61,320 hours and counting

OK, it’s probably not quite that much, but it’s close. I write the date that all my LED bulbs are installed on the base of the bulb, and save the receipt, so that I can get a replacement for any that fail prematurely. I have one that is on pretty much 24/7/365, and it’s been in service for 7 years now. It’s a Cree, and was worth every penny I paid for it. I figure that it has saved me close to $500 in electricity over that time, and another $30-$50 in replacement bulbs.

I bought some of the very first Philips LED bulbs about 10 years ago. They were expensive–about $40 each. But I did the math and realized they would pay for themselves in under a year (8 hrs/day * 60 W * 365 days/yr * 0.001 kWh/Wh * $0.30/kWh = $52/yr). They’ve been extremely reliable (no failures over 10 years) and give good light quality.

I have had an OTT light in my Art room for about 12 years. They’re not usually that long lived. I use it everyday. On and off. Which I believe is harder on the bulbs.