Change to LED Lighting

Summary: Change to LED light bulbs in your home, office, or business to reduce your carbon impact.

Description

Did you know that lighting accounts for about ten percent of the electricity use in the average U.S. home? All the more reason to switch to LEDs (Light Emitting Diodes). Whether you are switching from incandescent or fluorescent bulbs, LEDs are a great choice!

LEDs are inexpensive, last a lot longer, and give excellent light. They come in a wide variety of styles, shapes, and sizes for many applications, including both indoor and outdoor lighting, and are often compatible with dimmers, motion detectors, and daylight sensors. MassSave has a nifty chart so that you can find the right fit. 

LEDS can save a lot on your electric bill. They use up to 90% less energy than the old incandescent bulbs which waste a full 90% of their energy on heat, which is why they get so hot. If you replace these old bulbs with LEDs, you can save $100 over the life of the bulb! LEDs also use 50% less energy than Compact Fluorescent Light (CFL) bulbs. Unlike fluorescents, quality LEDs will maintain their light performance for their entire lifespan and won't begin to flicker over time. CFLs also require special disposal because of the small amount of mercury they contain. 

And what about the planetary budget? If every household replaced just one light bulb with an LED we would save enough energy to light two million homes for a whole year and we would also prevent greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to that of taking 550,000 vehicles off the road.

Still, LEDs are currently only used in less than 10% of fixtures! Can we reach 50% use of these great bulbs in our community this year alone? Let’s find out!

Deep Dive

Steps to Take

1. First things first, not all LEDs are the same. Light bulbs that have earned the ENERGY STAR have undergone extensive testing to ensure they will save energy and perform as promised. Lower-quality LED bulbs might flicker, fade, or shift in color over time. They also often have a much shorter lifetime compared to ENERGY STAR certified LED bulbs, which have a lifetime of at least 15,000 hours. 
2. If you can’t change all of your bulbs at once, prioritize. Go through your house and make a list of the bulbs that are on for over 1 hour a day (typically less than half of bulbs) and have not yet been replaced by LEDs. Do you keep the overhead light on in your kitchen when you cook in the evening? Or maybe the bedside light stays on while you read. Make a note of these.
3. Note the type of bulb for these high use bulbs you are going to replace. What type are they: 40 or 60 watt? Recessed ceiling reflector bulbs? 3-way bulbs?
4. Check out the MassSave online store for low cost LED bulbs. MassSave buys down the cost of many light bulbs from suppliers, so you get instant price discounts. 
5. AND/OR, sign up for a free Mass Save energy audit - check that out here , and in the process LED bulbs may be installed for free!
6. Replace those bulbs! Be sure to recycle or dispose of the old bulbs appropriately. You can learn about CFL recycling here. 
7. Let us know how it went by leaving a testimonial under the Testimonial Tab above.