The type of light bulbs you use in your home can have a big impact on your energy costs each month.  Traditional incandescent light bulbs have been fading in place of more efficient products like compact fluorescent lights (CFL) and light emitting diodes (LED), but what’s the difference?

Traditional Incandescent Light Bulbs

Incandescent bulbs use to be the only options we had access to.  It is an electric light with a wire filament that is heated to a point where it glows. The higher the wattage, the brighter the bulb gets.  Unfortunately these bulbs use a lot of energy and burn out relatively quickly. Incandescents are so wasteful, that legislation is actually being passed to phase out these types of bulbs.

Compact Flourescent Lamp (CFL)

Compact fluorescent bulbs are more efficient than traditional incandescents – they work by running electric current through a tube that contains argon and mercury vapor. This process creates ultraviolet and visible light. According to Green is Better, CFL’s use about 70% less energy and last years longer than traditional incandescent lights.  They do however, come with some annoyances: They take some time to warm up and reach full brightness, many cannot be used on a dimmer switch, and they contain mercury (so they should be recycled at a CFL recycler).

Light-emitting diodes (LED)

At Cypress Homes, we feel that LED bulbs are the superior choice so we only use LED bulbs in all of our homes.  LED bulbs bring together currents with positive and negative charges – this releases energy in the form of light.  According to Focus on Energy, LED bulbs use up to 90% less energy and last up to 25 times longer than incandescents. In comparison to CFL bulbs they are more efficient and last significantly longer.  Historically, LED’s have been more expensive than the other 2 light bulbs mentioned above, but today they can be purchased for as little as $1 per bulb.  In addition to longer life and greater efficiency, LED bulbs stay cool even during use and can be used on a dimmer switch.

Lighting accounts for approximately 20% of the average home’s electric bill (Focus on Energy) so Cypress decided to make a simple change that results in substantial energy savings for our homeowners – Using all LED bulbs in our new homes is one of the things that helps our homes test at least 25% more efficient than code.

For more ideas on how you can save energy in your home check out our previous blog (4 Home Features that Actually Pay for Themselves) or contact us with questions.

4 Home Features That Actually Pay For Themselves