How annoyed do you get walking around the house turning off all the lights other people have switched on? It is wasted energy and wasted money when lights are left on. Of course, I’m not saying to sit in the dark. We all like a well-lit room when we are reading, or want to create a bit of atmosphere with mood lighting. How much electricity does a lightbulb use? What is the actual cost of these things? Many of us have switched to more efficient lighting in the form of LED bulbs. Good for the planet, good for our wallets. But how much does an LED light bulb cost to run?
Variables Will Change How Much You Spend On Light
We mentioned the popular shift to LED lighting. However, those who are still using other bulbs such as incandescent will be paying a lot more. There is also a range of different types of LED bulbs, with different ones using different amounts of power. There is also the cost of the bulb in the first place to consider. Along with the length of time between having to change them. LED bulbs can offer up to 100,000 hours before they need changing. That is fantastic compared to the mere 750 hours that an incandescent bulb will last. LED is a great investment but how much does an LED light bulb cost to run?
Alternatives To Lightbulbs
Many people switch the lights on before opening the curtains. However, the sun offers free light and will fill up a room quickly. The sun can also be used for solar power. Basic solar-powered lights can be charged up during the day to use when the sun sets. This is without even thinking about solar panels on your roof! The moon also offers light and on a cloud-free night, a full moon can offer plenty of light. Of course, there are also candles to consider, though you need to be careful of the risk of fire. Battery-powered fairy lights can also be used and will create a romantic mood in your room. If you have rechargeable batteries, that is even better! You could also consider wind-up torches. A few rotations and you generate your own light!
How Much Does An LED Light Bulb Cost To Run?
LED bulbs use somewhere between 7 and 10 watts. Let’s go with the higher end of that for our working out. We’re also going to use the Energy Price Guarantee (October 2022) electricity rate of 34p per kWh. How much does an led light bulb cost to run?
10 watts is 0.01 kWh. That means that your LED bulb costs 0.34p to run for an hour.
Two hours in the morning and three hours at night add up to five hours a day. This is 1.7p for your daily usage.
You will get 100 hours out of the 34p kWh price, to power an individual LED bulb at 10 watts. That’s just over 4 days. If you’re running two bulbs for those hours, you’d get just over two days of usage from your 34p.
If I have 12 bulbs in my house and they each run for about two hours per day, that is 24 hours of electricity usage or 8.16p per day. This equates to just over 57p a week, around £2.50 a month and £29.78 per year.
Final Thoughts
We all have different amounts of energy usage, especially with more of us working from home. It’s a great idea to figure out an estimate of how much you are using your lights. That way, you can inform those culprits in your household who keep leaving lights on exactly how much they are costing the family purse in monetary terms.
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