It wasn’t that long ago that decorating with lighting occurred during holiday times only. And after several hours of fixing burned out light strings and cussing and untangling light strings and cussing some more, you hopefully had a light display that was worthy of oohs and aahs from the neighbors throughout December. Now though, colorful LEDs give you the chance to use lighting as a decorating tool year around. Check out our seven best LED lighting ideas listed here to give you that holiday feeling whenever you want. And they’re so easy to install and use that there’s no cussing required.

Under Cabinet

You can place LED puck lights or light bars under kitchen cabinets, brightening up a space that’s commonly too dark for working. Puck lights may run from batteries. Or if you go with light bars, they’re easy to install, as long as you have an outlet nearby. You can connect multiple bars to save outlet space. And because LEDs are so inexpensive to operate, you can leave these lights on at night, providing safety to the family member who loves wandering through the kitchen for midnight snacks after everyone else has gone to bed.

One of our favorite inexpensive products for this is LED Concepts LED Light Bars, which are available in warm white and white colors.

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Patio Lighting

If you have an outdoor patio that you use quite a bit at night, strategically placing some LED lights around the patio can serve two purposes. It can provide a fun look with colorful lighting options (or more subtle lighting if you prefer warm white). And it can provide a safety feature, so someone doesn’t step off the edge of an elevated patio or doesn’t miss seeing a staircase.

One of the best products to use for this type of outdoor lighting is the MARQ BrightStrip 5-300S. It contains 300 individual LEDs in a string almost 16.5 feet in length. These LEDs will work either indoors or outdoors. And it ships with a remote control that gives you an almost unlimited number of color options for the lights, so you can change the colors to match the season. The strings of lights have self-adhesive backing for easy installation. You can break the strip to meet whatever lengths you need. However, you will need to have an electrical outlet handy.

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Skylight Lighting

During the day, a skylight is a great feature, allowing daylight to enter the home. Having that natural lighting available can really change the mood in certain areas of your home.

At night though, you may want to spice up this area with some LED lighting. For example, try using an LED strip or string lights around the edges of the skylight. Use a cool color to simulate twilight.

For a further effect, you perhaps could hang battery powered ATTAV LED Starry String Lights from the skylight, giving off the feeling of starlight through the window.

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Bathroom LED Lighting

You have quite a few options for LED lighting in your bathroom. For example, you could choose to install vanity lights that provide white LED light that’s a perfect type of light to help with applying makeup. And because LED lighting doesn’t heat up like incandescent lights, you won’t end up sweating off all the makeup before you can make it out the door.

There are also a few less practical options. How about the AnGeer LED Multi-color Water Glow Light Shower Head (pictured above)? This unit can cycle through seven different colors, making it appear as though the water is colored. It’s available with square or circular shower heads. This is just weird enough that your child who hates to bathe may become a big fan of taking showers.

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More Bathroom LED Lighting

If your kid loves the lighted shower water, hopefully this next LED bathroom lighting product doesn’t terrify the child. But if you want to make your bathroom safer at night, MAZ-TEK offers its Amazing Toilet Seat Lights. You’ll attach this LED light to your toilet, and it will turn on whenever the motion sensor is activated. Eight different LED colors are available. The suddenly glowing toilet bowl may be a little creepy for a few nights, but at least your son — or husband — no longer will be able to use darkness as an excuse for poor aim in the middle of the night.

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Kids Night Lights

Night lights have come a long way from when I was a kid. If I would’ve had some of the cool LED night lights now available, I guarantee I would not have woken up my parents at 3 a.m. as regularly, claiming to be afraid of the dark.

If you choose to go with LED for your child’s night light, you’ll be saving some money on energy. And the light will remain much cooler than traditional incandescent lights, which will be safer if your child likes to get up in the night and wants to tough the night light.

One of my favorite inexpensive LED night lights is the MOKOQI Night Lighting Lamp, which is a star projector for the ceiling of the bedroom. It can rotate between blue, red, yellow, and green lights, or it can stick with one color. And the base is available in either blue or pink.

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Home Security

LED lighting is a great option when it comes to enhancing your home’s security. LED lighting is extremely bright, energy efficient, and cost effective over the long run, making it a great option for security lighting. After all, security lighting should be something you can install and then not worry about it.

We recently put together a product guide for home security lighting that can help you find the right LED products to fit your security needs. And if you’re ready to save some money, we at Ben’s Bargains have collected some good deals on security lighting options.

Benefits of LED

LED lighting is a great option for enhancing your home’s design. New options appear on the market almost daily.

And going beyond design choices, there are plenty of good reasons to include LED lighting in your household plan, including the ability to save money with LED lighting. Its energy efficiency and long life span make it a smart choice in a whole host of situations. You may spend a little bit more up front for LED options, but you’ll save money over the long run … potentially a lot of it.

7 Best LED Lighting Ideas for Your Home on the Cheap

When it comes to protecting your home from burglars, you have numerous options. Protection can be expensive and complex, but it doesn’t have to be. You don’t need crazy Bugs Bunny inspired booby traps from Acme Corp. Digging a shark-infested moat around your home is a bit much too. Think simple, like adding security lighting on a budget.

Lighting plays a key role in security indoors and outdoors. Vary the lighting patterns inside the home during the day and at night, giving the appearance of someone being home. Smart Home gadgets can help with this. And at night, having security lighting installed outside your house will ensure that entry points to your home are easily visible to neighbors or those passing by, making burglars think twice about being seen. (Sharks would also make them think twice, but practicality needs to have a place in this process.)

Security lighting comes in all price points. For adding security lighting on a budget, think simple. You can find a happy medium between securing your home and saving money though with the security lighting tips listed here.

Understanding Security Lighting Jargon

There are a few terms you need to understand when considering security lighting.

• Floodlight: A floodlight is going to provide a much wider range of light, called the beam angle, than a simple light bulb. The floodlight is designed to throw light over a distance. Just make sure the floodlight bulb you pick has a standard base (E26), which will fit the common light sockets around doorways.
• Lumens: In terms of effectiveness, a security light’s brightness is important. It needs to have enough brightness (measured by lumens) to illuminate the desired area. A light of 250-500 lumens should be enough to light a doorway or a window. 700 lumens may be needed for a wide garage door area.
• Motion Sensors: A motion sensor will save you some money in the long run, because it will ensure the light only comes on when there’s a need for it, versus leaving it on all night. You’ll use less power this way. Some motion sensors can be attached to the bulb and socket, sold as a separate device. Other units are sold as a motion sensor and bulb together, an all-in-one device. (We’ve collected some deals on motion sensors for you, so check out our list.) A motion sensor’s range is worth paying attention to, as it determines how far from the light a movement will be detected. Anywhere from 25-35 feet should be sufficient for most homes.

Inexpensive Security Light Options

When it comes to picking and installing security lights, it’s easy to spend a lot of money. You can have all new wiring and sockets installed. You could hire a professional.

Or you could use some of the following inexpensive (sub-$20 apiece) security lighting options we’ve collected below to do the job quickly and effectively. Don’t overthink this problem. You’re not trying to have security lighting so bright that it rivals the local high school football field on a Friday night.

• Mounted Solar Powered: If you need to place some lighting in an area where you have no existing light socket, you can easily mount small solar powered lights. One of our favorites is the URPOWER Solar Light pack. It’s not going to throw light over a huge area, but it’s great for mounting around small doorways. It includes a motion sensor too.

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• Ground Based Solar Powered: URPOWER has another strong entry for those who don’t want to mount a security light, such as around ground-floor windows. Insert the attached stake into the ground, and you can adjust the light head 90 degrees. It has a solar panel to power the lighting, which can be set to high or low powered mode. Again, it’s not going to throw a ton of light, but it should be enough to make a burglar think twice. It doesn’t have a motion sensor, but it has a photosensor, so it’ll turn on at sunset.

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• Plugged-in Floodlight: Installing a floodlight can be a significant hassle. So don’t do it. Try the Warmoon Waterproof LED Floodlight, which plugs into an outlet and can be mounted almost anywhere. You can even change the color via remote control, which is nice for changing things up at holiday time. The power cord is only about three feet long though.

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• Plugged-in Floodlight with Motion Sensor: Another option from Warmoon is the LYD-FL-GY01, which provides the same type of LED floodlight we just discussed, but it also has a motion sensor attached to the top of it. The motion sensor is large, so this isn’t the prettiest floodlight option, but it does its job well. (It also does not have a color changing effect like the Warmoon option discussed earlier.)

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• Floodlight Bulbs: If you just want the easiest way to add better security lighting around doorways that already have light sockets, floodlight bulbs will do the trick. We like the Hyperikon LED bulb as a floodlight, with its 120-degree beam angle, allowing the floodlight to throw light in a wider area than a typical light bulb. One other thing to remember: If you have a decorative light fixture, some floodlights will not fit inside the fixture.

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Saving on Operational Costs

There are a few good ways to save money on the ongoing operational costs of a security lighting system.

• LED Power Savings: Even though LED security lights cost a bit more upfront, they’ll save you money versus other lighting options in the long run. An LED bulb will use less power than other kinds of lighting; about 15% of the power an incandescent bulb needs and about 70% the power of a fluorescent bulb. This power savings adds up over time.
• LED Lifespan: LED security lights will need to be replaced far less often than other options. An LED bulb will last about 20 times as long as an incandescent bulb and about 2.5 times as long as a fluorescent bulb. Fewer replacement bulbs means less expense over the long run.
• Photosensor Bulbs: If motion sensors aren’t an option, you could make use of a photosensor bulb (also called a dusk to dawn bulb). These bulbs have photosensor chips on them that measure sunlight, causing them to turn on after sunset and turn off at sunrise. This may not save you all that much money, as the lights will be illuminated for 10-14 hours during night time. But if you often forget to turn off your security lights when you leave for work in the morning, consuming power all day, photosensor bulbs can remember for you!

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Adding Security Lighting on a Budget: Making Your Home Safe in a Smart Way

If you swapped out your incandescent bulbs for compact fluorescent bulbs several years ago, you know how much expense was involved up front to save money in electrical bills down the road. Now green energy experts are telling you to make another costly swap, this time from fluorescent to LED bulbs. But do LED light bulbs save you money?

In other words, are you going to save enough money down the road by switching from compact fluorescent to LEDs to justify the up front cost? We’ll break down the various costs for light bulbs to help you figure out the best plan to use when moving to an all-LED household. (And if you’re still using all incandescent bulbs in your house — the green energy experts say, shame on you — we’ll break those costs down too.)

CFLs Vs. LEDs

Compact fluorescent lights (CFLs) and LEDs use different technologies. A CFL contains argon and mercury vapors inside a glass tube. Running an electrical current through these vapors creates visible light.

The technology in LED alternates currents with a positive and negative charge quickly to generate energy in the form of light.

An LED creates instantaneous light that also is dimmable, while a CFL must warm up for a few seconds before reaching its brightest level. Most people prefer the performance and light quality of an LED bulb to a CFL.

CFL Costs

Now it’s time for some math, starting with CFL bulbs. You can purchase CFL bulbs for about $2-$3 each for a standard bulb. And if you have the American household average of 40 light bulbs in your home running about three hours per day, you can expect to spend about $80 per year in energy costs if you’re using only CFLs. (Remember that a CFL bulb offers the equivalent brightness of a 60-watt incandescent bulb by only using about 13 watts.)

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LED Costs

LED bulb prices still vary quite a bit. You may have paid $15 or $20 per bulb a couple of years ago, but you now can find LED bulbs for $3-$4 for a standard bulb … sometimes less. With 40 LED light bulbs in your home running about three hours per day, you’d spend about $55 per year energy costs. (An LED bulb with a 60-watt brightness equivalent uses about nine watts.)

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Incandescent Costs

Although you can find incandescent bulbs for only $1-$2 apiece right now, we wouldn’t recommend buying any. If you have 40 incandescent light bulbs (60-watt variety) in your home running about three hours per day, you’d spend about $360 per year in energy costs. That’s a huge amount compared to CFL or LED technology.

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The Scoreboard

So let’s break down the final numbers. For this chart, we’re assuming that you’ll operate each individual 60-watt equivalent brightness bulb in your home for roughly 1,000 hours per year and that you pay roughly $0.15 per kilowatt hour for power. (According to the U.S. Energy Information Association, residential Americans currently pay between 9.1 and 28.5 cents per kilowatt hour, depending on where they live; more on that later.)

Bulb Type...........INC.....CFL.....LED    
Cost per bulb.......$1.50   $2.50   $3.50  
Lifespan in years...1.2     8       21
Wattage.............60      13      9

Energy Cost*........INC.....CFL.....LED
Per 2 years.........$18     $3.90   $2.70
Per 5 years.........$45     $9.75   $6.75
Per 10 years........$90     $19.50  $13.50
Per 20 years........$180    $39     $27
Per 50 years........$450    $97.50  $67.50
*per bulb, approx. 3 hours lit per day

Replacement Cost*...INC.....CFL.....LED
Per 2 years.........$2.50   $0.62   $0.33
Per 5 years.........$6.25   $1.55   $0.83
Per 10 years........$13.50  $3.10   $1.66
Per 20 years........$27     $6.20   $3.33
Per 50 years........$67.50  $15.50  $8.33
*average cost in home with 40 bulbs

Total Cost*...........INC......CFL......LED
40 bulbs for 2 yrs...$820     $180.80  $121.20
40 bulbs for 5 yrs...$2,050   $452     $303
40 bulbs for 10 yrs..$4,100   $904     $606
40 bulbs for 20 yrs..$8,200   $1,808   $1,212
40 bulbs for 50 yrs..$20,500  $4,520   $3,030
*each bulb lit approx. 3 hours per day

Bottom Line: The Light Bulb Comes On

So what does it all mean for switching to an all LED bulb household?

• Swapping Out Incandescent. If you’re using incandescent bulbs, it’ll pay off immediately to switch to LED. You’ll outlay roughly $140 for 40 LED bulbs initially to replace your 40 incandescent bulbs. But you’ll save roughly $300 annually in energy costs. And one LED bulb will last about 20 times longer than an incandescent. That’s a no-brainer.
• Swapping Out CFL. If you’re using CFL, switching them out to LED all at once may not be quite as clearly beneficial. If you spend $140 for 40 LED bulbs as an initial outlay, the average American household will save roughly $25 in energy costs annually over 40 CFL bulbs. It’ll take nearly six years to receive your return on the initial $140 spend in terms of energy cost savings.
• Swapping Out a Mix. Now most people probably have a mix of incandescent and CFL bulbs (and maybe a few LEDs too) in their homes. We’d recommend immediately swapping out any incandescents for LEDs. Beyond that, it’s probably smartest to just swap out CFLs for LEDs when the CFLs burn out or when you want an improved look to your light. You aren’t going to have a huge energy cost savings by replacing CFLs that still have life in them for LEDs.

Because there’s no significant hurry to swap out CFLs for LEDs to save a bunch of money, we’d recommend waiting and watching the price of LED bulbs. When you see a significant sale on them, say for $2.75 per bulb or less, pick up several of them, as you’ll receive your return on your spend more quickly versus if you’re spending $3.50 or more per bulb. At $2.75 per LED bulb, the average American would receive a return on the upfront cost on 40 light bulbs in about four years instead of six, for example.

Advanced Math: It Matters Where You Live

We mentioned the EIA’s report on electricity costs survey earlier, which studies average energy costs for each state’s residents. If you live in a state where electricity costs are well above average per kilowatt, you’ll receive your payback on investment in LED bulbs sooner. The top 10 states for electricity costs are:

1. Hawaii: 28.48 cents per kilowatt hour
2. Alaska: 21.18 cents
3. Connecticut: 19.66 cents
4. Massachusetts: 19.15 cents
5. New Hampshire: 19.11 cents
6. Rhode Island: 18.17 cents
7. California: 17.97 cents
8. Vermont: 17.84 cents
9. New York: 17.75 cents
10. Maine: 16.24 cents

Back to our earlier example of swapping out 40 CFLs for 40 LED bulbs, if you’re in California and paying 17.97 cents per kilowatt hour, you’ll save roughly $30 in energy costs annually over using 40 CFL bulbs. That means you’ll be able to recoup your initial investment of $140 LED bulbs in almost five years, rather than the almost six years at the average cost of 15 cents per kilowatt hour (if you spend $3.50 per LED bulb).

On the flip side, those who live in states with inexpensive electricity will take much longer to recoup that initial investment in LED bulbs. The 10 lowest states for power costs, according to the EIA, are:

1. Louisiana: 9.16 cents
2. Oklahoma: 9.40 cents
3. Washington: 9.51 cents
4. Arkansas: 10.08 cents
5. Idaho: 10.08 cents
6. North Dakota: 10.30 cents
7. Utah: 10.71 cents
8. Nebraska: 10.73 cents
9. Oregon: 10.75 cents
10. Missouri: 10.79 cents

So if you live in Utah and choose to swap out 40 CFLs for 40 LED bulbs, you’ll save about $17 in energy costs annually over what you’d spend on CFLs. That means it’ll take nearly eight years to recoup your initial investment of $140 in LED bulbs at $3.50 per bulb, rather than the almost six years at the average cost of 15 cents per kilowatt hour.

Finally, those who use their bulbs more frequently than the average of three hours per day — such as when your son leaves all of the basement lights on all day after he leaves for school, no matter how many times you remind him not to — will recoup their initial investment in new LED bulbs more quickly.

Do LED Light Bulbs Really Save You Money?