Sustainability: Best Place for One LED

If you have only one LED light bulb to start upgrading your home, where would you install it? The Kitchen table or living room seems to be the most popular places because we turn on the light when we are getting ready for the day in the mornings, and again when we get home. We spend a fair amount of time in, through, or around this room until it is time to retire for the day. Mathematically, we would save more electricity for a faster payback in the location where this light bulb is installed. The porch light outside the front door may be on all the time, or have a sensor or timer that keeps it on from dusk to dawn. However, in engineering terms, the biggest savings from an LED light bulbs do not come directly from the electric savings, but from the total energy savings. This is why the refrigerator may be the best location for upgrading to an LED light bulb. Most of the energy in a home is used for heating and cooling. The light in the fridge is only on for a few minutes a day as we get things in and out of the refrigerator, but during this time the light bulb heats up quickly and after we close the door the fridge has to cool down from the heat generated by the light bulb. While it is expensive to upgrade to a new Energy Star Refrigerator, upgrading the light bulb to an Energy Star LED will achieve the big savings without the big expense, and will extend the life of the refrigerator.
Only Energy Star labeled LED bulbs are tested to last a 25,000 hour lifetime. Energy Star labeled LEDs often also qualify for utility rebates. Avoid the off brand or shorter lifetime bulbs. The most important part of the energy savings we can achieve is on our time. Think of how much time it takes to replace a light bulb, first we go to the store whether physically or virtually, then we get a ladder in place to safely replace the burnt out bulb, and finally to dispose of the old bulb and the packaging for the new bulb. Realize that for every light bulb, about 45 in the average house, you could replace up to 25 cheap bulbs in the same lifetime as one good quality bulb. Now, imagine that you have to pay someone to replace those lightbulbs.