“A recent U.S. Department of Energy forecast predicts that LEDs will represent 76 percent of the general illumination market by 2030,
but Lemnis predicts 80 percent market penetration by 2020 due to significant price drops such as this one and further innovations in LED technology,” the company behind the bulb noted in the news release and says that the bulbs have a pay-back time of 6 months to 2 years and are expected to last over 10 years—that means some big-time savings!
“The new Pharox BLU 200-lumen model is a ‘no frills,’ non-dimmable consumer LED and is the first branded LED replacement bulb with a price that starts under $5. It comes with a one-year warranty.” Seems odd that the warranty is only for one year, while the lifespan is for an estimated 10 or so, but still seems worth giving a shot. However, the next two bulbs on the ladder offer a longer warranty, at least.
“The XL line is aimed at home and commercial customers who want to be sure of a longer-lasting LED and the 3 year/35,000 hour warranty to back it up. Finally, the Energy Star-qualified Pharox PRO bulbs (coming soon) are designed with the commercial and rebate-driven customer in mind and will carry a 5-year replacement guarantee.”
Again, the savings potential from going with LED over incandescent light bulb is huge. “A typical 40-watt incandescent bulb costs approximately $5.69 per year to use at $0.13 per kWh, three hours a day. The equivalent Pharox 350 lumen bulb (BLU, XL and PRO) costs just $0.85 per year in energy use. As these durable LED bulbs last between 15,000 – 35,000 hours, in most cases they pay for themselves in less than two years and keep on paying for years after.”
