Energy-efficient LEDs

 Halloween is over and the stores are now featuring Christmas decorations before the Thanksgiving turkey has even been cooked. If you are one of those shoppers who like to purchase your Christmas decorations before they are picked over, you might be surprised to find that there is a new choice out there in the strands of Christmas lights. An alternative to electricity-hungry lengths of incandescent bulbs are the  light-emitting diodes (LEDs). Though the name sounds straight out of science fiction, energy-efficient LEDs are a real way to cut electricity use, and holiday lights are just one way they’re being used.

LED technology, with origins in the 1960s, breaks free of the hollow bulbs that all other lights use. When an electric current runs through the solid, semi-conductive materials in an LED, heat and light are the result. Although most LEDs are no bigger than a button, the number of uses for them is growing every year.

The power light on today’s TVs, computers and other similar appliances now use LEDs. Even car brake lights, traffic signals and railroad crossings are using grids of these small lights.

But why the change from traditional, hollow bulbs? A big draw is the technology’s staying power. A 75-watt incandescent light bulb will burn out after about 40 days of continuous use, and a compact fluorescent light bulb (CFL) after a year. An LED, however, can run constantly for four full years. And LEDs are currently as energy efficient as CFLs, meaning they use roughly 66 percent less electricity than an incandescent bulb in producing the same light.

The main factor keeping the technology off shelves and out of your lamps at home is cost. Although colored LEDs (think traffic signals) are cost competitive, versions producing white light are pricey. A 75-watt incandescent light bulb costs approximately $1.00. A comparable CFL can be purchased for $2.50. But an equivalent set of LEDs would cost more than $50, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.

Still, LEDs are a promising alternative to the inefficient incandescent bulb. CFLs are the best bet for consumers these days, but keep an eye out for LEDs as research continues. Once the technology is tweaked, they could stand to save you quite a bit in lighting costs – an important part of keeping that electric bill low.

    Back