I don't even want to think how much I've spent on LED bulbs in the last year! I own over 20 of the CREE 40 and 60 watters, also a couple of the CREE BR30 flood hi-hat bulbs, and 10 of the Philips latest 60 watters... My wallet is screaming at me "Glenn, you're retired living on a limited budget!" Does that stop me??? NO IT DOESN'T!!
Interesting, i assumed they were the same size, but i don’t really care if they are a bit bigger, as long as they fit my fixtures and if i can afford it i will never buy a 60W for household use.
I own about a dozen of the CREE light bulbs from Home Depot in both 40W and 60W. I like the 2700K tint. They are nice. They will supposedly pay for themselves in the long run. But I agree that they are priced too high for the average homeowner. I, like you are retired and living on a limited budget.
Incorrect, you can’t just pull numbers out of the air like that. Let’s assume electricity costs 23.2 cents per kilowatt hour (about what it is on the east coast of the U.S. now) and increases by 2% per year. And we’re buying GE 26 Watt Energy Smart CFL - 100 Watt Replacement bulbs on Amazon and paying sales tax.
In your first scenario of several hours per day (let’s say three), the LED w/a rated lifetime of 25,000 hrs would cost more than the 4 CFLs w/a rated lifetime of 8000 hours each that it would take for the same period ($21.79 vs $10.40). However, electricity for the CFLs would cost 26 watts/18 watts = 44% more. Even so, the LED wouldn’t be cheaper until about the 8th year and then you’d only save less than $50 total after 23 years.
In your second scenario of a bathroom or hallway (let’s say a few minutes at a time for 30 minutes/day), even if the CFLs only last 1/6th their rated lifetime, the LED will not be cheaper because the cost of the bulb is greater than the cost of the CFLs plus electricity saved which would tiny (34 cents the first year). After 23 years the CFLs would be cheaper by about $1.60.
The 60 watt equivalent Philips is slightly brighter, 880 vs 800 lumens, uses slightly more electricity, 11 vs 9.5 watts. The biggest difference is the Philips dims much lower than the Cree. I bought 10 of the Philips 60 watters on sale at Home Depot for around $8.00 each. I Like them better than the Cree's simply because they dim better with the Lutron dimmers I'm using..
Check out this review on the Philips 60 watt LED bulb:
Lets just say i pulled numbers form premium air, not exact but educated nonetheless.
Your first scenario just proves my point, less then $50 saved by going LED more then pays for that bulb and even another 2 bulbs, or even several flashlights with batteries!
Your second scenario is within the cost of one CFL at the cheap price, and your 1/6 is optimistic, i’ve had many people complain that CFLs last a few months to a year so they are actually just as bad or worse then incandescent, so my next question to them is which ones died, the washroom ones or your living room ones? Most people tell me it must be both but they are not sure because they never thought to keep track of it. The CFL industry does not like to advertise the many start/reduced life problem, they prefer to sweep it under the rug. So with such a low margin of error and even slightly less life then your using your calculations for you cannot confidently claim exactly $1.60 is saved by CFL, its too close to call, which favours the LED again, less waste, no mercury going to landfill, and less headache of burnt out bulbs. A place i was renting last year had an incandescent that burned out so i told the landlord get me some incandescent (60W) and i will replace it, an its cheaper then CFL for the washroom because you will get similar life from both for exactly this reason. He got a CFL, it lasted a few months, i moved during the lifetime of the next CFL so who knows how long it lasted.
No, my numbers don’t prove your point, they refute it because you had it backwards. The first scenario favors the LED and the second favors the CFLs but is wash longer term (20+ years) … the opposite of what you said.
Thanks, that was a great video. Always wanted to take one of these apart. The same guy also did an interesting review of one of the Crees. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n6DDFRBrSas
Edit:
I reread the posts, i think you should go for the CFL because the LEDs will drop in price in future. Your saying its already better, so either way your not losing, buy LED now you save money, use CFL now and buy cheaper LED later your saving. (I can’t 100% quantify it because i don’t know what the cost will be in the future)
The second scenario you now agree is a wash so where are we differing, i’m not arguing you will save boatloads of cash, but you will save some money. Ifg you went tfor the 60W which is apparently the most popular brightness then you will save even more. I won’t be doing that, but other people apparently will
I also think LEDs will get cheaper over time do you also want to disagree there too?
Huh? You had it exactly backwards and now you’re backpedaling by changing your position while pretending I changed mine.
You claimed “the lifetime cost would be similar for each” in the first scenario when in fact it favors the LED (for “the lifetime cost”), and “where its only used a few minutes at a time then the economics favour LED” when in fact it favors the CFLs but is wash longer term (20+ years).
Your right, i reread the posts and mixed things up
I still think future LED prices will make long use per start will favour the CFL but i can’t predict future pricing, if you can then chime in.
I still will argue the LED favours CFL for few minutes per use, since your saying the cost difference is within one CFL bulb i will say that means one premature failure and your over optimistic CFL life means your not getting ahead by going CFL.
We purchased six Feit Electric 60 watt equivalent bulbs at Costco for $8.64 each. The are working very well in a bathroom fixture with bell shaped glass shades.
But I agree that they are priced too high for the average homeowner. I, like you are retired and living on a limited budget. 
