Why Are LED Bulbs Expensive?
22 September 2015
There are lots of reasons why LED bulbs are the best option when choosing lighting for your home; money saving, longer lasting and better light quality. However, one opposition from people considering the switch from, say, halogens to LEDs is Why Are LED Bulbs Expensive in price per lamp. It's true you can buy a halogen GU10 spotlight for under £1 when the equivalent LED Gu10 is £4.79 from LEDHut. While the scepticism over the price difference is understandable, today we'll explain why this is and why the benefits of LED still far outweigh the extra cost. LED bulbs are a new technology, and as with most modern advancements or inventions there’s always a bedding-in period before they become the norm. This'll mean that they're sold in smaller quantities and only made by a few manufacturers. The more frequently an item is made, the cheaper the production becomes due to technological advancements and new processes. In that sense, the more people buy LEDs, the cheaper they will become. There's already evidence of this; when LEDs first came on the market they were far more expensive than they are now. LED bulbs are far more complex than halogens, thus making them more expensive;
How do LEDs save you money? They use less energy to produce the same amount of light as halogen bulbs. This means your electricity bills will be much lower. To see this in action we tested a Halogen Vs LED bulb with our MiHome products. How much could I save? In a house that has 30 bulbs you can make a saving of £23.18 every month. The best part is that LEDs last for over 15 years so you’d make a saving of £4,172.40 over the lifespan of the bulbs. This isn’t even including the cost of replacing all those blown halogen bulbs. This was worked out by using the present average UK electricity rate of 15p kWh and most frequently used 50w bulb to produce a base rate. Our closest LED equivalent to this bulb was then compared to it. The calculation was based on a 28 day month (so savings are really more over a yearly period). If you'd like to see how much you could save, have a go on our LED Savings Calculator here > Why are some LEDs cheaper on places like Ebay? It pays to buy quality and unfortunately some people sell poorly made bulbs at a cut rate price. Unfortunately these bulbs will often fail and can produce poorer light. The phrase ’buy cheap buy twice’ is very appropriate as you will probably end up buying better bulbs after being disappointed with cheap imitations. You can see here how they use inferior parts. 
Hopefully this has explained why LEDs are a little more expensive, but at the same time proved that this cost should been seen as an investment that pays off immensely. A spend of £143.70 on 30 LED bulbs will save you £4,172.40 over the 15 years lifespan of the bulbs. Yes, these 30 bulbs would have only cost £24 if you bought halogens, but you'd be spending 90% more on your electricity bills and be replacing blown bulbs all the time. Also to point out is that LED bulbs may get cheaper over time, however every day you carry on using your halogens you're wasting money. In the example above it would be £24.18 each month. It would take a long time for these savings to take over the extra spent on buying LED bulbs today. Make the switch today to LED bulbs today here >
- There’s more sophisticated technology both in the bulb and manufacturing process of LEDs.
- More parts are used be make an LED bulb.
- Certain components are costly before construction (such as bulbs containing a driver for example)
- Even though LEDs run considerably cooler than halogens and incandescents, the little heat they produce still needs to be dispelled. This is usually performed by use of aluminium which is costly.
How do LEDs save you money? They use less energy to produce the same amount of light as halogen bulbs. This means your electricity bills will be much lower. To see this in action we tested a Halogen Vs LED bulb with our MiHome products. How much could I save? In a house that has 30 bulbs you can make a saving of £23.18 every month. The best part is that LEDs last for over 15 years so you’d make a saving of £4,172.40 over the lifespan of the bulbs. This isn’t even including the cost of replacing all those blown halogen bulbs. This was worked out by using the present average UK electricity rate of 15p kWh and most frequently used 50w bulb to produce a base rate. Our closest LED equivalent to this bulb was then compared to it. The calculation was based on a 28 day month (so savings are really more over a yearly period). If you'd like to see how much you could save, have a go on our LED Savings Calculator here > Why are some LEDs cheaper on places like Ebay? It pays to buy quality and unfortunately some people sell poorly made bulbs at a cut rate price. Unfortunately these bulbs will often fail and can produce poorer light. The phrase ’buy cheap buy twice’ is very appropriate as you will probably end up buying better bulbs after being disappointed with cheap imitations. You can see here how they use inferior parts. 
Hopefully this has explained why LEDs are a little more expensive, but at the same time proved that this cost should been seen as an investment that pays off immensely. A spend of £143.70 on 30 LED bulbs will save you £4,172.40 over the 15 years lifespan of the bulbs. Yes, these 30 bulbs would have only cost £24 if you bought halogens, but you'd be spending 90% more on your electricity bills and be replacing blown bulbs all the time. Also to point out is that LED bulbs may get cheaper over time, however every day you carry on using your halogens you're wasting money. In the example above it would be £24.18 each month. It would take a long time for these savings to take over the extra spent on buying LED bulbs today. Make the switch today to LED bulbs today here >
