You may have been purchasing the same types of incandescent light bulbs for the past 10, 20 or 30 years. The pear-shaped light bulb was your only choice for most of your life, although in recent times CFL light bulbs became an energy efficient alternative. During the past decade, LEDs have taken over as the light bulb of choice because of their long-term use and environmentally friendly choice. How do you know which 40W LED light bulb is the right choice for you?
Are Incandescent Bulbs Still the Cheapest?
The physical purchase price of incandescent light bulbs is still the cheapest when you compare the options, but you will pay more over the longer term because you will continuously need to change the light bulbs time and time again in comparison to 40W LED light bulbs, which will just continue to work perfectly year after year.
Incandescent light bulbs also use more electricity. Where you have been used to adding a 100 W bulb to main areas and hallways and 60 W bulbs for floor and wall lamps, you only need a 40 W LED light bulb (or less wattage) to produce the same amount of light. Effectively, this reduces your energy consumption and reduces your electric bill.
Compact fluorescent lamps (CFL) were introduced as an energy-saving light but are not as effective as LEDs, but are far more effective than incandescent light bulbs
Depending on where you live across the US, lighting your home or business may account for anywhere between 10 and 20% of your energy bill. Replacing that with modern LED light bulbs rapidly reduces your energy bill, because your energy consumption is far lower.
Where you are unsure about which LED light bulb to purchase, you should speak to your favorite and experienced store, but only where they are prepared to consider the most modern of technology to help reduce your costs. You can also go online and check through catalogs to find out which bulbs are best for you, because some are good for indoors while others work better and are associated with the weather, outdoors.