Modern Bushman

Here’s an easy way to save a few bucks a year on electricity.  While cruising the aisles at my local Costco, I found these 13 watt (65 watt equivalent) LED light bulbs for about $12.99 each.  I’m always looking for ways to save energy and money and I’m really not happy with the way compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs are being sold.  Did you know that all CFL light bulbs are made in China?  The cost to manufacture them in China is about 10 cents per bulb.  By the time it goes through all the “middle-men” and all the US subsidies for going “green”, each bulb costs the U.S. tax payers about $25 per bulb!  That’s right.  $25 for a bulb that originally cost 10 cents to make!  That is how stores are able to sell these bulbs for $2.00 for a 4 pack.  We think we’re getting a deal, but folks, we’ve already paid over 200x for them!  And if that weren’t enough, an average CFL bulb contains approximately 4 milligrams of mercury.  Yes, it’s a small amount, but it’s still enough to be harmful if you’re exposed to it.  Talk about getting kicked on the chin.  Anyway, that’ a whole other article.  Sorry to go off on a tangent.  Getting back to the LED bulbs…

I read the package and although I can’t remember all the numbers, I wasn’t going save hundreds of dollars per year.  I do remember that according to my usage with two bulbs, the savings would be around $10 per year.  At around $12 each, it would take me just a hair over 2 years before the bulbs paid for themselves; I decided to give them a try.

Below are three pictures.  The first one is a picture of the regular 75 watt incandescent light bulb used in my bathroom, blinds open.  Next picture is with the 75 watt incandescent light on, blinds closed.  The last picture in the series is the 13 watt (65 watt equivalent) LED light bulb purchased at Costco.

LED test, 75 watt incandescent bulb off

LED test, 75 watt incandescent bulb on

LED test, 13 watt LED light on

As you can see, the 75 watt incandescent is slightly brighter.  After about a day of use, I didn’t miss the additional light provided by the incandescents because the LEDs (I’m using two) were plenty bright.  So now, instead of using 150 watts of power per hour, I’m using only 26 watts per hour with only 20 watt difference in available light.

Note: although the second picture seems to have a pinkish cast, it’s actually a yellowish cast caused by the warm color temperature of the incandescent bulb.  The LED, on the other hand, did not have this yellowish cast.  Instead, the cooler color temperature of the LED lights appeared to be white (which I prefer).

For those of you considering replacing your home lights with LED, I’d say go for it.  They save a whole lot of energy and because of their insanely long life (approximately 25,000 hours), you’ll save money in the long run.

Here’s a fun fact:  I’m currently 39 years old.  If these LEDs to last 25,000 hours (as the package indicated), I’ll be 62 years old when I need to replace them.

Hope you found this article helpful!