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 Lately, energy efficiency has turned into a hot topic, and more and more folks are seeking ways to make their homes as efficient as possible. But did you realize this 1 little change of a lightbulb can dramatically impact your house's energy efficiency and lessen your overall energy costs? That's because Americans spend up to 25% of their property electricity budgets on lighting. By switching to CFL lightbulbs, or better yet LEDs, you are able to save a bunch!

You can find basically only two reasons to set up LEDs for your lighting needs, but they can be powerful motivators. These reasons are endurance and energy savings. As a much more energy-efficient lighting source, LEDs can help to keep your electricity costs low while still keeping the lights on.

 Popularized by Thomas Edison, this kind of lightbulb is what a lot of people consider once the term "lightbulb" is mentioned, and most older lamps are created to utilize this technology. However, because approximately 98% of the power consumed by an incandescent bulb is wasted as heat rather than light, these lights are incredibly inefficient. Many countries have completely phased them out, and in the United States, federal regulations will require incandescent bulbs to be 30% more effective by 2014. An average incandescent bulb can last around seven months.

According to the federal Energy Star program, CFLs last up to 10 times longer than the usual typical incandescent lightbulb and use around 75% less energy (although they still emit 80% of the energy consumed as heat as opposed to light). Popular since they are better than traditional incandescent bulbs, CFLs do have the drawback of being around four times higher priced when compared to a standard incandescent. However, generally in most applications, these fluorescent lights pay for themselves in reduced energy usage within just six months. Each CFL bulb can eventually save consumers around $40 over the span of its life. Some environmental activists have expressed concern concerning the mercury content of CFL bulbs, although there's little-to-no health risk related to unbroken CFL lights.

 LEDs are a form of light called a solid-state light, and they emit minimal heat when in use, making them much more efficient light sources. LED lights can last 60,000 hours or even more, causing a standard life span of between 10 and 15 years. In contrast to the already substantial useful life of a CFL, LEDs last another 10 times longer. However, LED lightbulbs are incredibly expensive. Their prices have fallen dramatically recently, right down to around $40 from $100, but that's still a lot of money to pay out for just one lightbulb. On another hand, LED bulbs use only a fraction of the energy of incandescent lightbulbs and CFLs. As an example, to have the exact same quantity of light, you'd desire a 100 watt incandescent bulb, a 26 watt CFL, or even a LED of just 10-15 watts. When it comes to energy used, the long-term savings is extraordinary!

The lacking it is that LED lights are costly up front, but with a life span greater than 10 years and decreased energy usage of up to 90% over a standard incandescent lightbulb (100 watt), you will love extensive savings over time.

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Until recently, you only had one option when it came to installing LED lighting: replacing your entire light fixtures with models specifically designed to work with LED lights. Because the vast majority of LED lightbulbs featured a pin, or "plug-in," base, they may only assist specialty LED lights. However, current attitudes toward energy efficiency have motivated the development of LED bulbs that will fit into traditional light fixtures. That means that upgrading to energy-saving LED lighting for your house can be as simple as purchasing LED bulbs built with standard screw-in bases. Available in a number of shapes and sizes ranging from small reading lamps to flood lights, LED lighting now works with many existing light fixtures.

If you're still interested in switching out some of one's old light fixtures to better suit your overall needs or to allow for plug-in LED bulbs, an electrician in your local area should be able to provide assistance. Not totally all residential electricians provide LED lighting upgrades, so make sure that the electrical contractor you hire is qualified to take care of the project!