About fifty years ago my dear teachers at Humansville, taught us little hillbillies to always use the lowest watt light bulb practical for the application.
At the time electricity was something like 3 cents a kilowatt hour and the savings from using a 75 watt bulb instead of a 100 watt bulb or a 40 watt instead of a 60 watt didn’t sound like much in a short time, but over the life of the bulb added up to where the dimmer bulb paid for itself several times over the life of the bulb. And, the brighter the bulb the more it cost and the less life it had.
And if building a new home or replacing a light fixture, the savings from florescent lighting were even greater.
Being of a Scottish descent, I’ve paid heed to those lessons and all my life since I’ve tried to economize on light bulb wattage, although I’ve blown any savings I had on other articles like Marxman pipes, raising children, and buying insurance.
I suppose all my childhood teachers are still right in their teachings, but would you look at how long a modern, cheap, 8.5 watt (60 watt equivalent) LED light bulb lasts and how little juice it uses compared to the high efficiency curly cue CFL bulb or old fashioned incandescent.
Xxxx
Think of all the extra pipes I could have bought, if they’d have had modern light bulbs back when I was young.
And that chart is out of date already, as to the cost of the new LED bulb.
New 60 watt eq. (9 watt) LED bulbs are just over $2
At the time electricity was something like 3 cents a kilowatt hour and the savings from using a 75 watt bulb instead of a 100 watt bulb or a 40 watt instead of a 60 watt didn’t sound like much in a short time, but over the life of the bulb added up to where the dimmer bulb paid for itself several times over the life of the bulb. And, the brighter the bulb the more it cost and the less life it had.
And if building a new home or replacing a light fixture, the savings from florescent lighting were even greater.
Being of a Scottish descent, I’ve paid heed to those lessons and all my life since I’ve tried to economize on light bulb wattage, although I’ve blown any savings I had on other articles like Marxman pipes, raising children, and buying insurance.
I suppose all my childhood teachers are still right in their teachings, but would you look at how long a modern, cheap, 8.5 watt (60 watt equivalent) LED light bulb lasts and how little juice it uses compared to the high efficiency curly cue CFL bulb or old fashioned incandescent.
Xxxx
Cost Comparison Between LEDs, CFLs, and Incandescent Light Bulbs
| LED | CFL | Incandescent | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Light bulb projected lifespan | 25,000 hours | 10,000 hours | 1,200 hours |
| Watts per bulb (equiv. 60 watts) | 8.5 | 14 | 60 |
| Cost per bulb | $5 | $2 | $1 |
| KWh of electricity used over 25,000 hours | 212.5 | 350 | 1500 |
| Cost of electricity (@ 0.10 per KWh) | $21.25 | $35 | $150 |
| Bulbs needed for 25,000 hours of use | 1 | 2.5 | 21 |
| Equivalent 25,000 hours bulb expense | $5 | $5 | $21 |
| Total cost for 25,000 hours | $26.25 | $40 | $171 |
| Energy Savings over 25,000 hours, assuming 25 bulbs per household | |||
| Total cost for 25 bulbs | $656.25 | $1000 | $4275 |
| Savings to household by switching from incandescent bulbs | $3618.75 | $3275 |
Think of all the extra pipes I could have bought, if they’d have had modern light bulbs back when I was young.
And that chart is out of date already, as to the cost of the new LED bulb.
New 60 watt eq. (9 watt) LED bulbs are just over $2
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