LED light bulb costs less by
$17a year
$171 over ten years · LED light bulb uses 85% less electricity
LED light bulb 16 kWh a year against 110 kWh — at the US average rate of 18.34¢/kWh.
The verdict
The LED wins by roughly six to one for the same light. About 90% of an incandescent bulb’s energy leaves as heat rather than light, which is also why it is warm to touch. In summer an air conditioner then removes that heat, so each incandescent bulb costs its own electricity plus the cooling to undo it.
Side by side
LED light bulb and incandescent bulb are costed by the same function from the same dataset, so the $17 between them is a difference in the appliances and not in how each was measured. LED light bulb draws an average 9 W across the hours it runs; incandescent bulb draws 60 W across its own.
Both at 18.34¢/kWh, the EIA residential average for June 2026. Ten years is roughly the service life of either.
| LED light bulb | Incandescent bulb | Difference | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Electricity a year | 16 kWh | 110 kWh | 93 kWh |
| Cost a year | $3.01 | $20 | $17 |
| Cost a month | $0.25 | $1.67 | $1.42 |
| Over ten years | $30 | $201 | $171 |
The assumptions behind those figures
Nothing above is a manufacturer’s claim. 9 W at 100% for 5 hours a day, 365 days a year, is where LED light bulb’s 16 kWh comes from; 60 W at 100% for 5 hours over 365 days is where incandescent bulb’s 110 kWh comes from. The duty cycle is the input most published comparisons leave out, and it is why the ratings and the running costs are not in the same proportion here.
Change any of these on the appliance’s own page and every figure moves with it. The duty cycle is a property of the machine; the hours are a property of you.
| LED light bulb | Incandescent bulb | |
|---|---|---|
| Rated power | 9 W | 60 W |
| Duty cycle | 100% | 100% |
| Hours a day in service | 5 | 5 |
| Days a year | 365 | 365 |
| Average draw while in service | 9 W | 60 W |
Does the switch pay for itself?
The saving is $17 a year. What that has to pay back is the one number this site does not have — what LED light bulb costs you, installed, after whatever incentives you qualify for — and quotes for the same job differ by thousands. So put yours in rather than have this page invent one, and the arithmetic runs in front of you.
Divide the total on your bill by the kilowatt-hours it lists. That includes the fixed monthly charge, so it is your true cost — and it is usually a little above the state average.
Residential average for June 2026, from the EIA. Your own tariff may differ; you can read it off your bill.
The price after any rebate or tax credit you qualify for — that is the number the saving has to pay back.
Not how long it lasts — how long you expect to be the one paying the bill.
- Saving a year
- $17
- Pays back in
- —
- Net over 15 years
- —
- Electricity saved
- 93 kWh
once you enter a price
a year
Enter the quote you were actually given, after any rebate or credit. At the US average rate of 18.34¢ per kWh the switch saves $17 a year — that is the figure your quote has to pay back.
The gap in your state
The appliances are the same everywhere; the rate is not. The gap between these two is worth $49 a year in Hawaii and $12 in Nevada — 4× apart, on identical appliances.
A year of each, by state. Residential average price, EIA June 2026.
| State | Rate | LED light bulb | Incandescent bulb | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hawaii | 52.72¢ | $8.66 | $58 | $49 |
| California | 34.74¢ | $5.71 | $38 | $32 |
| Massachusetts | 29.61¢ | $4.86 | $32 | $28 |
| Maine | 29.59¢ | $4.86 | $32 | $28 |
| New York | 29.49¢ | $4.84 | $32 | $27 |
| Rhode Island | 29.23¢ | $4.80 | $32 | $27 |
| Alaska | 28.21¢ | $4.63 | $31 | $26 |
| New Hampshire | 27.01¢ | $4.44 | $30 | $25 |
| New Jersey | 24.95¢ | $4.10 | $27 | $23 |
| Vermont | 24.44¢ | $4.01 | $27 | $23 |
| District of Columbia | 24.39¢ | $4.01 | $27 | $23 |
| Connecticut | 24.32¢ | $3.99 | $27 | $23 |
| Michigan | 22.99¢ | $3.78 | $25 | $21 |
| Maryland | 21.84¢ | $3.59 | $24 | $20 |
| Pennsylvania | 21.73¢ | $3.57 | $24 | $20 |
| Illinois | 19.89¢ | $3.27 | $22 | $19 |
| Wisconsin | 19.56¢ | $3.21 | $21 | $18 |
| Delaware | 19.29¢ | $3.17 | $21 | $18 |
| Ohio | 19.19¢ | $3.15 | $21 | $18 |
| Minnesota | 17.52¢ | $2.88 | $19 | $16 |
| Indiana | 17.51¢ | $2.88 | $19 | $16 |
| Virginia | 17.22¢ | $2.83 | $19 | $16 |
| Colorado | 17.13¢ | $2.81 | $19 | $16 |
| Alabama | 16.4¢ | $2.69 | $18 | $15 |
| Georgia | 16.36¢ | $2.69 | $18 | $15 |
| Oregon | 16.32¢ | $2.68 | $18 | $15 |
| Missouri | 16.22¢ | $2.66 | $18 | $15 |
| Texas | 15.94¢ | $2.62 | $17 | $15 |
| Iowa | 15.93¢ | $2.62 | $17 | $15 |
| Kansas | 15.71¢ | $2.58 | $17 | $15 |
| South Carolina | 15.55¢ | $2.55 | $17 | $14 |
| West Virginia | 15.45¢ | $2.54 | $17 | $14 |
| South Dakota | 15.36¢ | $2.52 | $17 | $14 |
| Wyoming | 15.24¢ | $2.50 | $17 | $14 |
| Arizona | 15.18¢ | $2.49 | $17 | $14 |
| Montana | 15.14¢ | $2.49 | $17 | $14 |
| Florida | 15.1¢ | $2.48 | $17 | $14 |
| New Mexico | 15.06¢ | $2.47 | $16 | $14 |
| Washington | 14.91¢ | $2.45 | $16 | $14 |
| Mississippi | 14.88¢ | $2.44 | $16 | $14 |
| North Carolina | 14.74¢ | $2.42 | $16 | $14 |
| Idaho | 14.37¢ | $2.36 | $16 | $13 |
| Oklahoma | 14.33¢ | $2.35 | $16 | $13 |
| Kentucky | 14.26¢ | $2.34 | $16 | $13 |
| Arkansas | 14.12¢ | $2.32 | $15 | $13 |
| North Dakota | 14.12¢ | $2.32 | $15 | $13 |
| Tennessee | 14.07¢ | $2.31 | $15 | $13 |
| Louisiana | 13.49¢ | $2.22 | $15 | $13 |
| Utah | 13.37¢ | $2.20 | $15 | $12 |
| Nebraska | 13.25¢ | $2.18 | $15 | $12 |
| Nevada | 13.11¢ | $2.15 | $14 | $12 |
Questions
How much does switching one light bulb actually save?
How is LED light bulb’s 16 kWh a year calculated?
Is it worth replacing a bulb that still works?
Is there anything left to gain after switching?
Does my state change the answer?
Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Electric Power Monthly, Table 5.6.A, June 2026. U.S. Government work, public domain.
How every figure on this page is computed · Where the data comes from