They can be a little bit of confusion between what the difference is between an LED or incandescent bulb and which light bulb is really the most energy-efficient one to use.
Incandescent Light Bulb is the light bulb that most of us call a standard lightbulb or the lightbulb Edison invented. CFL is also known as a Compact Fluorescent lightbulb, and as the name implies, a compact bulb fluorescent light bulb. LED is a light bulb that uses light-emitting diodes.
LED, CFL, and Incandescent Light Bulbs Overview
If you are looking for a lightbulb it can be confusing as to what lightbulb to actually use. In fact, in the United States, some states may have laws about which lightbulb can be actually used and sold in their states.
Here is an overview of the 3 major types of lightbulbs:
- Incandescent bulbs – The incandescent bulbs are the old-fashion typical lightbulbs that most of us used grew up using in our homes. For a long time, these were the only types of lightbulbs you could buy. These lightbulbs are not very energy efficient and do not last that long.
- Compact Fluorescent Lightbulbs (CFLs) – The compact fluorescent lightbulbs are the strange spiral bulbs that most people think about when looking at energy-efficient lightbulbs.
- LEDs – LED bulbs are energy-efficient lightbulbs, but they have an incandescent bulb’s look and feel that uses light-emitting diodes. They are considered the most energy-efficient lightbulbs to use.
Approximate Cost For Different Lightbulbs
Different lightbulbs will cost significantly different when using the lightbulbs with electricity. The chart below calculates the average cost per hour of different types of lightbulbs.
The electrical rate we have used is the average cost of electricity in the United States or 13.19 cents per kilowatt per hour. This rate and cost can, of course, change depending on your actual cost of electricity.
| Lightbulb Types | Average Hours Use Per Lightbulb | Electric Usage/hour (average) | Cost/hour (average) | Average Cost to Use 10 lights 7 hours per month |
| Incandescent | 1,000 | 60 watts | .0079 USD | 16.62 USD |
| CFL | 10,000 | 14 watts | .0018 USD | 3.88 USD |
| LED | 25,000 | 10 watts | .0013 USD | 2.77 USD |
As you can see from the above table, the LED lightbulb will last the longest and uses the least amount of electricity per hour. We can say it is the most energy-efficient of all the lightbulb types.
By changing just 10 lights to LED from Incandescent over one year, your electricity saving cost is 166 USD; when you have more than 10 lights, the electrical savings cost per year is significant.
When considering which lightbulb to use, you should not look at just the lightbulb’s cost but the overall costs to use the bulb. There are huge electrical savings when you use the LED lightbulb, especially when compared to the incandescent lightbulb.
About Incandescent Light Bulbs
When most people talk about a standard lightbulb, they are talking about an incandescent bulb. This incandescent bulb has been around since Thomas Edison’s patent for the lightbulb in 1879.
An incandescent light bulb is a light bulb that emits light due to being heated. Incandescent light is an electric light bulb with a wire filament that is heated to give off light; it is the glow of the heated wire that emits the light coming from the light bulb.
An incandescent lightbulb can come in several sizes, but the standard light bulb is E-26. To learn more about the standard light bulb and other incandescent light bulb sizes you can read What is the Standard Light Bulb Base? Different E -Socket Types by clicking here.
About Compact Fluorescent Bulb
A CFL or a compact fluorescent light is also called an energy-saving lightbulb. The CFL is basically an energy-saving fluorescent lightbulb that was designed to replace the incandescent lightbulb.
The CFL lightbulb will use a curved fluorescent-filled glass tube that fits into the incandescent bulb’s space. This is like a mini fluorescent light similar to fluorescent lights you may find on a ceiling.
Compared to the incandescent lightbulbs, the CFL will give off the same amount of visible light, but they will only use 150 to 130 electrical power. They are considered energy-saving as they use less energy than an incandescent lightbulb.
An issue with the CFL lightbulbs is that they can take a while to heat up to full brightness. Once the electricity starts moving inside the CFL lightbulbs, they will use 70% less energy than the incandescent bulbs.
One downside of the CFL lightbulbs is that they contain very toxic mercury; if you break a CFL lightbulb, it can be dangerous. The toxic mercury also complicates the disposal of CFL lightbulbs.
Some countries have regulated the disposal of CFL lightbulbs. These extra garage disposal requirements add to the overall costs of the CFL lightbulbs. Even though energy-saving lightbulbs, additional energy and other resources are used for the CFL lightbulb waste disposals.
About LED Lightbulbs
The LED lightbulb is an electric lightbulb that can use that uses light-emitting diodes. The light-emitting diode code is a semiconductor light source that lights up when the current flows through it.
One of the advantages of LED lightbulbs have a lifespan that is much longer than the equivalent incandescent lightbulb; they are also slightly more efficient than CFL lightbulbs.
LED lightbulbs are where the growth for lightbulbs will be over the next decade. This is because the LED lightbulbs are very similar to the incandescent lightbulb, but they use only about 10% of the energy.
LED lightbulbs cost you more than an incandescent light bulb; in many cases, the LED lightbulb cost is double. Recently LED lightbulbs have been very popular because they are more efficient than incandescent bulbs and last much longer; over the long term, these lightbulbs can give you significant savings.
And example if an American home has about 40 lightbulbs, if you replace all your light bulbs with LED so you could save about $250-$300 a year and energy cost. For many this cost savings per year more than makes up the difference in the cost of the LED lightbulbs.
Another advantage is that LED technology continues to improve. As this is a huge growth area for lightbulbs expect to continue to see major developments coming with LED bulbs in years to come.
Mondoro has its own UL-certified lamp factory outside Hanoi, Vietnam. In the factory, we assembly UL lamps (table, floor, and other portables), we also make some of our own shades. If you are interested in finding out more about how we can help you manufacture some UL certified lamps, please contact Anita by clicking here or write her directly at her email by clicking here. We would love to hear from you and hear how we can help you.
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What is the Standard Light Bulb Base?
The standard light bulb base is E-26. The E-26 light bulb base must use an E-26 socket; you will find an E-26 socket on many table and floor lamps sold in the United States. The E-26 socket is also known as the standard socket. Besides the E-26 lamp holder socket, the other significant U.S. lamp holder socket types are E-12, E-19 and E-39.
You can learn more by reading What is the Standard Light Bulb Base? Different E -Socket Types by clicking here.
How Do You Make A Bamboo Lamp Shade?
To manufacture or make bamboo lampshades, you need to 1) properly prepare the bamboo materials, 2) build a metal frame, 3) wrap the metal frame, 4) secure the bamboo on to the metal frame, 5) spray color on top of the bamboo shade if you desire the lampshade to be a color other than natural and 6) spray a top coat on the entire shade to protect the bamboo shade’s finish.
You can discover more at How Do You Make A Bamboo Lamp Shade? All About Bamboo Lampshades by clicking here.
