In a previous article called ‘A new way to reduce electricity bills‘ I talked about the necessity of changing all the regular light bulbs with the new technology which uses less energy and also keeps much more.
I remember the day when we decided to choose LED light bulbs instead of the old incandescent bulbs, and how we argued at the shop regarding the new light bulbs.
LED instead of CFL
After we’ve arrived there, we realized that we need to choose between CFL (Compact fluorescent light) and LED (Light-emitting diode).
After we spoke with the seller, we understand the fact that before deciding what type of light bulbs we need, we need to know where we will use these light bulbs, and if our activity requires intense light inside the rooms.
Because our work is done mostly on laptops and desktop computers, we don’t need so much light like a person who reads from a book or has an activity which require a strong light.
All PCs and laptops have their own light source so we don’t need very strong light bulbs in these working rooms.
LED light bulbs are not cheap but they live much longer than conventional or CFL bulbs
We needed stronger lights only in the main room where we keep the meetings and also in the kitchen.
After he heard all our requirements, the seller asked us what budget we have?
I asked him back, what do you mean?
He showed us the offer both for CFLs, and for LED light bulbs, and told us that the LED light bulbs can keep a very long time, but they have unidirectional light so they can focus light only in a small part of the room, and they are also pretty expensive.
CFLs can work much longer than regular bulbs (around 9,000 hours), but not as long like as LED light bulbs (which can work up to 50,000 hours).
Compact fluorescent lights come with two advantages and one disadvantage if compared with the LEDs. The first advantage means that they are cheaper to buy, and the second advantage is the fact that they produce
high-quality light, exactly like the incandescent bulb lights.
The only disadvantage is the fact that they contain mercury which is a highly toxic metal and it is safe to use only until it remains locked inside the bulb.
CFL bulbs must be properly disposed
You need to pay extra attention when you handle these CFL light bulbs, even if you only want to clean them.
If you throw them in the garbage, don’t forget that they cannot be thrown in your household waste because they contain this highly toxic metal called mercury, so you need to take them quick to a local recycling centre.
So, if you want safe light bulbs which don’t require much work and you don’t need too much light inside your rooms, you can choose these LED light bulbs which will consume a very small amount of energy and will illuminate your rooms for a very long time.
The only problem with the LEDs was the price.
The CFLs had a price around $9 for each bulb (the cheaper ones), but the LEDs with the same power had a price of at least $16 (and these were also the cheapest ones).
Always choose LED
We finally chose LEDs with powers between 3 W and 3,5 W.
In the main room and in the kitchen we use now five or even six LEDs, in the bathroom three, and two or three LEDs in each other room.
We paid a few hundreds of dollars for all these LEDs, but we use them even today with great success.
Since we use these LED light bulbs, we pay pretty small electricity bills each month, even during winter time.
