i guess those led bulbs do save money...

Dan Noren

Moderator
Staff member
Messages
7,984
Location
falcon heights, minnesota
after i got the electric bill last month, i decided to start swapping out incandescent for led bulbs (they last longer(about 8 yrs) than cfl's, and no mercury). i swapped out the entire living room, the chandelier fixture in the dining area, and one other light. today i got the new bill, and i was quite surprised. last month's bill was a little over 46, this month's bill was just a touch over 25. :D i guess they're earning their keep. :thumb:
 
That is a good deal less Dan, how much are the LED lights costing over there, here, they are still around $28 each :eek: Which over their lifetime (they are saying 10 years here) I know is cheap, but man, to swap out 10 of them bulbs is not cheap up front:rolleyes:

Just curious.

Cheers!
 
they were all around 9 dollars to swap out, except for the one fixture, it was 29. still, it's 21 that's staying in my pocket this month, and next month, and even the month after that... :rofl:
 
Lou Ann and I were watching a home improvement show where the guy put LED lights along a pier (kind of like a landing strip effect). He claimed mosquitoes don't see/aren't attracted to LED lights. :dunno:
 
$46.00 for an electric bill is very low already. You must have all gas appliances or you never shower or wash clothes. ;)
We are stuck with the new bulbs. I switch only when a current incandescent burns out. I do not like the delay time for them to get up to full brightness. With mercury and other materials in them for the transformer and what all, there are hidden costs that get passed on. I'm not a fan.
 
Good for you Dan. I changed to the CFLs when i first moved here but have not looked at what the difference between them and LED would be. Probably another good step down.

While we on this subject, the local gov here has taken some good initiatives imho with regards to power conservation which in the long run favor the tax payer and when you think about it are a great use of technology.

1) We have just has smart meters installed. Now we get billed at variable rate based on when you use the power. Idea being to shift the usage pattern to off peak periods which alleviates the need to build more power stations to cope for convenience of consuming in the peek.

2) Along with the old pager networks and new Honeywell thermostats they have implemented a program where they replace your old thermostat provided you have aircon, for free and at the same time install a load shedding switch which is controlled through the old pager network. Now when it comes to summer and there are days when the aircon of a lot of people runs 24/7 and demand peaks they can shut off for 15 minutes on a random basis the aircon at your home. This is no biggie if you were running it cause it will only be 15 minutes but on a pronicial wide basis this will add up to significant load shedding. Another initiative that better manages use of the power being generated.

What you can also do is go onto a website for you home and send a signal to your home system to set the temp. So if you been away and left the aircon off and are say 2 hours from home you can use your mobile phone to initiate getting the system to cool the house or in winter heat it to a particular temp. You cannot read the temp since the system is not bi directional comms.

I guess there are many of these kinds of initiatives that are possible with technology today that on their own are small but tallied up in a group are significant contributions. There are also naturally environmental benefirts that go with this besides the deferment of capital spend.
 
My bill is around $150.00 a month. That includes my well pump, my shop, 2 refrigerators, and the usual household stuff like washer and dryer. I did change a bunch of bulbs to the new style and they last a lot longer but they don't cast as much light. It seems to me anyway. I'm not a big fan yet. You can get a package of 10 at the local borg for around $15.
I switched my ecectric water heater to propane years ago and that saves around 25% of what it costs vs electricity. We have 2 window AC units but they are only used maybe 10-15 days a year at most.
 
Oil heat in house; gas heat in shop; gas clothes dryer, water heater, and cook stove; and still my bill averages $170.00!

Lights are CFLs/flourescents wherever practical, too.

What're you doing, Dan - siphoning off power from the neighbors? :D:D:D
 
Gosh you folks have cheap electric. I don't think I have ever had a bill below $200.

I did get a coupon today from the local electric co-op. Exchange 15 regular bulbs for 15 CFL's (free of charge). They do this from time to time. Also give out 1 free if you pay your bill with in so many days from receipt.
 
Gosh you folks have cheap electric. I don't think I have ever had a bill below $200.

I did get a coupon today from the local electric co-op. Exchange 15 regular bulbs for 15 CFL's (free of charge). They do this from time to time. Also give out 1 free if you pay your bill with in so many days from receipt.


im with you steve, I never see a bill under 200, and in the summer, since I sleep in an attic bedroom, my electric jumps up to 400 and change.
 
Lots of factors in electric bills for households.
In my case, we are very fortunate.
The house we are in is very energy efficient and well insulated.
Everything is electric, heat, washer/dryer, well pump, stove, etc.,etc. Only exception is the propane fireplace we bought for emergency use if storms put out the power.
Our furnace is a ground source water furnace, very efficient. Our hot water heater is a Marathon. Until recently it was considered the most efficient on the market, but now the hybrids take that title. But, it runs through our furnace. Meaning, in winter the water is pre-heated before reaching the heater. In summer the water is tempered from ground temp. of about 50 degrees up to room temp. and that saves elec. Plus there is one of those remote shut off thingys for summer high power demand periods and we get a break on the bill for having that.
And, the biggie, we don't live in Minnesota.
 
Gas furnace, water heater, cooktop, and clothes dryer. Our electric is about $150/month in the winter, and nearly double that in the summer when we're running the AC. Our water, sewer, electric, and trash pickup are all on the same bill, and it runs between $350 and $500 per month.

I don't like the color/warmth of the light put out by the CFLs I've seen, and so far haven't seen any LEDs that impressed me either. They're getting better all the time, though.
 
Gas furnace, water heater, cooktop, and clothes dryer. Our electric is about $150/month in the winter, and nearly double that in the summer when we're running the AC. Our water, sewer, electric, and trash pickup are all on the same bill, and it runs between $350 and $500 per month.

I don't like the color/warmth of the light put out by the CFLs I've seen, and so far haven't seen any LEDs that impressed me either. They're getting better all the time, though.

"....same bill, and it runs between $350 and $500 per month."
Ouch! We simply could not afford that.
 
I have a friend that owns a yarn shop & also a Hugh amount of tools. He made a PDF file on changing all of his 4' fluorescent lights to CFL's in both his shop & their yarn store his bill went down by about 1/2 $$$ I'm going to try it in my basement.
 
I have a friend that owns a yarn shop & also a Hugh amount of tools. He made a PDF file on changing all of his 4' fluorescent lights to CFL's in both his shop & their yarn store his bill went down by about 1/2 $$$ I'm going to try it in my basement.


Good idea. I leave the florescent lights in the basement on all the time especially in the winter because they flicker for 20 minutes due to the cold when you turn them on. I'll try the CFL's and see if my bill goes down at all.
 
From reading this thread, it seems that there is some confusion on the LED lights and the compact fluorescent lights, or CFLs.

dl-j40an.jpg

LED Bulb

I'll not allow the CFLs into our house, and as the regular incadecents go the way of the Dodo bird, I'll replace them with the LED bulbs.

The ones I'm seeing here come in two colors right now, a white and a warm, if that makes sense.

Even looking online, the cheapest prices I'm seeing are about $20 each :dunno:
 
White and warm makes sense.
Price doesn't.
I'll replace with the new fangled bulbs when supply of incandescents run out. I think it is a false economy to toss perfectly good bulbs. Those cost too.
 
Top