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I got an email from Progress Energy about their energy-efficent lighting initiative. The program offers discounts up to 65% for purchase of Energy Star CFL's/LED's and fixtures. I'm doing some remodeling so that appears to be a very nice motivation for going 'green'. Unfortunately, in my case the program is jive.
Progress has a link to an online retailer they've partnered with for LED recessed downlights. I was happy to see they offered a product from a local business, Cree. I entered my Zip Code to trigger the discount and found that there was no discount, despite the indication on Progress's website that this was an eligible product and the retailer's website that this was a discounted price courtesy of Progress. Same price as normal, and in fact the highest price I found on the product after a quick Google search for the item.
I called Progress's 'expert' line (which, by the way has the wrong hours of operation posted on the web) and asked for details. Predictably, the call center person (who I'm sure is a swell individual) was clueless.
YMMV, but be alert, the program seems to be just one more empty claim from a utility looking for some good public relations.
Duke Energy was kind enough to send me two boxes of CFLs for free.
Great! I have about 10 more boxes you can have for free too. UV, eye strain, burn out constantly, forever to come up, color constantly off, forget it. Garbage. Duke can have them.
I changed to all CFL 7~ years ago. They did not last more than a few years and were not much more than LED's are today. I decided to slowly introduce LED's to see if I get the same effect. Thankfully I hoarded the stores prior to the 100w ban so, I have a few years to spare while LED's get their kinks worked out.
Great! I have about 10 more boxes you can have for free too. UV, eye strain, burn out constantly, forever to come up, color constantly off, forget it. Garbage. Duke can have them.
I changed to all CFL 7~ years ago. They did not last more than a few years and were not much more than LED's are today. I decided to slowly introduce LED's to see if I get the same effect. Thankfully I hoarded the stores prior to the 100w ban so, I have a few years to spare while LED's get their kinks worked out.
Yeah, I'm holding out for LED's for all the reasons you listed. That's what was disappointing about the Progress scam. The retailer was offering first rate products, Phillips and CREE lamps, just none of the stated discounts. I'll be waiting as well. Do you like the LED's you do have?
I got some CFL's a while back at Home Depot with a special Progress promotion label. They were 40 and 60 watt incandescent equivalents and were about $1.25 for a pack of 5. They are serving me well.
Promotion ended at Home Depot and I see the bulbs for $1 each in individual packs at Dollar tree.
Great! I have about 10 more boxes you can have for free too. UV, eye strain, burn out constantly, forever to come up, color constantly off, forget it. Garbage. Duke can have them.
I'm not a huge fan of CFLs - mostly due to color, but the ones Duke provided are decent in the right applications. They are warm temperature (not daylight), and we use them only for general area illumination (e.g., recessed light fixtures), not any lights that would be used for reading or kitchen preparation. Some have been in use for over a year now, and thus far none have burned out.
I'd like to replace several lights with LEDs eventually, but right now the cost is prohibitive in terms of payback based on expected usage.
I replaced all my recessed lights throughout with LED and love them. They ran about $30 a piece, but will last for many, many years and the lighting looks great. They have "warm" and "cool" lighting so you may prefer one over the other. We liked the "warm" better and will likely change more of our bulbs over the next year or two.
I replaced all my recessed lights throughout with LED and love them. They ran about $30 a piece, but will last for many, many years and the lighting looks great. They have "warm" and "cool" lighting so you may prefer one over the other. We liked the "warm" better and will likely change more of our bulbs over the next year or two.
Good information, thanks. The pricing seems reasonable as well. The Progress offer lists a recessed LED at around $60, so even if they were offering a 50% discount it still makes their program nothing special.
Claims to pay for itself in a year - *if* it's on 6 hours a day at prevailing electric rates. Includes a 10 year limited warranty.
Frank
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