LED lightbulb prices fall 12% in 2013

[Benton D Struckcheon]

Story at http://on.ft.com/19X6ndt

Bulb prices fell by 11.8 per cent year-on-year in December, dropping the average retail price of an LED bulb to $24.50.

You're also getting more bang, or light, for your buck - over the past twelve months the lumens per dollar ratio of LED bulbs has increased by 31 per cent to 29.9 lumens per dollar.

[LuvNewcastle]

1. Do you have another link to this story?

The Financial Times requires that you register to read their content and they charge.

[Benton D Struckcheon]

3. No other link,

and there isn't much more to be seen at the story anyway.

[FBaggins]

2. Is that all?

Maybe they're talking about all LED options (screens, flashlights, etc)...

... but my impression has been that LEDs that replace "regular" bulbs (comparable shape/size/brightness) have fallen by closer to 50% over the last year.

It's certainly moved into a range that I'm willing to shop at... and 12% wouldn't be a big enough difference.

On edit -

dropping the average retail price of an LED bulb to $24.50.

I should have looked at the specifics. I'm paying closer to $10/bulb for "normal" shaped, dimmable LEDs.

[Benton D Struckcheon]

4. Where, and how powerful are they? n/t

[FBaggins]

5. One of the warehouse stores

I'm pretty sure that it was Costco.

3-packs of globes (vanity-type that I actually prefer to the old 40-watt bulbs), 60watt equivalent "standard" shaped bulbs, and 40-watt equivalent narrow-base candle-type that take some getting used to (unless they're covered/shaded). I think they were all in the just-under-$30 range. All can be dimmed.

[hunter]

6. Pacific Gas & Electric is now subsidizing LEDs here.

Just as they subsidize CFLs.

I'm not buying CFL's anymore, but it will probably be a decade or more before I replace the last of them. I had quite a few CFLs last more than a decade, some of them in daily use.

Some CFL brands were crap, but PG&E seemed to avoid subsidizing those. I hope the same is true of their LED subsidies.

[cprise]

7. Waiting for high-CRI bulbs that are 'bright white'

I won't bother switching from CFLs to LEDs for the time being... the latter are all either stuck at 80CRI or 2700K.

I'm looking for bulbs that are 90+CRI and 3000-3500K.