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modifry
Starting Member
6 Posts |
 Posted - 11/10/2013 : 5:59:10 PM
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He could be right. I've installed white LED strips around the perimeter of my media room (16x19) and it totals about 240 watts. It takes a lot of light when it's all indirect and bouncing off a dark brown ceiling.
I'm currently using a SwitchLinc dimmer driving a 300W 24v Zurik™ LED Dimmable Driver (aka transformer) and it works nicely. The Zurik claims you need to use a Lutron dimmer but the SwitchLink doesn't seem to have any issues with it.
In response to the original question - Do LED lamps save money? Maybe. If your usage is high enough that the energy savings will pay for the higher cost bulb, then yes. But if you're buying a $40 LED bulb to go in a closet that only gets used 10 minutes a day, it will take a long time to pay for that bulb when you're only saving 30¢ a year in energy. (10W LED vs 60W incandescent)
Right now, (2013) LED bulbs are about as efficient as CFLs so I only buy LEDs if there is a special application or they are dirt cheap, which means it's usually because of a special application. Eventually LEDs will be more efficient than CFLs but it will take a while, contrary to what the Feds think. In their literature about how much energy we could save "if only everybody would use LED bulbs", they assumed that LEDs would be producing about 260 lumens per watt, which is 4 times the current average of 60-65 lumens. Big surprise, huh? |
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stusviews
Advanced Member
USA
15854 Posts |
Posted - 12/13/2013 : 5:45:39 PM
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| IMO, the goal of energy saving lighting is to, well, save energy. If you can save money too, then that's a bonus. |
Stu's Views is Education and Fun. What do YOU want to VIEW today?
MathLandia High school mathematics learning fun.
Both Stu's Views and MathLandia are free websites that do not sell anything.
Saving energy is not always free. Be a world saver.
Please don't PM with questions that can be asked in a forum. |
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justin
New Member
USA
16 Posts |
Posted - 01/14/2014 : 7:53:54 PM
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| Most of LED lights provide energy efficiency of 80%-90% when compared to conventional lighting and light bulbs. And longer life span stands out as the key benefit of LED lights |
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SolarLEDideas
Starting Member
Australia
2 Posts |
Posted - 02/03/2014 : 7:23:57 PM
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I have been dealing on a large scale with Florescent lighting and LED comparisons. In my home the down-lights are 50 watts and these can be replaced by 13Watt LEDs thus the energy saving is approximately 75%. The cost of LEDs is coming down rapidly so becoming affordable. LEDs may require a new transformer unit to go with them. Some lights are sold as a kit and just need connecting (You may need an electrician that adds to the cost). I replaced some down-lights bulbs only with LEDs and whilst I was assured they could be like for like, I found the LEDs flickered and this was a big issue. In some reports there have been failures with LEDs however I understand the items were replaced at no cost. I have confidence that with LEDs you will get 5 to 10 years life. LEDs are a rapidly developing technology and prices are tumbling as a result. Any new installation I would certainly spend the extra cash to have LEDs.
quote:
Originally posted by tomorrowark
At my home, the most used lamps are CFLs(Compact Fluorescent Lamp). It usually cost around $5. The ad said thelamps have long service lift and them are energy saving.
I am not sure about energy saving. How can I check this?
But one thing I am sure is that they are not really have long service life.Usually less than one year, I would need to replace them.
So I am wondering whether I should try some LED lights. Do they really saving money?
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justin
New Member
USA
16 Posts |
Posted - 02/05/2014 : 06:06:22 AM
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| Yes LED lights have many benefits. LEDs are tremendously tough and built with strong components that are extremely rugged and can withstand even the roughest conditions. LED lights are sustainable under shock, vibrations and exterior effects. |
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krisminifridge
Starting Member
2 Posts |
Posted - 03/24/2014 : 7:42:31 PM
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| LED light is much more expensive than hallogen lamps but you will see a nice return of investment in a year or so. |
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justin
New Member
USA
16 Posts |
Posted - 04/02/2014 : 10:21:50 PM
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| An LED bulb will last approximately 50,000 hours five times longer than a CFL bulb.The LED bulb saves 400 kilowatt hours of electricity compared to the CFL and 2,700 kilowatt hours compared to the incandescent bulb. |
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tshrimp
Starting Member
5 Posts |
Posted - 05/20/2014 : 1:48:40 PM
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| For me the LED are brighter. Not sure how 800 Lum CFL is so much dimmer than 800 lm LED, but for me it was my dislike for CFL more than $$ savings. I am happy if I get more than a year out of a CFL as well. They were not made to turn off and on all the time. This from what I read makes them go bad faster. So much happier with LED. They also run cooler, so a hot room this might help some as LED do run cooler than CFLs. |
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joycewe
Starting Member
1 Posts |
Posted - 11/10/2014 : 10:36:28 PM
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| Comparing the electricity cost for one year, you'll see that you could save about $10 by switching from incandescent to LED. Now that doesn't seem like much, but once you increase the time frame to 15 years, and factor in how many bulbs you��ll need during that time, you will notice that an incandescent will cost you almost four times as much as an LED. |
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Alex.Brown
Starting Member
USA
1 Posts |
Posted - 12/02/2014 : 12:10:14 PM
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Lights are lights... the reason they work is because of the amount of energy that's being released. Luckily there are technological advances that allow us to have similar amounts of light while using less energy. I never realized how many light bulbs I use until I made a commitment to change them all to new LED bulbs. This article opened my mind to the possibility that maybe my one house could help in the big picture.
http://www.delmarfans.com/educate/basics/efficient-light-bulbs/
There are great pictures that explain differences in the types of bulbs as well as a comparison of all of them. I hope it can help someone else make the decision to go green, too! |
Edited by - Alex.Brown on 12/02/2014 12:12:33 PM |
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smartlight
Starting Member
4 Posts |
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stusviews
Advanced Member
USA
15854 Posts |
Posted - 12/24/2014 : 8:16:44 PM
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Building a lamp? That requires finding, ordering and paying for all the parts required including shipping and taxes, if applicable.
Could be a fun, if arduous, project.
Here's an LED lamp ready made for $10
in green for $11
pink for less than $10
Keep it green in '15 |
Stu's Views is Education and Fun. What do YOU want to VIEW today?
MathLandia High school mathematics learning fun.
Both Stu's Views and MathLandia are free websites that do not sell anything.
Saving energy is not always free. Be a world saver.
Please don't PM with questions that can be asked in a forum. |
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ecloudtips
Starting Member
Canada
1 Posts |
Posted - 01/02/2015 : 3:27:33 PM
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LEDs consume less power compared to CFLs or the traditional bulbs.
But, they are expensive. Given the long age of LEDs, I am sure you will save money over a certain period of time. But, it will all depend on your usage.
I recently purchased a house, and the person who owned it apparently loved pot lights. There are in total 52 pot lights in the whole house and 25 other bulbs.
You can just imagine my state of mind when we had guests over and all the lights are on.
I just switched to LED lights. Each consume about 5 Watts of electricity, but it also costs $13/bulb.
I am sure I will recover the investment in couple of years, but the biggest thing for me is the peace of mind and not have to worry about how many lights are on at all times. |
Blogger
eCloudTips.com |
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oberkc
Moderator
USA
3871 Posts |
Posted - 01/03/2015 : 09:06:03 AM
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From a purely financial standpoint, I would expect them to save money, but the payoff could be several years. This, of course, assumes that they last as long as advertised.
Just the other day, I had to replace an LED bulb. I doubt it was more than three years old. I don't believe the LED, itself, failed, but the electronics. Hopefully, we will all see longer life out of these as a whole. If not, we will not be saving much. |
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EVIL Teken
Advanced Member
Canada
2361 Posts |
Posted - 01/05/2015 : 09:30:25 AM
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For me personally LED lights will never pay off in any meaningful amount of time. We simply do not use enough lights in the home during a 24 hour period. Part of this was the initial plan to design and build with the idea of passive lighting and heating as a cornerstone.
Even though LED lights will not see a ROI this isn't the primary driver for me. Its knowing when any light is on its using extremely small amounts of electricity which on a monthly basis saves me money. I gather my family is the odd man out in this type of use case but absolutely believe going with LED lighting is the best solution in the long run.
Its been great to see during the last two years the prices of quality LED bulbs come down in prices. With CREE leading the charge and other vendors like HD, Costco, Lowes, etc. I expect to see $2-5.XX bulbs as we do with CFL etc.
I am probably the only person I know that still (keeps) a supply of incandescent bulbs in a box for back up! |
Teken . . .
Want to make a real difference? Cast your vote to make the PLM Pro a reality: http://forum.insteon.com/forum/main-category/new-insteon-device-wish-list/8221-plm-pro
Stusviews: This world is made less with out your presence. Your contributions in all things has helped inspire millions to succeed. You were a husband, teacher, mentor, a friend to all.
I will forever miss our chats, debates, and collaboration. I will not remember how you died but remember how you lived and what you left behind. The sky has another star in the Heavens where you reside but the Earth is much darker with out your light to lead the way. |
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johngflynn657
Starting Member
USA
1 Posts |
Posted - 01/26/2015 : 05:51:03 AM
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If you want to save money in your home and want to be energy efficient, one of the better things you can do is to replace your incandescent lights with LED light bulbs.
But if you are thinking of investing in LED lighting, be sure to spend that little bit more on high-quality bulbs. Unfortunately there are some manufacturers out there giving the LED industry a bad name by falsely selling poor specification bulbs claiming to be a 50W halogen equivalent, for example, when in fact it is only a 15W equivalent.
It is worth doing your research, comparing the products out there, comparing their specifications to ensure that when you�re choosing which LED bulbs to buy for your home, you are making an informed decision.
With a wealth of products on the market, the world of LED lamps is still very confusing for the average consumer, particularly if you are switching from traditional lighting methods for the first time. It is important also to invest in quality products from leading manufacturers such as Toshiba, GE Lighting, Osram, Megaman, Ledon and Philips to ensure that the lamps have been tested to meet strict performance and safety criteria.
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L�n med NEMID https://www.laan-365.dk/laan-med-nemid/ |
Edited by - johngflynn657 on 04/14/2018 04:05:17 AM |
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IvonetteMadison
Starting Member
USA
6 Posts |
Posted - 04/27/2015 : 11:24:41 PM
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| LED lights are more cost efficient. When I learned about that, I did some research and LED can save up to 80% of the actual consumption cost vs CFLs |
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yogasystems
Starting Member
5 Posts |
Posted - 08/03/2015 : 12:12:52 AM
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| LED's do save money in the long run if your bulbs manage to last that long. |
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Geo
Advanced Member
Canada
815 Posts |
Posted - 08/05/2015 : 12:26:06 PM
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Whether you live long enough to have a meaningful ROI by replacing all your illumination with LEDs depends on how you illuminate your premises. In an office, a store or a factory, assuming the LEDs life is as claimed by the manufacturer, there will be a a reasonably good return on investment. In a home, it depends. I use LEDs and some CFLs where I need a plenty of light for a relatively long time, such as in the kitchen. Putting an LED in a pantry where the light is on for a minute or two doesn't make sense. Most of my lights are incandescent because they are on dimmers and usually running at 30% to 70% (set automatically). They are in areas where they create a desired ambiance and/or provide just sufficient illumination so that one doesn't need to stumble in the dark - and can be increased manually when needed. The power diminishes with the square of of the voltage, so if your 60W bulb runs at 30% it actually takes 5.4W, 15W at 50% and 29.4W at 70%. 90% is just about where one can tell the difference between 100% and 90%. So I set those dimmers to provide 90% at "full", which requires just 48.6W. The additional benefit is that 2,000 hour bulbs will last a lot longer when run at lower levels - that' how military incandescent light bulbs can be rated for 50,000 hours. So, like Teken, I keep a lifetime supply of incandescent bulbs. With my setup I haven't seen a substantial decrease in consumption - it could simply account for a different usage in the given month.
And one more thing: While a 60W incandescent bulb takes true 60W, rating of CFLs and LEDs allow for some creative rating, which is then posted in VA instead of W. LEDs and CFLs require electronics which, in all bulbs I've seen, are responsible for a miserable power factor. I've seen a CFL with the PF as low as 48%. Old electric meters could not compensate for the power factor, while the new "smart meters" now probably installed in the majority of systems around the country, can. It means that a CFL taking, say, 17VA would, after the smart mater has been installed, atually consume 35.5VA. I've seen such a jump in consumption some three years ago when I got the smart meter. |
GJN |
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Amanda123
Starting Member
5 Posts |
Posted - 09/28/2015 : 06:11:44 AM
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| Please check this out. |
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Fluffy Skittles
New Member
Philippines
26 Posts |
Posted - 06/05/2016 : 03:51:50 AM
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| As per energy.gov, "Compared to traditional incandescents, energy-efficient lightbulbs such as halogen incandescents, compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs), and light emitting diodes (LEDs) have the following advantages: Typically use about 25%-80% less energy than traditional incandescents, saving you money." |
Fluffy Skittles |
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Kyile Rey
Junior Member
Canada
34 Posts |
Posted - 06/10/2016 : 04:15:59 AM
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| The LED bulb uses only 25 cents' worth. So the LED saves $1.23 per year. Since it costs $20, it will take 16 years to recoup the cost in electricity savings. At five hours a day, the incandescent uses $15.42 in electricity annually. |
Jakin ID Technology
http://www.jakinid.com/ |
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eman
Starting Member
Canada
7 Posts |
Posted - 02/02/2017 : 03:00:32 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by tomorrowark
At my home, the most used lamps are CFLs(Compact Fluorescent Lamp). It usually cost around $5. The ad said thelamps have long service lift and them are energy saving.
I am not sure about energy saving. How can I check this?
But one thing I am sure is that they are not really have long service life.Usually less than one year, I would need to replace them.
So I am wondering whether I should try some LED lights. Do they really saving money?
we can't compare LED and CFL based on electrical power rating. Compare each with the light intensity they are producing.
Check this site http://lumennow.org/lumens-vs-watts for more reference on lumen and watts
let assume the 15 w led is producing 500 lumens and 60 w CFL is producing 1000 lumens. I will go with LED If the price difference is much less
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Edited by - eman on 02/02/2017 03:01:34 AM |
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davidram517
Starting Member
USA
1 Posts |
Posted - 04/28/2017 : 9:21:22 PM
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| Yes, LED light save money. It is very effective. LED light is not your tradition lighting system, but it saves a lot.This LED bulb uses only 25 cents' worth. So the LED saves $1.23 per year. |
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coolfinancer
Junior Member
Philippines
30 Posts |
Posted - 05/27/2017 : 10:02:40 PM
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| LEDs emit light in a specific direction, reducing the need for reflectors and diffusers that can trap light. This feature makes LEDs more efficient for many uses such as recessed downlights and task lighting. |
coolfinancer |
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wickrush
Starting Member
9 Posts |
Posted - 05/29/2017 : 07:58:21 AM
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| yes Led lights saves money, that's why we changed all our light bulbs at home |
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Lucy
Starting Member
2 Posts |
Posted - 08/24/2017 : 12:48:38 AM
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Led Lamps may be the light of the future. In my experience led lights save more energy than CFLs.
You may try some led lights with brands. |
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ayazfudugo1
Starting Member
USA
14 Posts |
Posted - 06/07/2018 : 05:41:35 AM
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No doubt, not only LED light consume less energy but also have many benefits:
1. Energy Efficient
2. Long life
3. Durability
4. No UV Emission
5. Good brightness
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MichaelCarter259
Average Member
USA
65 Posts |
Posted - 11/01/2018 : 8:34:02 PM
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| LED costs more at purchase, but lasts longer. CFLs are cheaper, but if broken become not so convenient very fast. Other people decide that CFL lighting is closer to what they're used to and therefore choose these bulbs to replace incandescent bulbs. |
Perfect Home Defense The Best Security System |
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Do LED Lights Really Save Money?
