TODAY'S TURN: Bright ideas come cheap

THE ISSUE:
The word "environment" pops up in conversation and the rest can often become white noise. Seems like we're hit over the head with so many calamitous and guilt-ridden stories, they begin to lose meaning faster than a Teletubby Christmas special. I mean, when you're continually told that you're responsible for wiping out 37 species today, your ability to hear and understand can wear a little smooth. So let's just agree that we could do better.

To keep it simple and actionable, I'll just throw out one stat: a single incandescent light bulb, used 3 hours a day can burn 30kg of coal in a year. That's like driving 138 miles.

THE GOOD TURN:
You've probably seen LED lights in penlights, watches and that little "on" indicator on your stereo. In fact, you probably take them for granted -- and you should, because it seems like they never go out.

The average LED lasts from 60,000-100,000 hours. Compare that to an average incandescent which peters out after just 1,000 hours. LEDs have no fragile filaments or tubes to break, so they're more durable. Replace one of those regular bulbs with an LED and you'll be changing your teeth before you change the bulb.

But the real beauty of LEDs is that they use a fraction of the electricity. A 9 watt LED has been said to have the brightness equivalent of a 70 watt incandescent. So let's do some math and see what this means to energy usage and your wallet (don't worry, I'll do the math, you just watch):

Over 60,000 hours (the expected life of an LED), a regular 70 watt bulb will burn up 4,200 kilowatt hours of electricity. Meanwhile, the 9 watt LED will use just 540KWh. That's an energy savings of 3,660KWh. Just about the same as driving a car 7,670 miles! You can trust my calculations or click here to see how it's done. And at 10 cents per KWh (the national average), that'd save you about $366 over the life of the bulb.

Just for changing one bulb.

Of course, LEDs are far from perfect. They're a bit pricey, anywhere from $20-$70 each. Though that cost should offset with a lifetime of buying few - if any - bulbs. The lower energy bills are the financial gravy on the potatoes. LEDs also aren't great for flooding large areas with diffuse light. They're more directional and don't throw out as much light per watt. Still, for close in spots like reading lamps, places where the light is on a lot like the front porch, or small areas like accent lighting, LEDs should be a good option.

I wouldn't even start to tell you which types would work for you or which brand is best. My advice is to just buy 1-2 and see if they fit your lighting needs. In big rooms, there might be some brightness tradeoffs for now, but there are a lot of smart people working on the issue, so my guess is it'll be getting better real soon.

Cick here to do this Good Turrn.