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LED Savings Calculator

Savings = (old watts - LED watts) x bulbs x hours / 1,000 x rate; ten 60 W bulbs swapped for 9 W LEDs at 3 hours a day save $102.25 a year.

h

Choosing one fills a typical LED that gives the same lumens.

W
W
$

Leave empty to skip the payback time.

EIA residential averages, July 2026.

¢/kWh

Edit it to match your bill.

Savings per year

$102.25a year

558 kWh less a year, 85% less power.
Old bulbs cost
$120.30a year
LED bulbs cost
$18.04a year
Payback on $30.00 of LEDs
3.5months
The math

  1. Old bulbs

    60 W × 10 × 3 h × 365 ÷ 1,000 = 657 kWh

  2. LED bulbs

    9 W × 10 × 3 h × 365 ÷ 1,000 = 98.6 kWh

  3. Saved

    558.5 kWh × 18.31 ¢ ÷ 100 = $102.25

Typical LED watts come from DOE FEMP and FTC lumen comparisons. Rates: EIA residential averages, July 2026.

LED savings = (old watts − LED watts) × bulbs × hours ÷ 1,000 × rate per kWh. Ten 60 W incandescent bulbs swapped for 9 W LEDs, used 3 hours a day at the 18.31 cent U.S. average, save 558 kWh and $102.25 a year. At $3 a bulb the LEDs pay for themselves in about 3.5 months.

How LED savings are calculated

Each bulb uses watts × hours ÷ 1,000 kWh. The calculator does that for the old bulbs and for the LEDs over 365 days and prices the difference at your rate. Pick the old bulb and the calculator fills a typical LED that gives the same light, because the fair comparison is lumens, not watts.

Saved cost = (old W − LED W) × bulbs × hours × 365 ÷ 1,000 × rate

Worked example: ten 60 W bulbs, 3 hours a day

  • Old bulbs: 60 W × 10 × 3 h × 365 ÷ 1,000 = 657 kWh, $120.30
  • LED bulbs: 9 W × 10 × 3 h × 365 ÷ 1,000 = 98.55 kWh, $18.04
  • Saved: 558.45 kWh × $0.1831 = $102.25 a year, 85% less power
  • Payback: 10 bulbs × $3 = $30, divided by $102.25 a year, is 3.5 months

Lumens and LED equivalents

ENERGY STAR gives the light an LED must match: 450 lm replaces a 40 W bulb, 800 lm a 60 W, 1,100 lm a 75 W and 1,600 lm a 100 W. The Department of Energy publishes LED watts as ranges for those outputs (for example 5.9 to 10.5 W at 800 lm), and the FTC quotes about 9 W for 800 lm. The calculator uses 6, 9, 12 and 14 W and lets you type the real number from the package.

Old bulbTypical LEDSaved per bulb a year at 3 h a day, 18.31 cents
40 W6 W$6.82
60 W9 W$10.23
75 W12 W$12.63
100 W14 W$17.24

Which bulbs to change first

Savings scale with hours, so start with the fixtures that are on the longest: kitchen, living room, hallway and outdoor lights. A bulb used 1 hour a day saves a third of the table's amount, one used 6 hours saves double. Change hours to 6 and the ten-bulb example saves $204.50.

Payback and rates

Leave the bulb price empty to skip payback. State averages (EIA residential, July 2026) run from 12.72 cents to 48.00 cents, so the same swap saves about 70% of the U.S. figure in Louisiana and 2.6 times as much in Hawaii. Use the cents on your bill.

What to do next