Save With LED Lights

It’s a no-brainer: great bulb, less energy.

Upgrade to energy-efficient LED light bulbs. Take this step and decide a level of commitment that works for you. Give yourself a month and see how you do.

Try it

How many hours are your lights on each day?

Save With LED Lights

LED lights are the most energy-efficient bulbs available. They produce the same amount of light as incandescent bulbs using 90 percent less energy. Because unlike older technologies, most of the energy LEDs use goes into creating light, rather than wasting energy on heat.

Making the switch is easy. You can replace almost any bulb currently in use with LEDs, and they come in many different colours and styles. They might cost a bit more than a regular bulb, but they last up to 20 times longer so they’ll save you money in the long run.

Tips

First, check what bulbs you have. Incandescent and halogen bulbs look like the old style bulbs with a glowing filament. Both are hot to touch when turned on because of the energy they waste producing heat. You should definitely replace these bulbs with LEDs as soon as you can.

To find LEDs that match the brightness and color of your current bulbs, make a note of the ”lumens” (brightness) and color (a four-digit number ending in “k”).

CFLs or Compact Fluorescent Lamps (the twisty bulbs) are much more efficient than incandescents, so you should only consider replacing them with LEDs when they burn out.

Once you’ve replaced your light bulbs, make sure you recycle or dispose of your old lights in a safe way - check with your local authorities or hardware store.

Search out an online newsletter, like the Carbon Brief, to stay informed and how others are taking action on climate.

Benefits

Switching to LED lights is a simple and effective way to save on energy bills. LED bulbs might cost a bit more than regular bulbs, but they last up to 20 times longer than incandescent bulbs so you won’t have to replace them as often. You’ll use less energy and buy fewer bulbs, saving you more money over time.

You’ll also cut your carbon emissions. If we all switched our homes to LED bulbs, we could save over 10 gigatons of carbon dioxide emissions - that’s like turning off the world’s coal power plants for a whole year.

REFERENCES

10 gigatons of emissions is equivalent to the annual emissions all coal power plants operational on earth as of 2019.

International Energy Agency

LEDs use 90 percent less energy than incandescent bulbs for the same amount of light.

LED Lighting, Project Drawdown

As LEDs replace less-efficient lighting, 10.2–10.8 gigatons of carbon dioxide emissions could be avoided in residences and 5.9–6.7 gigatons in commercial buildings.

LED Lighting, Project Drawdown

Residential LEDs are ten more efficient than incandescent bulbs, and last 15-20 times longer.

United Nations Environment Program
Impact metric calculations

To determine the carbon emission reduction estimates related to switching to LED lights, the following calculation was performed:

(hours of bulb operation /day) x (number of bulbs to be replaced) x (days/months) x (wattage of Current bulb - wattage of LED bulb) x ((country-specific grid electricity emission factor in kg CO2/kWh) / (1000 Wh/kWh) = kg CO2e / month

For detailed calculations, references and assumptions, please see our Methodology.