Even though LED lights have been around for a while, it’s taken individuals, businesses and governments a while to replace their traditional light bulbs with more energy efficient options. Concerns about reliability and color value have all played a role in LED light usage, but increasingly LED lights are becoming a popular and environmentally responsible option. The cost savings with LED lights are motivating businesses and communities to switch to LED lighting. St. Cloud, Minn. recently announced that it will be installing over 2,000 LED lights as part of a street lighting improvement project. Grand Forks, N.D. recently made a similar announcement and will be replacing over 3,500 streetlights with energy-saving LED lights.
Cost savings with LED lights
Both cities are expecting to see significant savings by switching to more energy efficient lighting. According to the US Department of Energy, the annual energy cost of using a 60W traditional incandescent bulb is $4.80 and users should expect that bulb to last about 1,000 hours. A 60W traditional LED light, on the other hand, will use 80% less energy and will cost users less than the cost of a cup of coffee – only cost $1.00 annually.
LED lights require less maintenance than traditional light bulbs. With their increased lifespan, LED lights are a product you can install and then forget about for years and years. Low maintenance LED light bulbs are ideal for hard-to-reach places in homes and businesses. In products like ThinLight’s LED light panels, using a long lasting, low maintenance light source means that the light panel will require much less maintenance over the course of its lifespan.
Learn how much you could save with LED lights
Interested in learning how much you could save by using LED lights? LED Waves created a LED savings calculator that you can use to calculate approximately how much you could save by using LED technology. The calculator allows for numerous factors that influence the cost of lighting and is an excellent tool to determine the cost benefits of switching to LED lights.