The Lowdown on LED Light Bulbs from Home Depot

Home Depot invited us to check out their lineup of LED light bulbs which we've been wanting to investigate since watching an episode of This New house that profiled some offerings from Philips Lighting.

Blake who has been a Home Depot Associate for 6 years and is a member of Home Depot's new online community, guided us through the LED light bulbs available from Home Depot and laid out some key facts that we think everyone should take into consideration before investing in another light bulb.

1. LED light bulbs save energy
Depending on your current utility rates, LED lights can save you up to 80% of energy costs compared to using incandescent bulbs which is also 10-15% more savings than a CFL can offer. A 9-watt ecosmart LED bulb is equivalent to a 40-watt incandescent.

2. LED light bulbs are dimmable
One of the drawbacks to CFL's is they are not compatible to dimmers which we recommend for aesthetic and energy-saving reasons. There are CFL's are claim to be compatible but they don't work seamlessly and can take time to warmup.

Traditional incandescent bulb next to the ecosmart LED light bulb

3. LED light bulbs give off no heat
LED and CFL light bulbs radiate very minimal heat which makes it easier to handle if changing and lessens the opportunity for a fire hazard.

4. LED light bulbs are eco-friendly
LED light bulbs can be thrown away just like traditional bulbs without concern of impacting landfills and releasing harmful chemicals that CFL's can. There is also no danger associated with dropping and breaking LED bulbs as there can be with broken CFL's. The LED bulbs from Philips and EcoSmart can also be recycled.

5. LED light bulbs are long-lasting
The basic a style light bulb from ecosmart (shown above) is rated at 50,000 hours of life which is roughly 6 straight years of leaving the light on all the time. In most applications this bulb will last 12-15 years or more. Saving you money to replace as well as creating less end user trash.

The LED light bulb options will continue to expand as demand grows and the only barrier we foresee to full mainstream acceptance of LED's is the current price point which can be 3-5x more than the cost of traditional or CFL bulbs. Thinking long-term the LED's are a better investment from a life of product standpoint and in energy savings, but in the short-term the initial investment may keep many consumers and builders from taking the LED plunge. As demand for LED light bulbs continues to increase the prices will come down but we feel the current investment in LED bulbs is definitely worth it.

Here's Blake in his own words sharing the LED light bulb lineup available at Home Depot.

Check back soon as we review the ecosmart bulbs as well as the home security outdoor floodlight from Philips.

Disclosure:
The Home Depot works with bloggers such as myself to conduct product reviews. They do not tell bloggers what to say about their products or how to say it. THD fundamentally believes that people should be free to form their own opinions and share them in their own words. The Home Depot often provides product - free of charge - to bloggers for review as they did for this post. The Home Depot's policies align with WOMMA Ethics Code, FTC guidelines and social media engagement recommendations.