The recessed LED lights that we're using in our home.

It was exciting to see 3 scientists win the 2014 Nobel prize in physics last week for their invention of blue light emitting diodes (LEDs). Their invention makes energy efficient and environment-friendly bright white LED lighting possible. Our Nordesast Nest is outfitted with recessed LED lights in the living room, kitchen, master bedroom, bathrooms and basement. They cast a pleasant white light and are controlled with dimming switches.

All of the surface mounted lighting fixtures also have LED bulbs. Some of our fixtures come with the LEDs built-in, but we found that purchasing regular fixtures and using LED bulbs to be more cost effective. They even make decorative LED bulbs for the pendant lights. Here's what we're using for the fixtures where the bulb is visible:

“The new LED lights are around seven times as efficient as conventional light bulbs and about twice as efficient as compact fluorescent bulbs. That means big energy savings. It’s just huge — worldwide we could close or not build over 500 large power stations, if everyone used LED light bulbs.”

Check out the link to the NPR story:

http://www.npr.org/blogs/alltechconsidered/2014/10/07/354282468/led-lights-shine-in-nobel-prize-now-how-about-your-home