LED Lights in the home

[Richard L]

Hugh,

I don't expect to see a huge impact in my monthly electric bill. According to the literature on the bulbs is that you could save as much as $160 in electric charges over the 20-22 year life of the bulb. That savings is based on using the light for about 3 hours per day at 11 cents per kwh. I only pay about 8 cents per kwh, and if I don't use at least 1000 kwh each month, I have to pay a $17.00 service charge...so that does complicate things. I hope my electric usage does not drop below 1000 kwh per month or I will end up paying the $17.00 service charge and the LED's will end up costing me a lot more.



Currently I use about 1000-1600 kwh per month ($80-$150). I have a Heat-pump so the unit operates in both heating and cooling modes. Since I live in central Texas winters are mild, and summers are HOT! My winter bills are lower, and my summer bills are higher.



I don't expect to see more than $1.00 a month difference and that easily falls in to my usual monthly variations based on the day to day ups and downs of the outside temperature.



...Rich

 

[Jackson Ellis]

Rich,



Does that savings include BTU reduction or just electricity usage? My house has so many halogen spot lights and track lights that the heat output is outrageous. I installed dimmers like a mad man when we moved in. I just counted, and I have 10 light switches on dimmers! I switched out the bath vanity lights to LEDs because I couldn't take the heat. The halogen spots in the kitchen will warm the floor! I think that the electricity savings should include some figure for BTU's replaced; especially in areas where we run air conditioning 9 months of the year.:soap:

 

[Richard L]

ncstatewolfpacker,

No, I'm pretty sure that the savings with CFL or LED bulbs is only based on the electric power consumption of the bulbs and does not include any BTU reduction. Remember that in colder climates they may welcome the extra heat of incandescent bulbs...LOL



I got my LED spot lights for my track lights yesterday and installed them. I like them, they really look great and appear to be brighter than the old MR16 halogen bulbs. In fact the light from the LED bulbs appears even brighter than the equivalent incandescent bulbs....but not there is no heat from the LED bulbs. With the halogen bulbs it was like standing under a heat lamp.



I picked up my 150W CFL/LED dimmer switch that I will install today so that I can get more the full range of dimming control.



...Rich

 

[Richard L]

I finished up the conversion of my halogen track lights and pendant lights to LED bulbs, and installed the 150w dimmer. Wow, what a big difference!



As I previously said, the new LED's are noticeably brighter than the conventional or halogen bulb of the same rated output (wattage).



I purchased a Lutron 150w-600w, single pole-3 way dimmer switch. This is a very versatile switch. It can be used as a signle switch or as a 3-way switch, and has a small adjustment device to allow you to set the maximum dimming level based on the number of lights and wattage of the lights on the circuit. Simple turn on the light, slide the dimmer to the lowest setting and then use a small screwdriver to adjust the maximum dimmer control so that the lights are as dim as they can be yet still on and not flickering. Once set, just put the switch cover on, and you are done.



...Rich