Cost of running Philips Hue?

OU812

Anyone know what the cost of running Hue bulbs & light strips are?

Using this guide, I've estimated a 9w bulb at €0.084 per hour of €3.52 a week based on winter time, 6 hours per day - obviously less in summe, to a total of about €32 per year per bulb. Does that sound about right?

Any ideas what the lightstrips would be?

ted1

OU812 wrote: »

Anyone know what the cost of running Hue bulbs & light strips are?

Using this guide, I've estimated a 9w bulb at €0.084 per hour of €3.52 a week based on winter time, 6 hours per day - obviously less in summe, to a total of about €32 per year per bulb. Does that sound about right?

Any ideas what the lightstrips would be?

9w *24*7*365*16c= 12.60 per year.

1kwh=1000w= 16cents.
9w*.16/1000=€0.00144 per hour

OU812

Well that's a lot better than my guess...

embraer170

I wonder how that compared to normal LED light bulbs?

ted1

embraer170 wrote: »

I wonder how that compared to normal LED light bulbs?

An 9w LED bulb will use the same.
If your spending 30 odd quid on a bulb ate you really worried about the extra few cents a year that it may cost

OU812

ted1 wrote: »

An 9w LED bulb will use the same.
If your spending 30 odd quid on a bulb ate you really worried about the extra few cents a year that it may cost

That's precisely why I want to know. I need these babies to pay for themselves as soon as possible to sell them to the missus !

ted1

OU812 wrote: »

That's precisely why I want to know. I need these babies to pay for themselves as soon as possible to sell them to the missus !

Against a regular LED they'll never pay for themselves.

Your going to have to accept the an unsanctioned purchase is required.

OU812

Ah but I'm starting off from old style incandescent bulbs... I'm figuring somewhere between 16 & 18 months is breakeven point.

ted1

OU812 wrote: »

Ah but I'm starting off from old style incandescent bulbs... I'm figuring somewhere between 16 & 18 months is breakeven point.

Sounds about right.

For extra points:

They are so cheap to run , you won't have an argument about leaving the lights on.

They last longer so after 5 years you'll have saved more than just the electricity as you'll have saved on replacement bulbs.

If she's in a bad mood she can set the lights to red.

Orion

ted1 wrote: »

If she's in a bad mood she can set the lights to red.

Can we do an IFTTT for that? If tampons are purchased then flash lights red. :pac:

bk

Yes OU812, if you are moving from old style bulbs, then these will pay for themselves in about 18 months for white bulbs and 3 years for colour bulbs.

Of course non-smart LEDs with their lower purchase costs would pay for themselves quicker, but no need to mention that to the missus

I previously posted the following calculations.

0.4w is used whenever their is power going to the bulb but it is otherwise "off", really in standby mode. This means the old light switch is on, but the bulb is turned "off" by the app, voice, etc.

If you switch off the bulb at the wall switch then obviously it won't use any power, however you also won't be able to control it then.

The way I and most people use Philips Hue lights, we don't turn them off at the wall switch at all and thus they use 0.4w all day long in "standby" off mode.

Sticking this number in a calculator, you will thus find that a bulb will use 3.5kWh per year, which at .14 per kWh that I pay, works out at 49 cent per year.

Now by comparison a 100 watt light bulb running for 4 hours a night uses 146 kWh over a year and thus costs €20.44 a year to run.

A 9W LED running for the same 4 hours a night uses 13.14 kWh per year or €1.83 per year.

So combining the standby .04w and the 9W LED for 4 hours from above, you are looking at a combined 16.64 kWh per year or about €2.32 per year.

That is almost a 10 times reduction in energy use and cost versus a traditional bulb!

Sure people might have 60w or 75w bulbs instead, but it wouldn't change the maths significantly, a 60w bulb running 4 hours a night would cost €12 per year, still almost 5 times more then a Hue bulb.

So yes, while a HUE bulb will use a very small amount more power then a non-smart LED bulb, it will still use WAY less energy then any standard bulb. And of course you gain lots of cool functionality in return for a very minor cost.

BTW This also shows how even expensive Hue bulbs can actually save you money.

Lets take a 9w Hue, white only bulb that costs about €25 to buy replacing a 100w traditional bulb. The Hue bulb will cost €18 per year less to run, thus it will pay back it's purchase cost in less then a year and a half of use.

Of course a non-smart LED with a much lower purchase price will have an even quicker payback time, but at least it somewhat helps to justify the high cost of Hue bulbs.