Price Drop On LED Lightbulbs

I heard from a friend today that Lowes has some 9.5w LEDs, 60 w equivalent incandescent, 800 Lumens, soft white, non-dimmable, 13.7 year life bulbs on sale for $2.48  (7/19/2015).  They were originally $6. 

They are Utilitech bulbs, which my friend (and I) have found to be good bulbs.  Of course the sale price might be because they have a rated lifetime of only 13.7 years.  That compares with “normal” LED bulb marketing that claims 22 years. Utilitech, Osram, GE, Sylvania... have bulbs they say will last 22 years. 

Thinking out loud, with 22 years a company could claim that your “lifetime savings” would be greater than, say 13.7 years.  Think about replacing the CFLs with these lower priced LED's.  CFL's use twice the energy of LED's and run warmer than LED’s.  Think about saving AC costs, not to mention electricity for the bulbs themselves. Some 60 watt equivalent CFL bulbs draw 15 watts, as compared to only 9.5 for these particular LED bulbs for the same light output.

I have made several Blog posts on LED bulbs over the last two years, so go back and read them all if this topic interests you. If price has been your reason not to consider LED bulbs, this “sale” might be your turning point.

Note that not all LED bulbs are created equal, however, they have various light spectrums, (warm white, cool white), and some LED bulbs throw the bulk of their light straight up (good some, but not all applications). Others scatter the light up and down more evenly, which I like for table lamps and ceiling fixtures.  I haven’t personally tested the Utilitech bulbs, but will do so and report later.