#583...$30 light bulb purchase

I went to Home Depot the other day to buy a replacement Halogen flood light bulb for our bedroom track light. I left Home Depot with this $30 LED flood light. I thought a $30 light bulb purchase warranted some press, as I know it seems insane to spend so much on a light bulb.

The halogen bulb that I set out to purchase cost $12 and used 30w of power to produce the light of a 50 watt bulb. The halogen bulb box said it would last one year.

The LED bulb cost $30 and uses 8w of power to produce the light of a 50 watt bulb. The LED bulb claims it is going to last 22.8 YEARS! That random number made me laugh out loud, and probably sold me on the ridiculousness of spending $30 on the bulb. I'm pretty sure that my new light bulb could outlast the track light itself.

Here is the former Halogen Bulb

...and here is the new LED bulb

The LED bulb is on the left, and is brighter than the Halogen to the right of it, despite using less wattage. The coloring of the light emitted by the bulb is very similar to the Halogen. I don't fully understand the differences between the bulbs (besides those I listed above), nor do I have any idea which is better. I'm not sure I'll replace all future halogen burnouts with the pricey LED option, but it makes me wonder if we are moving toward a day where light bulbs really cost this much. Maybe we'll all go back to using oil burning lamps.