Comparison table

Comparison table

Cost Comparison for 60 watt incandescent equivalent light bulb (U.S. residential electricity prices)
	Incandescent	Halogen	CFL	LED (EcoSmart clear)	LED (Philips)	LED (Cree)
Purchase price	$0.41	$1.17	$0.99	$3.66	$1.50	$4.99
Watts	60	43	14	6.5	8.5	9.5
lumens (mean)	860	750	775	800	800	815
lumens/watt	14.3	17.4	55.4	123.1	94.1	85.8
Color Temperature kelvin	2700	2920	2700	2700	2700	2700
CRI	100	100	82	80	80	85
Lifespan (hours)	1,000	1,000	10,000	15,000	10,000	25,000
Lamp lifetime in years @ 6 hours/day	0.46	0.46	4.6	6.8	4.6	11.4
Energy cost over 20 years @ 11 cents/kWh	$289	$207	$67	$31	$41	$46
Total cost over 20 years	$307	$259	$70	$42	$48	$56
Total cost per 860 lumens	$307	$297	$78	$45	$52	$59
Comparison based on 6 hours use per day (43,800 hours over 20 yrs)

Energy Star qualification

• Reduces energy costs — uses at least 75% less energy than incandescent lighting, saving on operating expenses.

• Reduces maintenance costs — lasts 35 to 50 times longer than incandescent lighting and about 2 to 5 times longer than fluorescent lighting. No lamp-replacements, no ladders, no ongoing disposal program.

• Reduces cooling costs — LEDs produce very little heat.

• Is guaranteed — comes with a minimum three-year warranty — far beyond the industry standard.

• Offers convenient features — available with dimming on some indoor models and automatic daylight shut-off and motion sensors on some outdoor models.

• Is durable — won’t break like a bulb.

• Brightness is equal to or greater than existing lighting technologies (incandescent or fluorescent) and light is well distributed over the area lit by the fixture.

• Light output remains constant over time, only decreasing towards the end of the rated lifetime (at least 35,000 hours or 12 annums based on use of 8 hours per day).

• Excellent color quality. The shade of white light appears clear and consistent over time.

• Efficiency is as good as or better than fluorescent lighting.

• Light comes on instantly when turned on.

• No flicker when dimmed.

• No off-state power draw. The fixture does not use power when it is turned off, with the exception of external controls, whose power should not exceed 0.5 watts in the off state.

• Power factor of at least 0.7 for all lamps of 5W or greater.

In keeping with the long life claimed for LED lamps, long warranties are offered. However, currently there are no standardized testing procedures set by the Department of Energy in the United States to prove these assertions by each manufacturer. One manufacturer warrants lamps for professional use, depending upon type, for periods of (defined) "normal use" ranging from 1 year or 2,000 hours (whichever comes first) to 5 years or 20,000 hours. A typical domestic LED lamp is stated to have an "average life" of 15,000 hours (15 years at 3 hours/day), and to support 50,000 switch cycles.

Incandescent and Halogen lamps naturally have a power factor of 1, but Compact fluorescent and LED lamps use input rectifiers and this causes lower power factors. Low power factors can result in surcharges for commercial energy users; CFL and LED lamps are available with driver circuits to provide any desired power factor, or site-wide power factor correction can be performed. EU standards requires a power factor better than 0.5 for lamp powers up to 25 Watt and above 0.9 for higher power lamps.

Energy Star is an international standard for energy efficient consumer products. Devices carrying the Energy Star service mark generally use 20–30% less energy than required by US standards.

Energy Star LED qualifications:

To qualify for Energy Star certification, LED lighting products must pass a variety of tests to prove that the products will display the following characteristics: