Bright Ideas Will Look Very Different Thanks to CFL and LED Bulbs

You may not even have noticed, but on January 1^st, the United States no longer manufactures or imports incandescent light bulbs. You know the ones, the classic bulbs that appear above your head when you have a bright idea. You might still find them in stock at stores, but that will be the last of them. While this transition may seem “mandated” and unnecessary, the truth is that even with the electrical cost savings these energy-efficient alternatives provide, most people had still not yet made the switch.

The main reason for this slow adoption is up front cost. An incandescent light bulb costs as little as $ .70 each, whereas CFLs (compact fluorescent lamps) cost up to a couple of dollars each, and LEDs (light emitting diodes), can cost from $10 to $20. Incandescent light bulbs are inefficient, using 90% of their electricity for heat, and only 10% for light. According to Energy.gov, electrical bills can be 25% - 80% less with energy-efficient bulbs. Incandescent bulbs also don't last as long as the new alternatives, lasting only 1000 hours compared to 10 times that with CFLs and nearly 25 times that with LEDs.

So why haven’t Americans made the switch? The answer is that lighting is a relatively small portion of our home electricity bill. According to the U.S. Energy Administration, while an office building may use as much as 21% of its electricity for lighting, an average household only spends about 13%. According to a study done by Lowe’s Home Improvement stores, the energy costs for an LED added up to only $30 over a 22-year life span, whereas electricity consumed by an incandescent over the same period of time cost $165. With a little over $6 a year in savings, that is hardly enough to alter buying habits, especially considering the up front retail prices. However, when considering that there are about 15 – 20 light bulbs in the average house, the savings begin to add up.

There are other reasons that Americans are slow to adopt energy-efficient light bulbs:

• Color – Incandescent bulbs are known for their warm light, whereas the original fluorescent and LED bulbs have gained a reputation for casting a harsh, “bluish” light. They now come in a variety of colors that match the classic light exactly, but perceptions still remain.
• Life span – Some consumers complain that the new bulbs don't last as long as they claim. CFL bulbs are fragile and can become overheated in the wrong application. Beco recommends using these in well-ventilated fixtures.
• Time to light – CFL bulbs are notorious for taking a few seconds to come on and emit peak light. In American society where instant gratification is becoming a pre-requisite, this can be a “turn off” for many.
• Mercury content – CFL bulbs do, in fact, contain harmful Mercury. But the energy saving they provide puts less Mercury from power plants in the environment overall. Each CFL bulb contains only about 4 milligrams each, and unless broken, do not pose any threat. While not an environmental or health disaster, care should be taken when cleaning up broken bulbs.
• Strange appearance – Human beings naturally resist change, even if it is for the better. The new “twisted” look of CFLs is troubling for some consumers.
• Cost of fixtures – Some consumers with recessed lighting, and businesses with commercial lighting fixtures, fear the cost of new fixtures required for these new lighting technologies. But read on…

There is an answer to the cost of getting new LED light fixtures in a home or office. Beco Electric offersinstallation of a new “retrofit” system that actually uses existing lightfixtures to install LED lighting. The cost of these new systems are comparable to standard light fixtures, and come in a variety of styles, and with a variety of features, for home and business alike.

So while there are still a lot of bright ideas coming to light out there, they just won’t look the same when they appear above your head.