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Standing on a small stepladder in the understairs closet, I recently passed an uncelebrated milestone: I swapped out the last incandescent lightbulb in the house. It was hardly a grand achievement, just the natural result of traditional bulbs failing one by one over the years. Still, my frugal nature found it pleasing, and worth (pardon the pun) shining a light on.
Having changed every bulb with my own fair hand, I can confidently tell you there are 78 in the house. LED lighting should provide a decent “humble saving” from here on.
Take our kitchen/dining area as a small case study. It has 18 bulbs in total. Before LEDs, the fully lit space drew over 1kW of power, and now it draws under 200 watts. That is a wonderful 80% reduction in running costs.
I won’t claim every room saw a cut that big, since the kitchen/dining area was always the worst offender. But with 78 bulbs, the savings add up. Assuming roughly a fifth of the lights are on for four or five hours a day through winter, and far less in summer, I reckon we’re saving around $150 a year.
There’s also a small investment lesson hanging in that closet. The incandescent bulb reigned for well over a century and seemed about as permanent as the light switch itself. Then a better idea came along, helped by a nudge from the regulators, and the old order was gone. Some manufacturers adapted. Others, and anyone who’d put all their faith in them, were left in the dark.
No need to panic. But it might make me gentle question any company or sector that looks too established to fail. I can’t tell you which industry will be switched off next, which is rather the point. Spreading my investments widely means I don’t have to guess, and I can get on with my bulb-changing in peace.
So there it is: 78 bulbs, one stepladder, and a saving so quiet you’d never hear it. No fanfare, no ribbon-cutting, just a house that’s a little brighter and a little cheaper to run. I’ll admit to a small, private smugness every time I flick a switch. It’s the sort of triumph no one else will ever notice, which suits me fine.
After all, the best savings are the ones that happen while you’re not looking.
Mark, this post is causing my brain to get some well needed exercise. Here are some of the ways that we save, and that only require a little bit of effort on our part. There are reward credit cards that kick back between one and five percent, though more and more retailers are recovering their merchant fees these days. Free gym memberships provided by our Medicare Supplement Insurance. Savings from switching cell phone providers. The Homestead Property Tax Credit, discounts on property and casualty insurance for allowing direct debits and paying the premium in full. Using digital coupons at the grocery store. Using Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCD) instead of writing a check. The savings amount to thousands of dollars per year, and are there for the asking.
And of course, those LED bulbs cut down on the electric bill; just don’t fall off the ladder!
Mark, sorry but some puns are unpardonable.
Mark,
When we built our retirement home 10 years ago we had to purchase dozens upon dozens of bulbs for every light fixture. At the time there were a plethora of different type bulbs available, and LEDs were in their infancy. I pondered and pondered as I looked at the options. I finally decided to bite the bullet and bought all LEDs. They were significantly more expensive than other options but I figured they would pay off in the long run.
Well I was right. Except in the dead of winter, or in the hottest summer months when the central air runs our bill does not come close to $100 (this for 100% renewable, and our delivery charge is greater than KWH usage charge). We recently received our (very hot) August electric bill and it was $170 and we nearly fainted. But we hear people, including our son complaining of monthly $200-300 bills.
Several years ago we looked into solar panels. I was committed to not pull the trigger on installation unless on our return on investment was 10 or less years. When the companies came out and saw how little our usage was they were shocked, and said there was no chance on that time period for ROI.
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