs to Landfill
Like most things after their lifecycle, light bulbs often end up in landfills. Our landfills are “filling up” very quickly. See what I did there? A little bit of pun humor to lighten up a fairly depressing topic. Anyway, there is only so much room in our land to hold our trash. Many places are littered with garbage to the point where the land surrounding or on top of the landfills is no longer usable for growing crops or living. The ocean is another very sad example of our mismanagement of trash. You can recycle different kinds of light bulbs, but less waste is the way to go. Since LEDs are more efficient and last longer than both incandescent and CFL bulbs, you will be going through fewer light bulbs overall.
#1 – Why Not?
There used to be a couple of reasons to hesitate in making the switch since LEDs were far more expensive and harder to find. Now, there are a seemingly endless number of possibilities when it comes to the shape, size, color, style, hue, and brightness for LED light bulbs. The prices of LEDs are also much more affordable since they are more popular and the demand has increased. If you want a better break-down explaining the differences in prices, energy use, and so on, check out this article.
We can all hope that the government will put its regulations for light bulbs back in place soon. The government regulations were supposed to phase out incandescent bulbs and increase the speed of the transition to CFLs and LEDs. There does not seem to be a benefit to rolling back these regulations. In the meantime, you can do your part by switching your light bulbs to LEDs and telling your friends and family to do the same. Share this article with someone if you think they need extra convincing to make the switch to LED light bulbs.