My kitchen has 7 65W flood lights in it. They need to be replaced probably every year or two, and they cost about $7 or $8 at Wal-mart. In the past I have avoided CFL bulbs because I don't like the light they put off, they flicker, take a while to warm up, and I use dimmers in several rooms. I avoided LED bulbs because they were prohibitively expensive.

But I was at Costco the other day and they had 13W LED floodlight bulbs (65W equivalent) for $18 each. These bulbs have the same warm 2700k temperature as incandescent bulbs. So I picked one up. It is actually a little brighter than the 65W bulbs (750 lumens), and the color temp is exactly the same. I'm very pleased.

So I just ran the numbers. Over 10 years, having to replace the regular bulbs every 2 years at $8 a pop, and assuming 6 hours per day usage and $.10 per KWH electricity cost (which is pretty accurate here in Texas), I will save about $135 per bulb over 10 years using an LED bulb compared to the regular incandescent floodlights. That is assuming I actually get the advertised 25,000 hour life out of these LED bulbs. That would be a big plus because it seems like I'm always replacing burned out bulbs.

I have around 80-90 light bulbs in the house. Round the savings down to $100, and that is $8000 savings over 10 years, or $800 per year. Not bad. If this works out like I calculate, I think I have bought my last incandescent bulb.