How LED Lighting Stacks Up in Outdoor Lighting

Incandescent vs Fluorescent vs LED Lighting

All lighting projects can be complex, expensive and filled with hidden challenges. Whether you’re a city planner, a business designer, an architect, or simply a concerned citizen, you want to choose the right type of lighting for your project’s parameters. This choice is more challenging than ever, giving the growth of lighting options, including incandescent, fluorescent, halogen and LED lighting. Let’s make sense of the chaos by taking a look at some of the stats and history.

Incandescent bulbs have dominated the lighting industry for over 100 years, ever since Thomas Edison introduced his patented technology in 1880. Incandescents are cheap: a light bulb generally costs just under $1.

Compact Fluorescents – also known as CFLs – can cost 2 times as much. LED bulbs can be much pricier – $10 or even more, depending on the type of bulb.

From a pure cost benefit standpoint, therefore, it seems like incandescents beat the competition. CFLs and halogens are somewhere in the middle. And LEDs are the most expensive, but also the most cost-effective and eco-friendly.

You also need to consider bulb life. A standard incandescent will last around 1200 hours, according to the independent group, Eartheasy.com. CFLs, meanwhile, can last 10,000 hours. LED bulbs can last 50,000 hours or longer.

That’s not all. You also need to examine the cost of energy. A 60W incandescent, for instance, may consume around $7 to $8 a year in energy costs, depending on factors such as the energy market in your area. A 13W CFL bulb — same brightness! — will run you about $1.50 a year. Meanwhile, an 8W LED should cost you less than $1 for that same amount of time.

So if you’re trying to choose among incandescents, halogens, fluorescents and LEDs — all things being equal — what should you use? The answer may depend on many factors, such as:

• The nature and timeframe of your lighting project(s);
• Your energy usage;
• The amount of maintenance that you need to do on the property.

Over the long run, LED bulbs “win” the savings race, because their upfront costs are more than amortized out. You’ll pay more upfront, but you’ll get much more use out of the light.
We haven’t even touched on the aesthetic advantages of LEDs. Many people find these bulbs to be aesthetically more appealing and versatile.

For Outdoor LED Lighting Projects:

For help choosing LEDs for your outdoor lighting project, connect with the team at Great Basin Lighting today by calling 925-240-1566 (California) or 775-333-0900 (Nevada) for a free consultation.