Ask Your Residential Electrician in Trumbull, CT to Help You Go Green with LEDs
The environment is an important topic in today’s world. We are all trying to do our part to be more efficient with our resources, including reusing, recycling and reducing our carbon footprint as much as possible. From turning off the water while brushing our teeth to starting a compost pile for our food scraps, each of us has a different way of helping out. One great way to be greener in your home is to switch out your regular bulbs for LEDs. A qualified residential electrician in Trumbull, CT can help you find the right bulbs and even install them for you, so don’t hesitate to ask for assistance. Here are a few facts about LED bulbs that you should know.
LEDs are economical
If you have incandescent bulbs, as so many of us do, you’re probably accustomed to changing out your bulbs pretty frequently—often annually or even more often, depending on how much use the light gets. With LED bulbs, you may be able to get 20 or more years of use out of a single bulb—a pretty impressive upgrade! They cost a little extra up front, but it’s a small investment for many years of use.
LEDs are cutting edge
LED bulbs have been around for some time now, and they continue to evolve and become better every year. There are now many varieties to choose from, and you can find LEDs that have the warm light of the incandescent bulbs to which you might be accustomed.
LEDs have a different rating system
When you shop for incandescent bulbs, you check wattage to find out how bright the bulb will be; it’s standard procedure. So, it’s important to note that LED bulbs use a different measure. Wattage actually tells us how much energy the incandescent bulb draws when in use, and because there is a close correlation between brightness and wattage, this measurement works for buyers. However, LEDs draw less energy, which means that wattage is less accurate. For example, you might pick up an incandescent bulb that shows 60W, and then a comparable LED bulb, and see it has perhaps eight to 12 watts. That’s a huge and pretty confusing difference!
Instead of trying to make a conversion in your head, check for lumens, the standard LED unit. Lumens will tell you how bright your LED is, and the units can range from low numbers such as 450 to as high as 2600.
Some parts of your home won’t be right for LED bulbs
LED bulbs are a great and green investment, but unfortunately they may not be the right choice for certain areas of your home. While it’s true that LED bulbs tend to run much cooler than incandescent bulbs, they do still produce heat. The beauty of the LED is that this heat is drawn out of the bulb and dissipated, which increases its longevity. If the bulb doesn’t have a way to get rid of this heat—for example, if you place it in an enclosed housing—it will not serve its purpose.
Ask your experienced electrician in Trumbull, CT at New England Electrical Contracting, Inc. to help you determine where LEDs will go in your home, and what type to purchase.