A New Light

LED 60 Watt Equivalent Bulb
dwm photo

It's not a new, new light.

Light Emitting Diode (LED) bulbs have been around for years.  The new development is a lower cost.

Incandescent bulbs, roughly what Thomas Edison used to turn the lights on in Menlo Park, stopped being produced in the United States three years ago.

Fluorescent bulbs are just OK by comparison.  The fluorescent bulbs use less energy, but they have some problems.

Many of the Compact Fluorescent bulbs I've owned take time to warm to full strength.  The bulbs also contain mercury, which calls for special disposal.

Jumping to LED five years ago involved sticker shock.  Some individual bulbs sold for more than $25.  Each.

The bulb (left) came in a pack of 4 for less than $8.

The LED trade-off gets worth it at that price.  The bulbs are very energy efficient and said to use 90% less power than Edison's bulbs.  And, LED bulbs can last for tens of thousands of hours.

Some of the bulbs I installed around the place last week may keep lighting this home for 20 years or more.

Commercially, businesses have a cash incentive to switch, since the conversion to LED can literally shave tens of thousands of dollars from the light bill.

I look forward to looking at my bill under the bright, true white LED light in the months ahead.