By Joshua Key
SuperGreen Solutions
As I work with clients to help them save money in their homes, churches and businesses, I often get asked about lighting. We previously talked about the difference between incandescent bulbs, spiral bulbs and LEDs, and how countries are banning the former and upgrading to the latter because of the savings in energy costs. Today, we will look at money and benefits. How much money will LEDs save you? What makes them really worth the upgrade?
In 2012 alone, more than 49 million LED products were installed in the US, reducing annual energy costs by about $675 million. The savings have only improved since then. One of my clients in the Bahamas is a bank, which has saved more than $120,000 per year since upgrading to LEDs. In five years, that is some $600,000. Where else can you find $600,000 in five years?
Even in my own home, just one of the small lights I upgraded to is saving me $32 per year on my energy bill. It paid for itself in half a year, and since it is an LED and is warrantied to last years, it will keep paying for itself many times over. And that is just one bulb.
So if LEDs are better than both incandescent and ‘energy saver’ fluorescent bulbs, do they cost you more than they save? Not any more. Since 2008, the cost of LEDs has fallen by more than 85 per cent. LEDs are affordable and, in the Bahamas, you can pick up high-quality, fully warrantied, standard LEDs for your home for much less than $20. Be sure to work with a local company that will warranty your bulbs, so that if anything ever happens to them, they will replace them and secure your investment. That is especially important for businesses investing in upgrading their facilities.
One of the best things about LEDs is their versatility. For whatever light you like, there is an LED version of it. Like the bright white lights? There is an LED for that. Prefer the more romantic yellow colour of old bulbs? There is an LED for that. Need to replace giant canopy lights at gas stations or huge spotlights in car lots? There is an LED for that. Want to upgrade lighting in your offices without buying new fixtures? There is an LED for that.
Here are some other powerful benefits of LEDs:
Reduced air conditioning (AC) costs. Since LEDs give off 90 per cent less heat than incandescent bulbs, and are cooler that fluorescent bulbs, your air conditioning cost is reduced.
Better quality of light. LEDs provide high visibility and consistent bright light.
A safer, healthier and more productive workplace. By providing better quality and colour of light, and enhancing visibility, LEDs increase productivity, worker satisfaction and workplace health and safety.
Long life with minimal degradation and virtually no maintenance. With a life span of 10-25-years or more than 80,000 hours, LEDs require virtually no maintenance. They produce a steady light output with less than 1 per cent degradation annually over the life of the product.
Flexibility. Whether you are lighting a home, church, factory, retail display, office space or a 100,000-seat stadium, LEDs are versatile enough to meet diverse needs.
Instant on-off. Traditional floodlights take minutes to warm up and turn on, but their LED replacements are able to turn on and off instantly.
Environmentally friendly. LEDs do not contain mercury and other cancer-causing chemicals in fluorescent spiral bulbs.
LEDs use less power than other lights, and so contribute to a smaller reliance on environmentally-hazardous electricity from fossil fuels.
Since LEDs last years longer than other lights, they contribute less waste to the landfill.
LED lights come in any colour you want.
Dimmable options are available.
LEDs are by far the best lighting option for the home or business owner keen on saving the environment while saving money.
Are you ready to save money on your electricity bill while contributing to a greener environment? Upgrading your lighting to LEDs, whether in whole or in part, is one of the best first steps. You are going to run your lights anyway, so why not pay less to use them? Talk with your energy efficient products specialist to find out how.
• NB: Joshua Key is general manager for SuperGreen Solutions Bahamas, located on Wulff Road next to FYP. SuperGreen Solutions is one of the advisors, suppliers and installers of domestic and commercial energy efficient solutions.
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