LED vs Incandescent Savings Calculator
See how much a switch from incandescent to LED bulbs saves in electricity each year across all the bulbs in your home.
How it works
kWh/year = watts × bulbs × hours/day × 365 ÷ 1000 · Savings = (old − new) cost
LEDs produce the same light as incandescent bulbs while drawing roughly 80–90% less power, because incandescents waste most of their energy as heat. The savings scale with how many bulbs you replace and how long they burn each day, so the biggest wins come from high-use fixtures like kitchen, living-room and porch lights. LEDs also last far longer, adding replacement-bulb savings on top of the electricity figure shown here.
Worked example
Ten 60 W bulbs on 5 hours a day use 60 × 10 × 5 × 365 ÷ 1000 = 1095 kWh a year — $186.15 at $0.17/kWh. Nine-watt LED equivalents use 164.25 kWh, or $27.92. The switch saves $158.23 a year and cuts that lighting energy by 85%.
Frequently asked questions
What LED wattage replaces my old bulb?
As a rule of thumb an LED uses about one-sixth to one-seventh the watts for the same brightness: 9 W replaces 60 W, 12 W replaces 75 W, and 15 W replaces 100 W. Match on lumens, not watts, to be sure — a 60 W incandescent puts out roughly 800 lumens.
Does this count the cost of buying the LEDs?
No, it compares only running cost. LEDs cost more up front but usually pay for themselves within months on a high-use fixture, and because they last 15,000–25,000 hours you also avoid buying many replacement incandescents over their life.
Do LEDs really last longer?
Yes — a typical LED is rated for 15,000–25,000 hours versus about 1,000 for an incandescent, so one LED can outlast 15 or more old bulbs. That cuts both replacement cost and the hassle of changing hard-to-reach bulbs.
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This calculator is for educational purposes. Double-check important results before acting on them.