LED Lightbulbs

Over the past couple of years, incandescent light bulbs have been phased out.  No longer can you find the 100 and 75 watt versions of the light bulbs that we all grew up with.

The most easily found replacement are CFL's.  I am not a fan of CFL's for several reasons: they are expensive, and only last as long as an incandescent.  They are made in China.  They contain mercury, and it is difficult to dispose of them.  You are not supposed to dump them in the landfill.  We take ours to Lowe's, as they have a CFL disposal bin right inside the front door.  The problem is, I will collect 5 or 6 of them before I make the trip up to the closest Lowe's.

I found LED light bulbs.  They do not contain mercury, and they last for 10,000 hours (or so they say) before they burn out.  They are expensive, though.

I first found LED light bulbs through the FIRST Robotics teams in our area.  The purchase of these light bulbs goes to support STEM education in my local community, and I am investing in a quality light bulb.  These bulbs are made with the latest and greatest in technology.  Dean Kamen, (the founder of FIRST, and the same guy who invented the Segway and the insulin pump) has put resources into getting these LED light bulbs developed.

There are some really cool features to the LED lights:
They are dimmable.
They are omni-directional.
Warm, white color.  (Not that weird light you get from CFL's)
25,000 hour life equal to 22 years when used 3 hours a day.
It's a NORTH AMERICAN product.  Designed in Florida, made in Mexico.

I replaced a couple of light bulbs in our house well over a year ago.  Actually, it's close to 2 years ago now.  I put them in the overhead chandelier over the dining room table.  I've replaced the CFL's in the kitchen twice since then, but my LED's are still going strong.

The cost of running one of the LED's for a year is $1.02 for the 40 watt bulb equivalent, and $1.63 for the 60 watt bulb equivalent.    They also run cooler, so they are not providing more heat for the atmosphere that must then be cooled down during the summer.

These particular light bulbs are only available through FIRST robotics teams.  To find our more about the light bulbs, or to find a team in your local area that is selling these light bulbs, follow this link:

http://www.usfirst.org/roboticsprograms/headlines/first-green-e-watt-saver

It will take you directly to the information page about these LED's, and then take you to the page where you can find more information about the local teams selling light bulbs. 

I have found similar bulbs at Lowe's and Home Depot, for close to the same price point I'd pay for the bulbs from a FIRST team.  Honestly, I'd rather have the money go to support STEM education in the form of robotics teams than I would like to have the money go to the corporate entity.  The home improvement stores get enough of my money as it is. 

I just bought another handful of light bulbs.  The lights in the bathroom are out, and I'm going to put the 40 watt bulbs into that fixture.  I also have a fixture in the basement that needs new light bulbs.  That fixture will also be receiving the new bulbs.

A green, low energy light bulb that is good for our environment?  It sounds like a win to me!

I'm not paid to endorse these lights.  I use them, and I love the fact that they are gentler on our environment than CFL's.