What did you do to save $ today?

This is one of those little investments that (I hope) will save me money. I believe it will.

Okay, background... I've been investing in a change-over of all our battery-powered flashlights & lanterns from incandescent-bulb ones to LEDs, over the last 3-4 years.

Finally took the plunge with replacing two 60w incandescents in our house with 9w Edison-base LED bulbs, costing $8.16 each, with free shipping. (Brand is Light-In-The-Box.) I acquired these through a "sale" offering at Amazon.ca - the Canadian version of Amazon.com.

The reason we've waited so long in our home to try the LED room lighting is initial outlay cost: here in Canada prices like $18-27 are not uncommon for name-brand 9w LED bulbs.

These are 5000* Kelvin soft-light bulbs, so they simulate outdoor sunlight but are a little less "warm" in tone than standard incandescents (which tend to be 2700-3500*K). The ones I bought give strong but diffused light that I'd say gives the impression of light from 75w conventional frosted bulbs. Great for reading lamps! They are reputed to be very long-lived, and to save electricity costs - since they're using less than 1/6 the conventional amount of juice.

I do think that prices on well-known brands like Cree will be coming down considerably in the near future.

I got a bunch of Cree on sale last spring for $9 each (sale and rebate from local power company). Finished changing over all the bulbs that hadn't been switched. I like the warmer color. I tried the daylight ones but just don't like that color, so I gave them to Mom because she does.

Hinotori said:

I got a bunch of Cree on sale last spring for $9 each (sale and rebate from local power company). Finished changing over all the bulbs that hadn't been switched. I like the warmer color. I tried the daylight ones but just don't like that color, so I gave them to Mom because she does.

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I'd change 'em pretty well all over in our house, if the price came down to that. It will take a while, though, in Canada.

I like the daylight bulb just fine for reading. But for room light, I agree with you, I want the warmer tone (like old-fashioned incandescents).

I'm wanting to go w/LEDs. I'm noticing the others seem to bother my eyes after awhile.

If I get LED's, I'll probably go with the daylight ones- should help me with my SADD too

Britesea said:

If I get LED's, I'll probably go with the daylight ones- should help me with my SADD too

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Well, I just bought our household's first "warm light" LED bulb. This one's to illuminate the sink, where we do the dishes. It has a nice feel for that situation. It goes into a hanging fixture that places the bulb around head height over the sink. This bulb is 500 lumens (so equivalent to maybe a 40-45w incandescent), so this is quite enough light.

The bulb uses 6.5 watts - so around 1/7 the amount of power. It cost $11, and would be cheaper no doubt in the U.S. Brand is Cozyair. These bulbs are expected to have a lifespan of 40,000 hours, and I bought it from a man I know who works in a Canadian hardware-store chain location, and he assured me the store stands behind them.

I'm saving receipts: The familiar old incandescents, with a lifespan of maybe 1/30 of what these LEDs are supposed to have, became so cheap to buy that no one would have kept receipts or worried about replacement. I've started a file to keep my receipts, noted with which location in our house or shop where the bulb is used. I want my money's-worth with the LEDs, because of the up-front cost.

@Joel_BC I'd be interested to hear if it worked out cheaper for you long-term. We've tried the energy saver bulbs and they don't last? Apparently it's because our electricity supply is iffy, sometimes we get "half power" and that kills the bulbs. The bulbs cost easily 5x as much as incandescents, so it made sense for us to buy the latter rather, though I noticed DH bought energy savers again.

sumi said:

@Joel_BC I'd be interested to hear if it worked out cheaper for you long-term. We've tried the energy saver bulbs and they don't last? Apparently it's because our electricity supply is iffy, sometimes we get "half power" and that kills the bulbs.

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The newer bulbs have often been made to work with power variations. We get line-power issues here, too. Right now, in this respect, I'm feeling more confident with the warm-white one I bought. Time will tell with the bulbs I bought.

Drinking tea made from free local wild herbs (weeds). : )

Hinotori said:

I've pulled out and dusted off the old bread machine I used to use all the time. I haven't used it in 6+ years (before our move back this way from the east coast). I figure if I make a loaf in it two to three times a week, the little bit of ingredients and power it uses will more than pay for itself and be better bread.

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I made bread in my bread machine as well, DH was going to the store for bread that I can't stand and the bread machine is so much better. Sold $20 of cukes too, I've done enough pickles!!