Lightbulb Comparisons
May. 14th, 2010 09:20 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
tnrkitectI have been comparing light bulb technology (incandescent vs. Compact Fluorescent vs. Light Emitting Diode) and prices recently, and the results are intriguing to me, so I thought I would share.
Take the standard, 40W carbon filament light bulb that is basically the same one Thomas Edison invented in 1879. We all know what they look like, and many prefer the warm yellow glow that the carbon filament puts off. The first Edison bulb lasted 13.5 hours, but over the years technology has improved to where now a bulb that lasts 2,000 hours for about 53 cents a piece. ( GE 6 packs of soft white 40W bulbs are $3.17 at Home Depot )
A while back, the compact fluorescent bulb came along, and it was an improvement upon the incandescent bulb. The new bulb uses trace amounts of mercury which makes them problematic to dispose of, and the first ones only had a cool white color to them that was harsh compared to the incandescent they replace. They were/are expensive, but they were much more energy efficient, producing the same level of light as a 40W bulb but only using 9W to do it.
Now that the technology has matured, colors have improved and prices have dropped, such that a soft white CFL bulb that lasts for 10,000 hours will run you $1.46 a piece. Since it lasts 5 times as long as an incandescent, You spend $2.65 on the incandescent bulbs to equal 1 CFL, not to mention using 4.4 times less electricity in doing so! ( EcoSmart 4 packs of soft white (W (40W equivalent) bulbs are $5.85 at Home Depot )
Now, LED lighting is starting to enter the home lighting scene. LEDs use even less energy than CFLs, but unlike the incandescent bulbs and CFL's LED lights are directional. This means that instead of the light that is emitted spreading out mostly evenly in all directions from the bulb, the light goes in one direction. This makes direct replacement bulbs a bit problematic, however the current crop of incandescent bulb replacements use lenses to somewhat diffuse the light, spreading it out. The most effective LED light fixtures are designed to use the directionality of the LED bulbs to an advantage, but are not retrofit applications and thus not good comparisons. However, there are LED bulbs available that will fit a standard incandescent bulb socket and work fairly well.
An LED 40W equivalent bulb is rated to last for 50,000 hours (5 times longer than the CFLs and 25 times longer than incandescents), screws into a standard light socket, and uses 8.6W to achieve that 40W equivalent, which is 4.65 times as efficient as an incandescent, and slightly better than the CFL's 9W. A 40W equivalent LED bulb runs $19.97 a piece, and although it would last as long as 5 CFLs, the 5 CFLs would only cost you $7.30. The 25 incandescent bulbs that it would replace would run you only $13.25. ( EcoSmart 40W equivalent bulbs are $19.97 a piece at Home Depot )
As you can see, the LED lights are still more expensive than the other options, and CFL's are still your most cost effective solution. It is only when you include the energy savings between using 8.6W per hour and 40W per hour that the LED fixtures beat the incandescent bulbs, and come closer to the CFLs.
When you look at the complete life cycle of the bulbs, the materials and energy used to create the bulbs, and the waste generated over the 50,000 hours of use, however, the LED wins hands down. It uses less packaging, it doesn't contain mercury, and it uses less resources to make than either the CFL's or the incandescents.
The LED fixtures for home use are still a new technology, and as such the economies of scale have not kicked in to drive costs down, however the technology is definitely the wave of the future. Stay Tuned!
Take the standard, 40W carbon filament light bulb that is basically the same one Thomas Edison invented in 1879. We all know what they look like, and many prefer the warm yellow glow that the carbon filament puts off. The first Edison bulb lasted 13.5 hours, but over the years technology has improved to where now a bulb that lasts 2,000 hours for about 53 cents a piece. ( GE 6 packs of soft white 40W bulbs are $3.17 at Home Depot )
A while back, the compact fluorescent bulb came along, and it was an improvement upon the incandescent bulb. The new bulb uses trace amounts of mercury which makes them problematic to dispose of, and the first ones only had a cool white color to them that was harsh compared to the incandescent they replace. They were/are expensive, but they were much more energy efficient, producing the same level of light as a 40W bulb but only using 9W to do it.
Now that the technology has matured, colors have improved and prices have dropped, such that a soft white CFL bulb that lasts for 10,000 hours will run you $1.46 a piece. Since it lasts 5 times as long as an incandescent, You spend $2.65 on the incandescent bulbs to equal 1 CFL, not to mention using 4.4 times less electricity in doing so! ( EcoSmart 4 packs of soft white (W (40W equivalent) bulbs are $5.85 at Home Depot )
Now, LED lighting is starting to enter the home lighting scene. LEDs use even less energy than CFLs, but unlike the incandescent bulbs and CFL's LED lights are directional. This means that instead of the light that is emitted spreading out mostly evenly in all directions from the bulb, the light goes in one direction. This makes direct replacement bulbs a bit problematic, however the current crop of incandescent bulb replacements use lenses to somewhat diffuse the light, spreading it out. The most effective LED light fixtures are designed to use the directionality of the LED bulbs to an advantage, but are not retrofit applications and thus not good comparisons. However, there are LED bulbs available that will fit a standard incandescent bulb socket and work fairly well.
An LED 40W equivalent bulb is rated to last for 50,000 hours (5 times longer than the CFLs and 25 times longer than incandescents), screws into a standard light socket, and uses 8.6W to achieve that 40W equivalent, which is 4.65 times as efficient as an incandescent, and slightly better than the CFL's 9W. A 40W equivalent LED bulb runs $19.97 a piece, and although it would last as long as 5 CFLs, the 5 CFLs would only cost you $7.30. The 25 incandescent bulbs that it would replace would run you only $13.25. ( EcoSmart 40W equivalent bulbs are $19.97 a piece at Home Depot )
As you can see, the LED lights are still more expensive than the other options, and CFL's are still your most cost effective solution. It is only when you include the energy savings between using 8.6W per hour and 40W per hour that the LED fixtures beat the incandescent bulbs, and come closer to the CFLs.
When you look at the complete life cycle of the bulbs, the materials and energy used to create the bulbs, and the waste generated over the 50,000 hours of use, however, the LED wins hands down. It uses less packaging, it doesn't contain mercury, and it uses less resources to make than either the CFL's or the incandescents.
The LED fixtures for home use are still a new technology, and as such the economies of scale have not kicked in to drive costs down, however the technology is definitely the wave of the future. Stay Tuned!
