LED Eco Lighting have released a new calculator which enables you to work out the benefits, both for the environment and your wallet, of making the switch to LED Lights.

With the ever increasing production of LED Lights, the initial cost is slowly but surely dropping as demand increases. We all want to make things better for the environment, but until recently the initial outlay for good quality LED lights has been somewhat inhibiting for the average household to make the switch.

But now, more and more people are realising that an LED light will last for as long as 25 years. Meaning that you can replace all the bulbs in your house once, then forget about it for a quarter of a century.

Sounds great, but what about the payback of the initial cost in ongoing energy savings? Well, it all depends on how much you use your lights. As an example, if you replaced 4 100W down-light reflectors with the equivalent 4 7x2W LED down-lights that normally burnt for about 6 hours each day, you would cover your costs in about 2.4 years. Given the 25 year lifespan, that's pretty impressive.

But what about the actual energy and dollar savings? Well, in this example, each year the LED Lights would save you about $118 and would save the environment about 419 kg's in carbon emissions.

The calculator allows you to select a type of LED product, then shows the comparable Halogen equivalent. Then you key in the quantity of this particular type of LED light, how many hours per day they are used and that's it. The calculator will then show the detail for both types including: the total power consumption per day, daily and yearly running cost and savings, daily and yearly carbon emissions and savings, total maintenance and running costs, yearly and total savings, and finally the payback time for your investment.

The latest update of the calculator makes it accurate to March 2011 prices for an Australian market.

Whether you jump in now or cautiously wait it out a little longer, the end result is that if you switch to LED lights, you will save money and you will benefit the environment, not to mention having fantastic lighting in your home.