It’s an old tale that switching the lights off in a room can save you money. That tale is accurate but doesn’t save you much, depending on which lightbulb you have. But are some light bulbs worth the energy of turning off?

Not all bulbs have the same efficiency. The amount of electricity you save by turning that switch off depends on the light bulb being used in your household. 

Incandescent 

One 60-watt incandescent uses 0.06 kWh (kilowatt) of electricity per hour. At $0.11 per kWh per 1,000 hours of use, that bulb consumes $6.60 in electricity per year. 

Halogen 

One 43-watt halogen bulb uses around 25% less electricity than the Incandescent bulb, each costing on average around $4.73 per 1,000-hour use. 

Compact Fluorescents 

One 15-watt Compact Fluorescent bulb uses around 75% less energy than the Incandescent bulb, costing about $1.65 per bulb every 1,000 hours. 

LED Bulb

The LED bulb is 80% more efficient than the incandescent bulb, and a single 12-watt light bulb costs around $1.32 per 1,000 hours of usage. 

This doesn’t sound like a lot per single bulb. However, the average household has around 40 bulbs, accounting for about 20% of your electric bill. Looking at closer numbers, that’s about:

• 24 each year for 10 Incandescent bulbs left on a single hour per day 
• $17 a year for 10 Halogen bulbs left running an hour daily 
• $6 per year for 10 Compact Fluorescents left on for an hour daily 
• $5 per year for 10 LEDs left on for an hour daily 

Building better habits (like turning the light off when leaving a room) takes extra time, and turning the lights off saves money and energy. This small effort can make a huge impact when multiplied by the number of households and businesses across the U.S. Combined with these decisions, it helps your wallet and the environment. 

Suppose you’re tired of going back and forth to deal with lights you or your family members left on. In that case, you may want to consider options such as dimmers, timers, and motion detectors. Don’t add extra money to your electric bill; keep the lights off, and help your wallet and the environment.