Is it Time to Seriously Consider LED Lighting(LED tree lights) for Your Next Residential or Commercial Project?

Without having to jump to the end of this article for the quick answer to the title question, the answer is yes.  Let’s explore and understand the reasons why LED lighting is better than other lighting solutions.  Just a few years ago, buying an LED light was trial and error – what the LED light may look like in your planned space based on the limited information on the package and to compare against other lighting sources like fluorescent, halogen, and incandescent, and making additional LED light purchases to try.  Recently, the standardized lighting facts label as well as improved light quality options, and total cost to own tradeoffs have made it easier to consider adopting LED lighting without much trial and error.

LEDs have made tremendous light quality progress. A few years ago, LED luminaire color options were mainly bright white light commonly referred to as daylight on a color temperature scale because white LEDs were the most common color available.  Recent LED technology, optical and thermal design trends have made dramatic improvements. LED luminaires can create warm to cool colors that replicate color quality (chromaticity) and light output (Lumens or Candela) similar to traditional bulbs and lighting options.

The US Department of Energy is helping consumers become more aware of LED lighting. The LED Lighting Facts label, as shown in Figure 1, has made it easier to compare the ratings between different manufacturers’ products.

The total cost to switch or ownership trade-off is a key decision criteria.  Electricity savings and breakeven cost can be as short as one year for switching to LED-based options even if the LED-based solutions are roughly three to 10 times more costly. For a 9.5 W LED-based A19 bulb, it has comparable light output as a 60 W incandescent bulb. Comparing energy cost between LED-based and incandescent based solutions, three hours usage per day at $0.11 per kWh equates to $1.26 versus $7.20 energy cost between the two solutions annualized.