Will LED Lightbulbs Outshine CFLs, Incandescent

LEDs is the best overall choice for lighting compared to CFL and Incandescent light bulbs.

The light bulb, the symbol of bright ideas, doesn't look like such a great idea anymore, as lawmakers in the U.S. and abroad are talking about banning the century-old technology because of its contribution to global warming.

Many governments and households are slowly phasing out the light bulb with Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFL) but even that will be replaced soon with a more energy efficient Light Emitting Diodes (LED).

LEDs is the ones we see in the on and off switch consumes very less power but they were unable to produce a higher wattage bulb until now. They used to produce only red or green light until in the 1990s it came in white lights and commonly used in flashlights.

Lighting consumes 22 percent of electricity produced in the U.S., according to the Department of Energy, and widespread use of LED lighting could cut consumption in half. By 2027, LED lighting could cut annual energy use by the equivalent of 500 million barrels of oil, with the attendant reduction in emissions of carbon dioxide, the gas believed to be responsible for global warming.

CFLs have not become popular yet because some don’t like the light quality, however I have CFLs it is working fine much better than the incandescent I used. I use 23W CFL and it is as powerful as 100W light bulb. Others complain it takes too much time to turn on and aren’t dimmable. LEDs have advantages in most of these areas and they are preferred in niche areas compared to the other two.

According to the LED manufacturer Cree, the diodes have become highly energy efficient and increased brightness over the years. Lighting Science Group Corp, showed an LED bulb that works with the current bulb socket and produces a warm light equivalent to 25 Watt incandescent bulb but consumes only 5.8 Watts. It costs high however $50. But if you consider the savings over the years the LED wins it hands down. You can see the table for comparison of the three.

The LED manufactures promise the LEDs cost will come down very soon, the cost of making the LED diode that makes up a number of diodes in one LED bulb is expected to lower from $8 per diode to $1.50 per diode in a year. The overall cost of LED bulb will then be far lower compared to now.

LEDs only problem is directional lighting, it is not diffused like either CFL or incandescent, but that will be solved also.

Please try to use more CFL or LED; you can save costs and less damage to environment. If you are using plenty of bulbs through out the house you can see the table above the costs savings increase tremendously, which you can use it for other purposes.