The Difference in Cost Between Using LED Lamps and Incandescent Lamps

Light bulbs are one of those things you don’t pay attention to until one burns out and you have to replace it. So, when the time comes, will you replace it with an incandescent bulb or a newer LED bulb? Here’s what you need to know about the cost difference between the two.

The difference between incandescent and LED bulbs

Before we get into the cost comparison, let’s take a look at what makes LED bulbs different from incandescent bulbs.

Incandescent light bulbs have been around since the 1800s and were the city’s only spectacle until relatively recently. You know the type: when an electric current passes through a tungsten filament inside a glass bulb, it heats up enough to produce light.

LEDs (light emitting diodes) are semiconductor lighting . This means that the materials used to generate light are encased in a solid material. Because of this, LEDs do not get as hot as incandescent bulbs. While early versions of LED bulbs produced a cold, harsh light that made your living room look like a supermarket milk crate, over the years they have become softer and warmer (in color).

Incandescent and LED Bulbs: Cost Comparison

At $5 to $7 per bulb, LED bulbs initially represent a larger investment than their incandescent equivalents, which cost $2 to $3 per bulb. But if you take into account the cost of electricity, in the long run they are preferable. According to the US Department of Energy , household LED lamps use at least 75% less energy than incandescent lamps and last 25 times longer.

So how do costs spread over time? The Hutton Power and Light team did the calculations for us. The numbers are for 2019 and calculated using the average cost of electricity in Virginia this year ($0.11 per kWh), but you’ll get the general idea.

The comparison was made using two lamps of the same brightness: a 60W incandescent lamp and a 12W LED:

  • A 60W incandescent light bulb consumes 60 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity every 1,000 hours. At a rate of $0.11 per kWh, running an incandescent lamp for 1,000 hours would cost $ 6.60 .
  • A 12W LED bulb consumes 12kWh of electricity every 1000 hours. At a rate of $0.11 per kWh, running an LED bulb for 1,000 hours would cost $ 1.32 .

You can find more of their calculations here , or make your own by inserting your own electricity tariff.

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