I remember when LED lamps first hit the market. Like any new product, my enquiring mind had me intrigued so I decided to give them a shot when doing our clients’ installs. A few of their claimed benefits included their huge power saving properties, as well as a longer lifespan, which in turn allows for a lower carbon footprint.

To convince a client to go for them instead of halogen wasn’t too difficult… until I mentioned the price of the lamp. At the time, a few well renowned lamp manufacturers were rolling out LED lamps like bees at a honey factory, but their costs were too high for me to make a good enough case in their favour. Another factor against them was that their light colour was limited to mostly ‘cool white’ which was a drastic change from the halogen colour. Some liked it, others hated it. So instead of going for the very expensive branded lamps, I used a much cheaper, less-popular product on an earlier install to validate the use of LED lamps. This failed miserably, as the lamp was of such inferior quality due to it barely lasting two weeks.

I then tried another manufacturer who is a specialist in light fixture manufacturing and who was trying their hands at the lamp manufacturing. Sad to say, they built a terrible lamp that failed on another install. I was starting to lose my faith in this “new” technology and stuck to installing halogen lamps. Slowly but surely, manufacturers started doing more R&D on their products and thereafter introduced better quality LED lamps in a cost effective manner. Nowadays, I can gladly say that I use LED products in almost all my lighting applications.

Manufacturers are now so confident of their LED models, that they offer a 1 or 2 year warranty on their lamps.

Now, why did I give you all this history on my experience with LED lamps? I don’t know… thought it might make for an interesting read. Plus it will give you a little peek into my life and experiences. That’s the purpose of a blog right?

The Consumption Comparison: Halogen vs LED

Halogen option

So lets look at an average home of yesteryear.

3 bedrooms, a lounge, dining area, kitchen, bathroom and toilet. You had downlighters installed and your outside lights were 300w halogen flood lights covering your perimeter. An average count of 30 downlighters and 4 halogen flood lights yield figures as below:

• 30 x 50 watts= 1500 watts (Internal lights)
• 4 x 300watts= 1200 watts (external lights)

A total of 2700 watts. If all the lights are switch on, they will consume 2.7kw for every hour that it’s on.

LED option

Now, let’s replace the 30 downlighter lamps to 5watt LED’s and the 4 floodlights to 50watt LED floodlights.

• 30 x 5watt= 150watts (internal lights)
• 4 x 50watts= 200watts (external lights)

A total of 350watts. If all the lights are switched on, they will consume 0.35kw for every hour that it’s on.

Chalk and cheese right…

If that doesn’t convince you to make the change, then let us try to equate this to monetary values.

The Cost Comparison: Halogen vs LED

For example, if these lights are switched on for 5 hours per day every day for a month.

The Halogen lamps will consume 2.7kwh x 5 hours x 30 days= 405kwh per month.

The LED lamps will consume 0.35kwh x 5 hours x 30days= 52.5kwh per month.

At our current residential energy rate in Durban, South Africa of R1.63 incl Vat/kwh, the Halogen light consumption will cost you R660.15 per month whilst its LED competitor will cost you R85.57 per month.

With the pricing of LED lamps having come down so drastically, they in most instances cheaper than halogen lamps.

Cheaper lamps and cheaper energy consumption, and you are still thinking about it?

I, personally have made the change and this helps pave the way to the next step which is solar energy for even bigger savings. (more on that in future blog posts)

Till my next blog…

Ciao