LED Lighting – What’s the Bright Idea?

There are many ways to reduce the electrical expenses of your home, and one of those is through lighting upgrades. No, I’m not talking about compact fluorescent (CFL) lighting, I am talking about light-emitting diode (LED) lighting. LED lighting is the BEST way to cut your electric lighting expenses by 50 to 75%.

Two Types

The first type of LED light is the LED tube light. LED tube lights can be placed into existing fluorescent fixtures and do not require a ballast. They emit MORE light than a T12 lamp and the same amount as a T8. For a 4′ lamp, they draw HALF the power of a 32-watt T8 – only 16 watts! Available lengths are 2′, 3′, 4′, 5′, 6′ and 8′.

The second type is screw-in LED bulbs. These lamps replace standard incandescent lamps in your home or business. A standard 40-watt bulb can be replaced with an LED lamp that draws only 8 watts, and a 15-watt floodlamp replaces a 65-watt halogen floodlamp. That’s a savings of 50 watts per lamp! Many different sizes are available – it all depends on your needs.

Both LED tubes and screw-in lamps last a MINIMUM of 50,000 hours – which is over 11 years if they are on 12 hours a day. The LEDs don’t burn out at 50,000 hours, they just put out about 10% less light. They will continue to burn past 100,000 hours. Lastly, LEDs contain no hazardous materials, unlike CFLs or tube fluorescent lamps which contain Mercury – a very toxic element.