How Much Will I Save by Switching to LED Landscape Lights?

The Bulb and Replacements

• How often you have to buy new bulbs of the type that you are currently using versus the cost of a new LED bulb is a factor in calculating savings. For example, the Earth Easy website notes that you could go through about five fluorescent lights in the time it would take to wear out one LED. Yet, the cost of a compact fluorescent bulb for use in an outdoor fixture is about $5 to $9, compared to nearly $36 for LED bulbs. Based on this example, if you usually use cheaper bulbs, you won’t save on the initial cost of the LED, but if you’ve been using more expensive bulbs, you eventually save about $9 just on the cost of the bulbs alone. But if you have to buy new fixtures along with the LED bulbs, then that could end up costing you more over the life of the bulb than if you had stayed with your original fixtures and bulbs.

Electricity Costs

• The wattage of the bulbs also saves money. LEDs use the least amount of electricity when compared with halogen, incandescent and fluorescent lighting, so if you are already saving on the cost of the bulbs, the lower power requirements will reduce your electric bills. A 20-watt halogen, landscape bulb will use much more electricity than that required by a 3.5-watt LED. While landscape and outdoor lighting might not be on constantly, but over time, even a few cents per day adds up.

Pitfalls

• Since LED landscape lighting is a more recent innovation, not every house may be equipped to handle LED lighting. Even if you take your bulbs and fixtures with you when moving to a new home, you’ll have to evaluate the wiring and the layout, possibly adding more lights and fixtures and increasing your cost. LED lights also begin to fade instead of suddenly going out. Even at peak performance, they release less light than other types of bulbs. This might require you to add more LED fixtures to increase the light, adding to your costs. This can negate any savings.

Warning

• One potential hazard to keep in mind if you choose LED landscape lighting is that the lower temperatures given off by the lights don’t always melt snow. If you plan to use the lights during winter and you live in an area where it snows, the lights could become buried under the snow. You wouldn’t be able to see them or your yard, making LEDs a pointless addition to your home and requiring at least one light with a hotter bulb, such as halogen. Some manufacturers claim their LED landscape bulbs are hot enough to melt snow, but as ABC News reported in January 2010, many LEDs are too cold to melt snow. This led to several accidents in states like Illinois due to snow-blocked stoplights.