Almost exactly a year ago I posted about switching my kitchen to some PAR20 LED bulbs, talking about the economics of them, given their very long (50,000 hour) expected lifetime, and 5 year warranty.

The bad news – last night one quit on me. :( Continue reading →

I’ve done everything I can to eliminate incandescent bulbs from my house, relying largely on CFLs.  This has helped me dramatically reduce my power bills – but with some drawbacks. Continue reading →

A while ago – maybe around when the Prius first appeared? – there was a lot of talk about the hypermilers.  You know, the folks who would coast down the hill to their garage and draft 6″ off 18-wheelers in an effort to eke out the very best possible mpg in their car?  I know it is a cultural phenomenon, because it has a Wikipedia entry!  There are also YouTube videos, Wired articles, and Instructables.  Clearly, this has caught people’s fancy – probably because paying for gas sucks, especially now.  Saving energy and money – in your car – has become just a little bit cool.

So where are the hyperwatters, the folks who eke every bit of utility out of every watt-hour?  Where are the forums, the Wired articles, the … words of the year for the electrical efficiency freaks?

Even if the word isn’t in our language yet, I’m pretty sure you may be a hyperwatter if you:
(Note: some Amazon product links follow)

• Read your electric bill each month – and look forward to it!
• Know how much energy your doorbell uses
• Replaced your electric coffee grinder with a hand grinder? [amzn]
• Replaced your CFLs (which were in every socket) with LEDs
• Own a Kill A Watt[amzn]
• Know that turning the gigabit ethernet card in your computer down to 100 megabits can save up to 2 watts, or up to 20kWh/year
• Delay laundry until the sun is shining
• ???

So – are you out there?  Are you with me?  Have you gone to any extremes to shave that last kWh off your bill?  Will it take electricity at $1/kWh for “hyperwatter” to become the 2014 word of the year?

I broke down and tried a couple LED bulbs in my house.  We have track lighting in the kitchen with PAR20 bulbs, usually the 50W halogen type.

The Home Depot recently started carrying some decent LED lighting, manufactured by Lighting Science Group right here in the US.  They have a PAR20 form factor for about $25, which does seem awfully steep for a bulb.  (Lowe’s has a version from Sylvania for about the same price).

(edit: the price is $20 as of Sept 2011 – Eric)

But if you look at the long-term economics of it, it makes a lot of sense, even at $25.

I pay $0.10/kWh for my electricty.  These bulbs are 8W, and they replace my 50W bulbs, for a net savings of 42W.  They’re rated for 50,000 hours (5 year warranty) so (42W x 50,000hrs x $0.10/kWh / 1000W/kW) is a savings of $210 over the life of the bulb, if it really lasts that long.  On top of that, a “long life” $8 halogen bulb lasts 4,000 hours, so I’d need to  replace that halogen bulb 12 times, at $8 a pop for another $96, so this is $71 more than the material cost of the LED bulb.

Anyway, end of the day – even at $25/bulb if they perform as advertised, they’ll save $281 each over the old halogens.  If I replace all 6, at a cost of $150, I’d save over $1600 over the life of the bulbs!

Sounds great right?  But 50,000 hours is a lot.  At 3 hours a day every day, that’s over 40 years.  :)  Still, the break-even comes much sooner than that – assuming rates are steady, 4 years saves about $18, 1 avoided bulb change saves $8, so I’d say break-even in 4 years.

Now, as for the quality; they are a little more focused than the old halogen floods, and they are definitely a whiter color; 3000K is smack between “Warm White” and “Bright White” on the lighting facts label, but it looks pretty white to me, to the point where I’m not sure I like it, unfortunately.  Sylvania claims to have similar bulbs at 2700K which is yellower, but I can’t find those for sale anywhere.

Apparently Home Depot will also be selling a version of the Philips bulb submitted for the L-prize, which is supposed to be a true 60W replacement and a nice warm white… for $40-$50!  The long-term economics will still be a win, but that’s some sticker shock for sure.  Of course, this is how CFLs started out a couple decades ago, too.