My porch light has been burned out for many months now, mostly because the hardware is hard to close once I’ve opened it.
If I could find a light bulb that would last a very long time with the added bonus of being energy efficient, it would make my life much easier.
LED light bulbs aren’t new, but they are starting to look more like light bulbs than they have in the past. The average monthly cost of a 12-watt LED is about 11 cents a month, rather than a 75-watt incandescent bulb which can run about 68 cents a month, according to Avista’s Energy Guide.
Another benefit of an LED light bulb is it lasts a lot longer than an incandescent. The bulb I chose has an average life of 25,000 hours. The label said that if I use it only for three hours a day, that could be about 22.8 years. Considering how much of a pain it is to change my porch light, that is good news. I also compared prices between LED and incandescent bulbs online: they seem to be about even.
So, this week, I broke out the screw drivers and changed my porch light. I still have to get it put back together (this is definitely a project for the weekend), but when my boyfriend comes home late from work, he won’t have to stumble up the stairs.
I thought I’d make this project a little more fun, so I found some solar-powered lights to stick in the ground along my walkway. Solar power is free, so I found some for $5 each and let them charge in the daylight. I also found a string of solar-powered Edison-like bulbs that were reasonably priced, but I’m going to have to find a new place to put the charger. I have two very large maple trees in front of the house that block out the sun on my porch, so they aren’t lighting up very bright yet. I figure, if I have an old house, there are always going to be projects. I have time to figure this out.