Thursday, June 5, 2014

Incandescent vs. LED: June 2014


We replace light bulbs at an astonishing rate in this house.

I don't know why, but it seems to be much more often than our previous house.  So I decided it was time for another experiment.

A couple of years ago, I bought a package of Compact Fluorescent Light bulbs (CFL).  The packaging was a hard plastic blister pack that was nearly impossible to get into.  Then after I cut myself getting into it's fortress, the light they emitted was unsatisfying.

We have one in Hubba's closet.  He says it doesn't bother him, but it makes me nauseous.


That CFL has been in place for at least a year, maybe longer.  I did not write down when I replaced that bulb.  But I have refused to buy any more.

So yesterday and today, I replaced two sets of bulbs.  One each with a traditional Incandescent and one each with a LED version.

Both sets are on a common switch so they will be used for the same number of hours and turned off and on the same number of times.

I added a beautiful sticky note to each to keep track of when the bulb was replaced and which ones are my test bulbs.

The bathroom has 40W Globe Lights.


The Living Room has 60W Traditional Incandescent... although, the LED version is only 43W.


As of right now, Day 1 and 2, there is not a difference in the feeling emitted from each light bulb.

The LED packaged bulbs were significantly easier to get into than the CFL but not as easy to open as the Incandescent.

The bathroom LED package said the bulb should last more than 7 years and the Living Room Bulb more than 22 years.

At about $10 for 3 Incandescent vs. about the same for each LED, we shall see if it's worth it.  ;-)

4 comments:

Unknown said...

I am all for energy efficiency, but if the light output doesn't come up to snuff I am forced to turn on more lights in an attempt to see what I need to see. Old eyes, 53, just can't see as well.

Voie de Vie said...

Yes, lovely sticky note interior design. :) However, there's something about white light vs. "yellow" light that really makes a big difference for me. I need the warmer light I've found.

Practical Frog said...

We have gone for the white LED's in the kitchen and the warmer LED's elsewhere. We haven't replaced a single LED yet ( I think the oldest one is only 2 years old) but found that the CFC's lasted as long as the incandescent ones but we had the disposal issue as they have mercury (or something bad) in them... Im an LED fan myself! - K x
ps that sticky note wont last as long as the bulb will.... :)

Ruth said...

I'll be interested in the results!

I will add that I have had several CFLs not last as long as they're supposed to.

And that I DO like the color of the light better from the LEDs.

We have a lot of CFLs in the house. We're getting them switched over to LED as they die.....