Cree spending $1.5M to outfit Habitat houses with LED lighting

One of the biggest makers of light-emitting diode (LED) lighting, Cree, has pledged $1.5 million over the next three years to provide downlights for all new Habitat for Humanity homes built in the United States. It's a great way for Cree to get its name out to the general public AND to help dispel the notion that LEDs are the most expensive energy-efficient lighting option to incandescent bulbs. At least over time.

The first home to include those lights was just dedicated last week by the Durham, N.C., chapter of the organization. It includes the company's CR6 LED downlight as well as other products from MSi and Top Energy Saving System Corp. that incorporate Cree's LED technology.

The proposition is that the lights will save the new home's owners something like $300 annually. Plus, they won't have to run to the store to buy replacement lightbulbs as often. I don't know about you, but I go through a couple bulbs a year in some of my high-traffic living areas. It's getting sort of annoying. I'm not really sure what my husband and I will be doing when the phaseout of incandescent bulbs really starts to take place in 2012. But I look forward to not having to climb the stepladder as much as I do right now.

Here's the dedication video:

This post was originally published on Smartplanet.com