Introduction
This article looks at whether it is cheaper to light a room with lamps. As opposed to other electric lighting fixtures.
Firstly I have to admit that there are a lot of lamps in my house. In fact I am writing this article in a room lit by two lamps. One floor and one desk. So I was particularly interested to see if the lighting choice I have made actually reflect good value for money.
After all there are lot of other options that I could have chosen. For instance my hallway and kitchen have recessed flood lighting. And my brother’s house is full of track lighting from the 90s. While my parents older style home has pendant lighting throughout. So which of us has made the most cost-effective choice.
Types of Room Lighting
In order to make sure I had covered all the possible lighting combinations I checked out an online article on lighting your living room. In this case the excellent Living Room Lighting Guide from Ylighting.
This confirmed my idea that my family and I had covered all the lighting bases. With the four main lighting options being:
- Pendents and chandeliers. Where the light bulbs is at the end of a cable that goes into the ceiling.
- Recessed lighting, with the light bulbs being hidden inside a false ceiling.
- Track lighting, with fixtures attached to a track.
- Lamps, floor and desk.
Measuring the Cost
In order to work out if it is cheaper to light a room with lamps there are a number of factors that we need to take into account. The ones I am going to focus on are:
- Installation costs.
- Purchase costs of the fixtures and light shades.
- Purchase costs of the light bulbs.
- Running costs for bulbs.
- Expected lifetime of the fixtures, and possible replacement costs.
In order to make this an fair comparison we have to make some assumptions about our room. Firstly that there is a lighting circuit in the ceiling and walls. So if we want pendent lighting or switches then we don’t have to do major rewiring. Secondly, we have a dropped of false ceiling so we can fit recessed lighting. If this were not the case then these two options would be instantly priced out of consideration.
Installation Costs
This is a tricky one as it sort of depends on where you live. And whether you know an electrician. In my case I live in New York. But I also rent. So changing the lighting set-up in not really an option. Thus I don’t know how much electrical work costs.
However, I do have a friend with a bunch of properties out in Utah who has a lot to do with contractors and electricians so I am going to go on her ballpark estimates. These come in at $150 and hour. If you think this is too expensive then please contact me here. My friend would love to have a cheaper electrician.
Fixtures Costs
How much does a lamp cost? Or a 3-light track lighting strip. Well it kind of depends on what you like, where you buy it, and how much your budget is.
In order to make a fair comparison I am going to do my fixtures shopping at Lowes. Not the most expensive of places. But not as cheap as some others. Then I am going to choose a mid-range fixture. Selecting something with a good warranty and reviews.
Pendant Light and Chandelier
There are many different types of pendent lights available. Lowes lists 19,239 produces in Pendent Lighting.
The most popular type (i.e. the one with the most products) is Geometric with the mean price being between $100 and $200. Of these 38 have excellent ratings. With the most highly rated being from “allan + roth”. At the end of the article I show the fixtures that were chosen as representative.
Moreover there are 11,883 chandeliers to choose from. Twelve of which come in at over $10,000. With the most expensive one being $17,723.98. In the future I am going to write a blog on what a $17k chandelier looks like. But for now back to our price range…
Again using my system of going for the most popular I went for a bronze one. These come in at $200 to $400. There are a lot of well rated chandeliers. Finally I came down to two, both from Kichler. One with six lights and the other with nine. I settled on the nine bulb options on the grounds that this one fixture could light up a larger room on its own. With the six light option you might need two if you have an open plan living room.
Recessed Lighting
With recessed lighting our choices are much simpler.
For recessed lighting you now choose between traditional can lighting and can-less fixtures. In general can-less fixtures have in-built LED lights.
Can lighting needs a light housing, a can trim and a bulb. However they should last almost forever. As you can replace the trim when it starts to look old. And the bulb when it stops working. In general I am in favor of things with replaceable parts. Rather than integrated units that you have to throw away when one part breaks down.
If you are going for the can-less integrated option then make sure to choose one that is Energy Star certified. This means that the light source has been checked by an independent lab. And ensures that it is should meet the manufacturers claims.
I still have my doubts about claims around 50,000 hour integrated life sources. Such as the one made for this can-less light. After all an expensive bulb from a company like Philips only lasts 25,000 hours and is going to cost you $10. So do I think the integrated bulb on a canless kit is going to last twice as long? Well lets just say I have doubts.
If you are interested in LED light bulbs that are certified to last 50,000 hours see our article here.
Track Lighting
Again, track lighting comes with lots of options. Including fixed, linear and flexible (for full details see our article here). In this case I am going to choose a simple fixed track lighting option. One that comes with the light housing fixed to the track. And you just need to buy the light bulbs.
In general, for fixed track the most popular option available is for 3 lights. They costs $50 to $100. A lot of the options available come with integrated lighting. As such, I have avoided these, as I prefer ones with replaceable bulbs, and gone for a 3-light bulb option that uses GU10 bulbs.
Lamps
So, for lamps I am going to choose two floor lamp and one 3-way table lamp. I know this is going to make for a boring home but otherwise I will have too many options in the mix,
For floor lamps there are just under 2,000 options. The most popular is black and costs $100 to $200. I chose one that fits standard E26 base bulbs.
Desk lamp have 5,129 options. Of which the most popular are bronze, white or black, and cost from $50 to $200. I chose one with a drum shade. So as not to have to buy additional shades. Again almost all take E26 bulbs. The highest rated one come with a 3-way switch which is good for flexible lighting.
Results: Is it cheaper to light a room with lamps?
In order to work out if it cheaper to light a room with lamps I took the various lighting options we discussed and costed them out.
Fixture Costs And Installation
So all lighting options except lamps are going to need installations. For all options I ball-parked installation at two hours of work. Some items seem simple. For example pendant and chandeliers. But then you need to fit a switch, and chandeliers can be heavy. Track lighting needs much the same installation work as pendant lighting.
As for recessed lighting you are fitting a larger number of fixtures, and they also need switches. But they are pretty standard to fit.
If you ask a contractor how long a job is going to take they will want to know exactly what you already have installed. For instance is there a lighting ring in the ceiling and a switch ring in the wall. As our room is hypothetical I though it was fair to say that all installation work would take about the same time.
Type | Installation Cost | No Fixtures | Cost per Fixtures | Fixure and Install |
Pendant Light | $300.00 | 2 | $140.00 | $580.00 |
Chandelier | $300.00 | 1 | $300.00 | $600.00 |
Recessed Lighting - Canless | $300.00 | 6 | $30.00 | $480.00 |
Recessed Lighting - With Can | $300.00 | 6 | $20.70 | $424.20 |
Track Lighting | $300.00 | 2 | $80.00 | $460.00 |
Lamps Total | $388.50 | |||
Lamps - 3-Way Table Lamp | $- | 1 | $88.50 | $88.50 |
Lamps - Floor Lamp | $- | 2 | $150.00 | $300.00 |
Cost of Light Bulbs and Running Costs
The cost of running the light bulbs themselves is easier to work out. Each manufacturer supplies wattage information and lifetime. In this case I had the light bulbs be on for three hours each day. And then worked out total costs over five years. If the light bulb is rated to last longer than five years (they all are) I used a portion of the purchase cost.
Type | No Bulbs | Eq Wattage | Actual Wattage | Total Lumens | Lifetime Bulb | Bulb Cost Each | Total Bulb Cost | Electricity Cost (5 years) |
Pendant Light | 8 | 60 | 8 | 6400 | 15000 | $2.50 | $7.3 | $46.88 |
Chandelier | 9 | 60 | 8 | 7200 | 15000 | $2.50 | $8.21 | $52.74 |
Recessed Lighting - Canless | 6 | 65 | 12 | 6366 | 50000 | 0 | 0 | $52.74 |
Recessed Lighting - With Can | 6 | 65 | 8.5 | 3900 | 15000 | $4.35 | $9.53 | $37.36 |
Track Lighting | 6 | 50 | 6.5 | 3000 | 25000 | $7 | $9.20 | $28.57 |
Lamps Total | 7 | 4300 | $9.64 | $37.36 | ||||
Lamps - 3-Way Table Lamp | 1 | 100 | 15 | 1600 | 25000 | $14 | $3.07 | $10.99 |
Lamps - Floor Lamp | 6 | 40 | 6 | 2700 | 15000 | $3 | $6.57 | $26.37 |
Total Costs
Finally I added the purchase cost for fixture to the installation cost (second column). Then I added the cost of light bulbs (third column) and the electricity cost (fourth column). To point out that I used a standard electricity cost for the United States of 13.38 cents per kilowatt-hour from the Save on Energy The price is of the May 2nd 2022.
Type | Fixure and Install | Bulbs Cost | Electricity Cost | Total |
Pendant Light | $580.00 | $7.30 | $46.88 | $634.18 |
Chandelier | $600.00 | $8.21 | $52.74 | $660.95 |
Recessed Lighting - Canless | $480.00 | $- | $52.74 | $532.74 |
Recessed Lighting - With Can | $424.20 | $9.53 | $37.36 | $471.09 |
Track Lighting | $460.00 | $9.20 | $28.57 | $497.77 |
Lamps Total | $388.50 | $9.64 | $37.36 | $435.50 |
Conclusion
So, is Is it cheaper to light a room with lamps? Well according to my calculations the answer is yes. Lamps come out as the cheapest option. One thing of particular interest is that the cost of light bulbs and electricity usage has very little impact.
As seen in the Total Costs table, the cost of the light bulbs is very minimal taken across a five year period. This is due to the fact that most LED bulbs should last 13 years if you only use them for three hours a day. Also these are all low power usage so expected electricity costs are also pretty low across five years.
In fact it could be argued that I should have also reduced the fixtures cost to match my five year window. After all a good lamp can last for 20 years plus. However it is hard to tell quite how long things will last, as fixtures are not lifetime rated in the same way that light bulbs are.
So, finally I hope this article has given you some ideas as to whether it is cheaper to light a room with lamps. Or at least given you some example fixtures to think about.
If you found it helpful why not check out our other articles here.
Fixtures: Is it cheaper to light a room with lamps
Table Lamp – Decor Therapy 27-in 3-Way with Silk Shade
Although the name says Silk Shade the description says that it is made from linen. However, this complaint aside, this is a good looking table lamp. Something that the online reviews all agree on.
Also it has a 3-way switch so you can use a 150 watt 3-way light bulb. Thus gaining flexibility in the light you gain. It takes a medium screw (E26) bulb.
Fact Sheet:
- Rating: 4.6 out of 5 stars
- Price: $88.50
- Light Output: Depending on the bulbs chosen but around 450/800/1600 lumens
- Warranty: 1 year
Floor Lamp – Decor Therapy 75-in Rattan Multi-head
Again the chose for floor lamp comes from Decor Therapy. This multi-head floor lamp allows for three 40 watt light bulbs with medium E26 bases. Furthermore the rattan shades are part of the fixture. Thus saving the cost of buying light shades.
Fact Sheet:
- Rating: 4.9 out of 5 stars
- Price: $150
- Light Output: depending on the bulbs chosen but around 1,200 lumens
- Warranty: 1 year
Track Lighting – Portfolio Portico 3-Light 21.14-in Brushed Nickel
This fixed track lighting fixture from Portfolio comes with three lighting heads with crystal shades. Moreover it includes three GU10 MR16 bulbs to provide the lighting. No details were given on the type and output of these GU10s so I have estimated. You could change them out if they are not the right brightness or temperature. Finally the heads are adjustable for you can provide light into whatever part of the room you want.
Fact Sheet:
- Rating: 4.9 out of 5 stars
- Price: $80
- Light provided: depending on the bulbs chosen but around 1,500 lumens
- Warranty: 1-year limited
Recessed – Halo 6-in White Airtight Can-less Light Kit
This can-less fitting simply clips into holes cut into the ceiling. Also it is thin so only needs 3.5 inches of internal clearance. While it has an integrated light source this is rated to last 50,000 hours (22-yrs of life at 6 hrs per day or 44-yrs at 3 hrs per day). Though you will have to replace the whole unit when the light stops working.
Moreover you can change the lighting temperate via a switch on the fitting. It has five options ranging from warm (2700K) to daylight (5000K). Finally it can be dimmed down to 5% and is Energy Star certified.
Fact Sheet:
- Rating: 4.7 out of 5 stars
- Price: $30
- Light Output: 1061 lumens
- Warranty: 5-year limited
Recessed – Halo IC 6-inch Light Housing
Not the most beautiful picture I have seen but very functional. This is the recessed lighting housing that sits in the ceiling and powers flood and spot lighting in your home. This one from Halo and can use EISA compliant tungsten-halogen bulbs, as well as incandescent, CFL and LED light bulbs. It comes with a medium E26 screw fitting and allows for several different trims.
Example trims: White baffle – $6.70, White open – $9.70, Satin Nickel baffle – $12.75, Tuscan Bronze – $11.30
Fact Sheet:
- Rating: 4.9 out of 5 stars
- Price: $14
- Light Output: Depends on light bulbs used.
- Warranty: 1-year limited
Pendant Light – allen + roth 4-Light Brushed Nickel Industrial Geometric
Firstly, I have to say that I do like the looks of this pendant. It has a clean style that would look good in my living rooms.
It houses four 60 watt E12 base light bulbs. You can choose the shape. Though they recommend B10.
One thing to take into account is that the rods that form the fixture are going to create shadows. So if this is the only room lighting option you could get some darker areas. I guess there is a price to be paid for good looks.
Fact Sheet:
- Rating: 4.9 out of 5 stars
- Price: $140
- Light Output: depending on the bulbs chosen but around 2,400 lumens
- Warranty: 1 year
Chandelier – Kichler Layla 9-Light Olde Bronze Modern/Contemporary
One of the reasons I opted for this chandelier is that it has enough sockets that you should only need one. Though it will depend on just how big your room is.
Anyway, this chandelier takes nine 60 watt medium base (E26) light bulbs. Each one has an amber tint glass shade. Moreover the whole light is dimmable so you can raise or lower the light provided.
Fact Sheet:
- Rating: 4.7 out of 5 stars
- Price: $300
- Light Output: depending on the bulbs chosen but around 5,400 lumens
- Warranty: 1 year
- Total Light Output