Time to Replace Your Lightbulbs LEDs or CFLs

With the high cost of electricity today we are all looking for a way to cut our bills. At the same time many of us are trying to be more environmentally conscious by reducing the carbon footprint we make on our planet. One of the ways we have been doing this is through the use of compact fluorescent light bulbs or CFLs. These bulbs are relative newcomers to the market having only been readily available for the last few years and until recently were fairly expensive. Research has shown that they can save huge amounts of electricity and thus reduce the emissions from our power plants by a large amount. THE only problem with these CFLs is that much like their bigger counterpart, the fluorescent tube they rely on the electricity to excite a mercury vapor inside to produce light. This mercury vapor is a major chemical pollutant that unless disposed of properly eventually ends up in landfills and then into our ecosystem.

So while we are definitely helping to reduce our carbon footprint with the use of CFLs, we are, at the same time causing a new pollution problem with the mercury inside of them. CFLs also tend to generate a fair amount of heat, which in turn makes air conditioners run more in the summer raising the demand for electricity. While this increase is nowhere near the amount that is used by the old incandescent light bulbs. it is certainly a factor to consider.

With this in mind let's look at a relative newcomer to the lighting market, the light emitting diode or LED. This marvel of the electronic world has been around for decades, after all who doesn't remember their first LED wrist watch? These tiny lights are in used in everything these days from flashlights to cars, and come in a variety of colors. Compared to the CFL the LED has no warm up period, it is instantly on at full brightness further reducing waste as people tend to turn on CFLs ahead of their needs to allow them to reach full brightness beforehand.

The only real drawback is the cost, LEDs are, much like the first CFLs, relatively expensive at the moment. Prices are around $20 per bulb at one distributor I found, www.ledliquidatorsinc.com, but the average home owner will see a lifespan of 20 yrs or more depending on how much the bulb is turned on. LEDs are the new light of the future and we can expect the prices to drop quickly much like the CFLs did as soon as they became popular.

So while the average CFL will save you up to 75% compared to an incandescent bulb and might last you a couple of years, these new LED bulb will save you up to 90% and last for 20 years or more. Imagine never having to replace your light bulbs again and saving the environment at the same time. It is predicted that within the next few years these will replace all other forms of lighting as electricity cost continue to go up and people become more and more "green".

Sources: www.ledliquidatorsinc.com, www.enn.com/business/article/28932,