LED Savings Calculator

See exactly what switching to LED bulbs saves you. Compare old vs LED wattage across as many bulbs as you like and get the yearly saving, payback time, and 10-year net.

Common swap:
bulbs
W
W
h
/kWh
/bulb

One-time cost to buy each LED

LEDs use roughly 85% less power than the old bulbs here for the same brightness. The payback is how long the energy saving takes to cover the cost of buying the LEDs.

Yearly saving

$158.23

Across 10 bulbs at 5h/day

Payback time

1.9 mo

$25.00 to switch

10-year net

$1,557.27

Yearly running cost

$186
Old bulbs
$28
LED bulbs

$186.15$27.92 per year for the same light.

Why LEDs pay off

Same light, a fraction of the watts

A 9W LED produces about the same brightness (lumens) as an old 60W incandescent. Because you are billed on watts, not brightness, that 85% wattage cut turns directly into a lower bill for identical lighting.

Payback is usually months, not years

LEDs cost a little more up front, but at typical usage the energy saving covers the purchase price within months. After that, every hour the bulb is on is pure saving — and LEDs last far longer, so you also buy fewer replacements.

Target your most-used bulbs first

A bulb that runs 8 hours a day saves far more than one used 30 minutes a day. If you are switching gradually, start with kitchen, living room and outdoor lights that stay on longest to get the fastest return.

Heat is wasted money

Incandescent and halogen bulbs turn most of their energy into heat rather than light. In summer that heat can also make your air conditioner work harder, so the real-world saving from LEDs is often a little larger than the raw wattage difference suggests.

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