Like many of us, you're probably stuck and home and thinking about some socially-distant home improvement projects you can knock out. Easy efficiency upgrades are a good place to start as families face the possibility of more time at home during our peak summer months. One relatively easy area to start your efficiency upgrades is lighting. And the best part is everything you need is readily available for purchase online, and there's minimal need to break out the toolbox. A simple twist of the wrist will get this job done in most cases.
Lightbulbs often fall into the "out of sight, out of mind" category of a home upgrades, but if you have old school inefficient bulbs throughout your home, you could be wasting money while also generating excess heat. Both situations are less than ideal as our Arizona thermometers start to climb. So, if you're looking for an easy DYI project to ease the quarantine doldrums, check out our 5 reasons to add an LED swap to your DYI list.
LED lightbulbs will keep your rooms cooler
In our hot Phoenix summer, every degree counts when our ACs are running full speed ahead. If your house has incandescent bulbs or CFLs, you're making your AC work even harder to keep your house at a comfortable temperature. The reason why LEDs are cooler than other traditional bulbs is because 95% of their energy is used to create light as opposed to heat. This is why you can touch an LED without burning your hand, which also makes them safer if you have young children. With summer right around the corner, now is a good time to start switching some of your lightbulbs to LEDs.
Smart bulb further reduce energy demand
As more of our homes become "smarter" through devices like Amazon Echo and Google Home, the more other parts of the home are evolving to match. We've seen this trend happen with LED lightbulbs. Many on the market today have smart home capabilities like color options and voice commands. Some can even be programmed to shut off automatically when you're not around - further reducing wasted energy. You can also get dimmable LEDs, but double check when you're looking to buy because not all of them have that capability.
LEDs can save you money
Although the upfront cost of an LED lightbulb might be more than a more conventional option, the long run savings potential is one of the most popular reasons for switching. Not only do they run more efficiently, which can save you costs in energy bills, but they also last significantly longer- between 35,000 up to 100,000 hours, depending on model. That's an average expected lifespan up to 15 years with normal usage of about 6-8 hours a day. Any increase in upfront cost is more than made up by energy savings and fewer replacements across their dramatically increased lifespan.
LEDs are better for the environment
Along with helping you save more money, LEDs can also help the environment. In 2012, the U.S. Department of Energy estimated that increased adoption of LED bulbs over the following 15 years would reduce electricity demands from lighting by 62 percent, prevent 258 million metric tons of carbon emissions, and eliminate the need for 133 new power plants.
Since they last approximately 50 times longer than an incandescent, 20-25 times longer than a halogen, and 8-10 times longer than a CFL, there's less waste going into landfills and less material being used in production. The manufacturing and production of LED lightbulbs is also more environmentally-friendly than other lightbulbs and doesn't use any toxic compounds like mercury, like CFLs. To top it all off, LEDs are recyclable and will help you reduce your carbon footprint by a third, on average!
In closing, now's a great time to keep yourself busy, get a little wrist exercise, and reduce your energy demand all at the same time. If you're looking for other ways to save on your electric bills, consider going solar. We invite you to download our free whitepaper, "Is Solar Right For You?" to learn more about the critical factors that make up a solar purchase.
