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How Much Money Do LED Lights Save On Energy Bills?

How Much Money Do LED Lights Save On Energy Bills?

Who doesn’t want to save a few hundred dollars on their electric bill? Most people contend with hundreds of dollars worth in electric bills every year solely from lighting. LED lights save money: they cut back on energy usage, thus reducing your energy bill without sacrificing light quality.

This guide focuses on LED lights, their advantages, disadvantages, how they compare to traditional lighting, and most importantly, how LED lights can save you money. For a detailed overview of LED lights, continue reading to learn more.


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How Do LED Lights Work?

LED lights can only emit light in a single direction since they are unidirectional. The light-emitting diode has to have a voltage source connected to the positive side of the anode and the negative side of the cathode for the current to flow.

The flow of energy through the connection produces light, which is known as the forward bias condition. This facilitates the production of visible light via the electrical current flowing through the LED.

As such, an LED bulb usually has many LED diodes within it to provide light in more directions.

LED lights will not work if the positive end of the voltage source connects to the cathode and the opposing end to the anode, which is opposite of the necessary order.

This condition, known as reverse bias, restricts energy flow through the LED until it reaches a specific point where it cannot continue to keep the current flow. The particular point it reaches before failing to continue the current flow is called peak inverse voltage. At this point, it will break and no longer emit light.

Do LED Lights Use Less Energy in Comparison to Traditional Incandescent?

LED lights are much more energy-efficient than traditional incandescent bulbs. In comparison, they use a minimal amount of electricity, thus cutting back on electricity use. Not only do LED light bulbs use up to 90% less energy than incandescent bulbs, but they also tend to last up to 25 times longer.

For example, a bright LED flood lamp can use about 11 to 12 watts and provide light comparable to a 50-watt incandescent bulb. Or, consider a string of decorative lights: researchers found that 25 incandescent bulbs used about 175 watts of electricity over the Christmas season, amounting to around $15.12. On the other hand, a similar strand of LED lights used 2.4 watts for the same length of time and cost $0.21.


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How Do LED Lights Save Money?

If you were to replace just five of the lightbulbs in your building that you use the most with ENERGY STAR-approved LED light bulbs, you could save up to $75 each year. LED bulbs can cut back on your energy use due to numerous factors, such as efficacy, heat, CRI, maintenance, and the like.

As you can see, if you are upgrading many light bulbs in your business to LED ones, your yearly savings can be enormous. Using the same math, if you replace 1,000 bulbs, your annual savings can be $15,000! At The Safety Source, we have many clients with this type of substantial energy savings by upgrading to LED bulbs.

EISA (Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007) banned incandescent bulb production in the United States in hopes of transitioning into an energy-efficient nation. This act implemented guidelines on electrical output requirements per the number of lumens produced.

On average, A-19 incandescent bulbs produce 10 to 17 lumens per watt, while cool LEDs can emit 60 to 94 lumens per watt. Warm LEDs don’t perform quite as well, emitting 27 to 88 lumens per watt. Additionally, the unidirectional nature of LED lights boosts efficacy, as more light is emitted directly from the bulb.

Heat plays a significant role in saving money as well. LEDs consume less energy, thus producing less heat. Instead of radiating focused heat, the minimal amount of heat they exude dissipates quickly within environmental air. The AC unit of the environment doesn’t have to compensate for substantial amounts of heat produced by the lights, thus further reducing electricity bills.

LED lights fit into specific Color Rendering Index (CRI) classifications. CRI measures the source’s ability to accurately mimic an object’s actual color compared to a natural light source. LED lights can achieve natural light reconstruction while cutting back on energy and related costs.

Generally, incandescent light bulbs last up to 2,000 hours, meaning you need to replace them fairly regularly. On the other hand, LED light bulbs last a minimum of 25,000 hours. However, most LED lights have an estimated lifespan of 50,000 hours, which comes out to 24 years’ worth of illumination if you run the lights eight hours a day, five days a week. While LED lights cost more upfront, it pays off to invest in them in the long run.

How Much Money Do LED Lights Save On Energy Bills?

The switch to LED lights can make a drastic impact on your energy bills. Although you could save up to $75 annually by switching just five bulbs to LEDs in your business, imagine if you changed every last one.

While many homes can cut back on energy bills by $600 annually just by transitioning to LED light bulbs, large businesses can save thousands. While incandescent bulbs need replacements within three to four months, LED bulbs will last many years and are much more cost-efficient.

Consider the chart below, which displays up-front costs, average lifespans, and so on.



LED Fluorescent (CFL) Incandescent
Average lifespan 50,000 hours 8,000 hours 1,200 hours
Cost per bulb $15.98 $2.98 $1.25
Cost for an average building

(based on 30 light bulbs)

$479.40 $89.40 $37.5
Watts of electricity used, equivalent to a 60-watt bulb 6-8 watts 13-15 watts 60 watts
Kilowatts of Electricity used, equal to 30 incandescent bulbs/year 329 kWh per year 767 kWh per year 3,285 kWh per year

How Much Do LED Lights Save Per Month/Year | LED Calculator

On average, LED bulbs that run for five hours per day save anywhere from $10 to $20 per year in energy compared to an incandescent bulb. Now, for building with 30 lightbulbs, that comes out to between $300 and $600 in annual savings, just by switching to LED bulbs.

To better understand the breakdown of potential savings, consider the chart below, which compares two lightbulbs, both equivalent to 60 watts.



8.5-Watt LED Light 60-Watt Incandescent Light
Energy usage, based on 8 hours 8.5 watts x 8 hours = 68 watts 60 watts x 8 hours = 480 watts
Energy usage, expressed in kWh 68/1000 = .0.68 kWh 480/1000 = 0.48 kWh
Cost per day, based on $.1331 per kWh $0.009 $0.06
Cost per month $.009 x 30 = $0.27 $0.06 x 30 = $1.91
Cost per year $0.009 x 365 = $3.30 $0.06 x 365 = $23.32

So, it costs a mere fraction to run LED lights versus incandescent lights annually. Considering that the average American home only has between 30 and 40 lightbulbs, the savings multiply for businesses with hundreds to thousands of light bulbs.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Led Lights

As with most things, several advantages and disadvantages accompany LED light bulbs.

Advantages

-Energy-efficient: LED lights are extremely energy efficient and are now capable of 135 lumens per watt of output.

-Impressive lifetime: High-quality LEDs with proper engineering can last 50,000 hours or more.

-Durable: These lights are also called Solid State Lighting (SSL) due to their construction. They are composed of solid material without any filament, tube, or bulb that could easily break.

-Instantaneous light: Unlike other lights that grow brighter as they warm up, LED lights illuminate within nanoseconds, which appears instantaneous.

-Unaffected by the cold: LED lights start-up normally in cold temperatures, even in subzero weather.

-Unidirectional: You can direct LED light whichever direction you deem fit, meaning no light goes wasted.

-Color rendering: Other light sources, like fluorescents, wash out colors, making them inconvenient for displays or retail scenarios. However, LED lights don’t wash out colors, making them an ideal choice for color rendering.

-Eco-friendly: Since LED lights don’t contain mercury or other hazardous materials, they are an environmentally friendly alternative to other light source options.

-Adjustable: The color and brightness of LEDs are controllable, allowing you to adjust to your preferences.

Disadvantages

Blue light: Blue light, which blue LEDs and cool-white LEDs emit, may exceed safety limits outlined by certain eye safety specifications, including ANSI/IESNA RP-27.1-05.

Quality of light: Cool-white LEDs can cause colors to appear differently than they genuinely are due to their spectra. It spikes at 460 nm then dips at 500 nm, thus causing a different perception of color than other sources, such as the sun or incandescent light.

Dependent on temperature: While LED lights perform exceptionally in the cold, they depend on the ambient temperature of the environment in which they operate. The operation of LED lights in high ambient temperatures may cause the package to overheat, thus causing device failure. Proper heat-sinking is necessary to promote longevity.

Light pollution: Cool-white LEDs can cause more light pollution than other sources, as they emit more blue light than conventional outdoor lighting, like high-pressure sodium lamps. This happens because of the strong wavelength dependence of Rayleigh scattering.

Voltage sensitivity: LEDs are very particular, as they must have voltage above the threshold and a current beneath the rating. To accomplish such, series resistors or current-regulated power supplies may be necessary.

High up-front price: As of now, LED lights are more expensive than alternative lighting solutions. The elevated cost is somewhat derived from the relatively low lumen output and the drive circuitry and power supplies necessary.

Spherical light source: LEDs are not ideal in situations requiring a spherical light field. They don’t approximate a point source of light, and they aren’t capable of divergence below a couple of degrees.

Conclusion

LED lights are an excellent alternative to traditional lighting technology. Although they have an expensive start-up cost, they are considerably more energy-efficient and can save hundreds of dollars per year. Business owners seeking a more eco-friendly way to light their operations may find the perfect solution with LED lighting.

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