I posted this on FB the other day, but then got to thinking more about the comparison for cost-effectiveness. So being the wonk that I am, I had to go all OCD on it.

So to recap:

David Dodge at Green Energy Futures posted this infographic

which came from this report (and yes, I read the whole thing…so you wouldn’t have to).

Gordon Howell, PV Engineer in Edmonton, added in a FB comment: the lifetime energy consumed in operating these bulbs:

Incandescent: 1330kWh
CFL: 330kWh
LED: 310kWh

The LED consumes only 23% of the energy consumed by the incandescent.

So, that’s pretty impressive. How does that work out for cost to use/cost to buy?

At today’s prices from Lowes.ca:

Incandescent: standard issue 60W units 8-pack for $6.47 is most common in the online offering, but there was a 24 pack for 11.98 (really?!?!). So $6.50/8

CFL: 2 pack of 15W anywhere from $5.98 for base model to $14.98 for daylight. Lets go for the daylight version, so we’re happy in the winter (we’ll buy 2 packs, just in case).

LED: 12W Soft White $18.98 to $24.98. Middling cost: $22/bulb.

I pay about $0.136/kWh.

	Purchase	kWh Cost	Total
Incandescent	$19.50	$180.88	$200.38
CFL	$22.47	$44.88	$67.35
LED	$22.00	$42.16	$64.16

Well. Are you sold on energy efficiency yet?

That’s a 68% reduction in overall costs between incandescent and LED lights.

I personally don’t like CFLs because of the unresolved issue of how to dispose of them safely (I know the mercury is minimal per bulb, but it’s not minimal when it’s hundreds of thousands of bulbs and they’re broken in landfills and leaking into groundwater — because we know that there are limited CFL recycling operations, and, just like the batteries that are stacking up in the garage, waiting to get taken to the hazardous waste drop off — the bulbs are likely to get pitched in the regular garbage in a spring cleaning frenzy). And yes, it’s true, the amount of coal-fired electricity that CFLs displace reduces mercury emissions from that major source. But if the LED bulbs are available and cost-competitive, why not use them instead?