Technology changes pretty fast. We're seeing this happen in LED lighting, and a lot right now. Technology is not only improving, but it's getting cheaper too. So it's a fair question to ask, should I wait to buy efficient lighting until the price comes down?
In general, not really. Yes it's true the lighting is getting better and cheaper, but unless the light is really expensive now and expected to come down a lot, and you don't use it a whole lot (so you won't gain from savings), from a completely economic standpoint, it doesn't make a whole lot of sense to hold off.
Let's run a couple calculations to show what I mean. Take your standard 60-watt A19 incandescent bulb, the most common one on the market. At an average use of 3 hours a day, this bulb will cost you about $8.50 a year to operate. A 10-watt LED bulb will cost about $1.40 over the same period. That's a savings of $7.10 in the first year alone.
So unless you're expecting the cost of the bulb to go down $7.10 in a year, it makes sense to start saving now. That might have been the case when the technology first came out, but it isn't much the case today.
The other issue is that technology improving quickly. 60 watt replacement bulbs were about 10-13 watts when they first were introduced. Now they're as low a 8.5 watts. Each watt improvement in efficiency will reduce the cost of the bulb about $3.25 over the expected 25,000 hour life of the bulb, but that is only about $0.14 a year. Considering that holding off replacing bulbs means that you won't be getting that savings back, and it doesn't make a lot of sense to wait long either.
One of the things I'd advise people to do is to try different bulbs out. As bulbs become more efficient, use the newer, more efficient bulbs in a place you use them most frequently to gain the savings quickest. Move older bulbs to more marginal places like closets or utility rooms where they're not used as frequently or light quality isn't as important. (I moved an older LED light to an entryway where I don't use it a whole lot, but I love the fact that it's instantly bright when I walk in the door.) There's almost always somewhere you can put some bulb, and if you really don't like them, hopefully you can pretty easily return them. I've had very little problem returning bulbs to Home Depot, Lowes or Costco if there was a failure or I just didn't like them.
So in general, don't wait. If a better bulb comes out later, try it out if you can move the existing bulb somewhere else. Or, perhaps give the old bulb to a friend who hasn't tried them out yet. Maybe they'll switch too. Either way, everyone starts savings money!
