The incandescent bulb, invented well over a century ago, is still screwed into plenty of fixtures around Astana simply because "it still works." But compare it to an LED bulb honestly, in numbers, and the difference in running cost and convenience shows up within the first year. Here's how the three common bulb types actually compare, and what to watch for when switching to LED.
LED, halogen and incandescent: the real numbers
The key difference isn't brightness — it's how much energy each bulb wastes as heat instead of turning into light. An incandescent bulb converts roughly 5% of its energy into light, a halogen a bit more, an LED far more. Here's a rough guide to how much wattage each type needs to produce about the same brightness (around 800 lumens, the old "60-watt equivalent").
| Bulb type | Wattage for ~800 lm | Average lifespan | Heat output |
|---|---|---|---|
| Incandescent | ~60 W | 1,000 hours | High — bulb is hot to the touch |
| Halogen | ~42 W | 2,000–3,000 hours | High — keep clear of fabric and paper |
| LED | ~8–10 W | 15,000–25,000 hours | Low — heat is dissipated through a small heatsink at the base |
In practice, an LED bulb uses about 5-6 times less electricity than an incandescent bulb over the same period of use, and it doesn't need replacing for years at a time.
Why old-style bulbs ran hot, and why that mattered
An incandescent bulb, and especially a halogen one, is essentially a small heating element. The glass can reach 200-300°C. That creates two practical risks: burns from accidental contact, and a fire hazard if the fixture sits close to curtains, a foam ceiling tile, or a dusty lampshade. This is especially relevant for recessed halogen downlights in stretch ceilings — manufacturers cap the maximum bulb wattage for exactly this reason.
An LED bulb of the same brightness runs far cooler, since almost all the energy goes into light rather than heat. That doesn't mean the fixture never needs checking — socket contacts, bulb quality, and ventilation still matter — but the "scorching-hot bulb" factor is largely removed from the equation.
What actually changes on your electricity bill
If a home has, say, 15-20 light points running 4-5 hours a day, the yearly difference between incandescent and LED adds up to dozens of kilowatt-hours per bulb — a noticeable line on the electricity bill, especially in winter when daylight is short and lights stay on longer. LED bulbs cost more upfront, but thanks to their long lifespan and low draw they typically pay for themselves within the first year or two, then just keep saving.
The catch: savings matter most where a light actually stays on for hours — kitchen, living room, hallway, yard lighting. In a storage room you enter for a minute a day, switching for the sake of the electricity bill barely matters — though LEDs are still a convenience win there since they burn out far less often.
Do you need to rewire anything for LED
In the vast majority of homes — no, standard wiring handles LED lighting easily, since the load is far lower than it was with incandescent bulbs. A few things are still worth checking:
- A dimmer built for incandescent bulbs can behave badly with LED bulbs — flickering, buzzing, or not switching off fully. You need a dimmer rated as LED-compatible.
- Older electronic transformers built for 12V halogen bulbs aren't always compatible with LED replacements in the same socket type — sometimes the fixture needs a matching LED driver instead.
- If the wiring itself is old, aluminum, or has worn insulation, it's worth having it checked regardless of bulb type — that's a separate safety question, unrelated to LED as such.
How to choose an LED bulb without regretting it
Three numbers matter more than the marketing on the box. Luminous flux in lumens is the real brightness measure — wattage barely tells you anything about an LED's brightness anymore. Color temperature in kelvins matters too: warm white (2700-3000K) suits living rooms, while neutral or cool white (4000K and up) tends to work better in kitchens, bathrooms, home offices, or garages. And the base type — make sure it matches what was there before (E27, E14, GU10, and so on).
If a light flickers, buzzes, or burns out quickly after switching to LED, that's almost always a reason to check the socket, the contact, or dimmer compatibility — not a reason to buy the same bulb again and hope for better luck.