The Kansas Energy Program occasionally checks in at local stores in Manhattan, Kansas (Home Depot, Menards, WalMart, and Target) and gathers information on 60 watt-equivalent LED bulbs. While K-State makes no manufacturer- or store-specific endorsements, we do rank these bulbs in order of efficiency. This efficiency, known as luminous efficacy, is a measure of lumens per watt, which is how much light the bulb produces for each watt of energy it consumes. There are other factors to consider of course, such as bulb life, warranty period, cost, color temperature, etc. The top-ten table is below, or you can download our full list with additional details in Microsoft Excel format (last updated 7/9/2019). On our homepage, the current cost shown for an LED is based on the lowest-cost LED on our top ten list below. 

* All bulbs are rated based on usage of 3 hours/day at a cost of 11 cents/kWh. 

Note: All bulbs on this list are rated by the manufacturer as equivalent to 60W incandescent bulbs and are A19-size fixtures. In an effort to simplify data collection efforts and to improve consistency (beginning 8/31/18), efforts were made to only examine bulbs with a color-correlated temperature (CCT) of 2700K (or close to 2700K). Although one manufacturer might have multiple bulbs with various CCTs, the other information (lumen output, wattage, price, etc.) remains very similar. Bulbs are often available in various quantities per package, with cost decreasing as the quantity increases. This bulb watch focuses on LEDs available in packages of one or four bulbs, but may choose other quantity sizes depending on availability.

Header image: https://weare.techohio.ohio.gov/2018/01/12/ring-acquires-mr-beams-led-m…