Upfront Cost for Long Term Savings
While reading Dan Gilbert’s “Stumbling Upon Happiness”, I came across an interesting fact that the only difference between humans and other species is the ability to think about the future.
And yet, despite our forecasting prowess, it still remains very difficult for technology companies to convince the general population that adopting a new technology for a large upfront cost will garner even larger long-term savings. A prime example lies in the ever present conflict of LEDs and incandescent light bulbs.
Consider a Philips Lighting Ambient LED 12.5 watt bulb costing $39.97 at your local hardware store.
A typical LED lasts 25,000 hours (3 years if run 24/7, 12 years if used nightly), uses 12.5 watts, and costs $37.50 to run for those 25,000 hours.
A conventional 60-watt bulb lasts 1000 hours, uses 60-watts, and costs $180 to run for 25,000 hours.
Given this math, there is clearly a huge benefit of long-term savings in using LEDs and yet the majority of the population refuses to pay that upfront $39.97 to save money down the line. Go figure.
