LED Lighting and the Cost of Energy

When blogging and doing research it's sometimes hard to trace back to where you originally read an idea you're interested in, not to mention when researching the same topics over and over, you usually read many different variations of the same ideas. With that said, this was something I came across while researching that I can't trace back to its roots that's too good to not share:

Depending on where you live in the US the price you pay for electricity will typically range from $.06-$.17. The average rate in the us is around $.10 per kilowatt hour.
So, in using ROUGH numbers and assuming some averages, here's a rule of thumb that you won't soon forget if you're thinking energy efficiency:

One Watt for One Year is One Dollar.

The second you change out a 65W downlight with an LED downlight at 12W you start to save money. Yes, an LED downlight costs more initially than an incandescent downlight but where do I begin?
The basics, whether you amortize the cost of a $20 downlight or a $100 downlight out over a 15 or 30 year mortgage, you're talking about cents/dollars per fixture, but that's only half the story. The other half is energy savings. Take $5 from your right pocket, put into left pocket, you still have $5 (let's just hope that's not ALL you have!). So, you pay more for the LED fixture in your mortgage payment, but you get the money back in savings from your energy bill. OR, your mortgage is lower because the lighting is cheaper, but your electric bill is higher because you're using many more watts per fixture.

Using for 5-6 hours a day, with a relatively low $.075 kwh, you would SAVE MONEY (not just break even) the first month for every LED downlight as compared to an incandescent downlight. (Cost of fixture in your mortgage payment vs. monthly electric bill)

I have info worked up on this at a couple of different kwh costs if you would like to see where my numbers come from. It's a little busy, but for someone interested, it's just right!!