re: Are LED bulbs really worth the investment?

I switched over to LEDs in my house about 4 years ago when they really cost a fortune and they have more than paid for themselves in electricity savings per month. Reduced my house electricity bill by 20-25% depending on the time of year.

I also switched over two of my office buildings in 2014 and I saw even better results to the point where our capital investment of $120k in one building to retro-fit every light to LED has resulted in a cost savings of around 35% in the summer months to 25% in the winter. The reason for the larger savings in the office building environment is due to the heat that incandescent/fluorescent bulbs put out either from the bulb itself or from the bulb housing. The less heat the less the AC needs to kick on. Good LEDs do not put out any heat whatsoever.

With this said I would stay away from the CREE brand of LEDs because those don't last as well as other brands. I would say they have about a 10% fail rate within 2 years or the cheaply made plastic or glass encasing will fall of due to not enough glue or a they used a substandard glue for the bulbs.