Editor's Notepad

Are LED Lights a Waste of Money?

comments (0) September 2nd, 2011 in Blogs

Scott Gibson, contributing writer

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George Lee has purchased a house that needs a lot of work, and he's operating on a very tight budget. Still, he'd like to adopt energy saving measures wherever he can. He's at the point of ordering recessed lighting fixtures and is trying to decide whether to buy compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) or light-emitting diodes (LEDs), a newer and more expensive type of fixture.

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Both are much more efficient than standard incandescent bulbs, those cheap and cheerful bulbs that are notoriously energy wasters. CFLs produce more light per watt than incandescents, and they last far longer. LEDs have even a greater life, but they cost a good deal more.

Are LEDs really worth the extra expense, Lee asks in a Q&A post at GreenBuildingAdvisor? Or would he be better off avoiding recessed fixtures altogether? That's the subject of this week's Q&A Spotlight.

Read the whole article at Green Building Advisor.