House Projects

**asshanson** · 04-06-2014

Quote:

Originally Posted by scheides

First off, in the name of efficiency, I replaced of the most commonly used bulbs in my house with Cree brand LEDs from Home Depot. I made a nifty spreadsheet weighing hours used per day, wattage, etc and figure I should save a solid $20 per month with about a $300 investment. These things are supposed to last 20 years, so if they hold up like some of the other LED bulbs I have, I will be happy. I got the soft-white version and they are nearly identical to the incandescent bulbs that I replaced them with.

You inspired me to do LED replacement. So far I have just done the kitchen/dining room: 7 recessed floods, all were 65W. Replaced them with GE 10W that are actually a little brighter than the old bulbs. I went with GE because I found them for a few bucks cheaper than the Cree and the specs were nearly identical. Next I need to find 6 LED candle style for the living room ceiling fan and bedroom ceiling fan. That will probably be it, since we don't use the other rooms much. I figured it will take about a year for them to pay for themselves at $7.50 each.

Next up on the list is a projector for the basement. I'm getting one from our realtor, it's a couple years old but can't complain about free. Just have to find a screen now.

**asshanson** · 07-08-2016

Quote:

Originally Posted by asshanson

You inspired me to do LED replacement. So far I have just done the kitchen/dining room: 7 recessed floods, all were 65W. Replaced them with GE 10W that are actually a little brighter than the old bulbs. I went with GE because I found them for a few bucks cheaper than the Cree and the specs were nearly identical. Next I need to find 6 LED candle style for the living room ceiling fan and bedroom ceiling fan. That will probably be it, since we don't use the other rooms much. I figured it will take about a year for them to pay for themselves at $7.50 each.

Sooo, LED prices are getting cheaper every year. I bought a pack of 8.5W LED A19 bulbs with medium bases (i.e. standard sized light bulb) at Home Depot for $7/4pack. The light output is 800 lumens for 8.5W which is incredible efficiency. That will be like $5/year savings per bulb, so they pay for themselves in a few months.

My living room and bedroom only have overhead fan assemblies as the switchable light source, and they use the small candelabra bases, and LEDs really suck in this size with any substantial light output. So I rewired our ceiling fan to the usual 'medium base' light bulb sockets instead of the mini candelabra ($3/socket at menards with pigtail), and plugged in these crazy bright LED A19 bulbs. They look decent in the fan, and have WAY more light output for the same wattage as my old LED candelabra lights. It's by far one of the best $15 investments (bulbs and sockets total) I've ever made in the house, plus I can reuse the candelabra lights elsewhere now. And the CRI is awesome compared to the cheapo LEDs I bought off amazon from china, our living room felt dreary with those daylight LED bulbs before, it's amazing how much difference the CRI makes.

Any rate, I totally recommend the Phillips LED A19 bulbs on sale at Home Depot for $7 for 4pack. By far the cheapest LED bulbs I've seen and so far love the quality. (I have no stock in Home Depot, just trying to pass on a good deal to others).