Recently there have been numerous efforts and news articles, all suggesting, quite reasonably - to choose LED lights over CFL / Incandescent bulbs. About how LED bulbs are not only environment friendly but also energy efficient.
Several calculations are available on the net supporting this information - the quantum of energy that India can save, the cost - all huge figures. But they did not tell me how much I could save specifically, for I have already invested in CFLs. So, I have decided to calculate my savings based on a simple example - our usage at home. I already have about 7 CFLs installed at home, and I was wondering if it did make sense to replace them right now, while they were still functional.
For calculating costs, I checked my Reliance energy bill - which showed that although the Unit Rate / kwH is between only between Rs. 2.11-3.58/ unit (slab wise based on units), there are additional charges like Wheeling charge, RA Charge and FAC which is also calculated unit wise. If I add up all these, the cost comes to somewhere around Rs. 79-116 per unit, again depending upon the slab wise consumption. So for calculation purposes, I have taken a rate of Rs.100/kwH.
My workings are in the table below - please note that these are rough unprofessional workings, based on what I could understand - kindly do not quote the figures anywhere. And I have made 3 major assumptions for my 10 year chart: 1) LED life of 10 years, in which CFLs would have to be changed thrice, 2) Unit rate of power at Rs. 100/kwH and 3) Wattage of LED bulb required would be roughly half of CFL
Good links:
1. Comparison Chart
2. www.bijlibachao.com is a good website for all power-saving related questions
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| The Evolution of Lights - source wikimedia |
Several calculations are available on the net supporting this information - the quantum of energy that India can save, the cost - all huge figures. But they did not tell me how much I could save specifically, for I have already invested in CFLs. So, I have decided to calculate my savings based on a simple example - our usage at home. I already have about 7 CFLs installed at home, and I was wondering if it did make sense to replace them right now, while they were still functional.
For calculating costs, I checked my Reliance energy bill - which showed that although the Unit Rate / kwH is between only between Rs. 2.11-3.58/ unit (slab wise based on units), there are additional charges like Wheeling charge, RA Charge and FAC which is also calculated unit wise. If I add up all these, the cost comes to somewhere around Rs. 79-116 per unit, again depending upon the slab wise consumption. So for calculation purposes, I have taken a rate of Rs.100/kwH.
My workings are in the table below - please note that these are rough unprofessional workings, based on what I could understand - kindly do not quote the figures anywhere. And I have made 3 major assumptions for my 10 year chart: 1) LED life of 10 years, in which CFLs would have to be changed thrice, 2) Unit rate of power at Rs. 100/kwH and 3) Wattage of LED bulb required would be roughly half of CFL
The table above is only indicative - it does not consider inflation in the power cost above nor a possible decrease in the cost of CFLs in the future. And if checked by an engineer or a technical person, there may be various other shortcomings in the calculation - as I said, this is as rough as it gets. But even with these rough workings, I get the general idea about what it means when they say LEDs save power.
Even if the initial purchase cost is high, even for a home user like me, this can help in saving about Rs.200/- in electricity costs every month!!. Discounting for errors, even if I consider a saving of just 500-1000 per year, it still does make sense to invest in some - RIGHT NOW. I think I will scrap those CFLs now. And once I have replaced all CFLs with LEDs, I promise to post my actual savings in power bill on this blog.
Good links:
1. Comparison Chart
2. www.bijlibachao.com is a good website for all power-saving related questions
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