Nearly half of U.S. households use LED bulbs

U.S. households are increasingly switching to light-emitting diode bulbs; 47% report using LEDs for most or all of their indoor lighting in 2020, according to the most recent results from the Residential Energy Consumption Survey (RECS).

The share of U.S. homes using mostly compact fluorescent (CFL) bulbs for their indoor lighting fell from 32% in 2015 to 12% in 2020. Households using incandescent or halogen bulbs for most of their indoor lighting fell from 31% of the total in 2015 to 15% in 2020.

Among homes with at least one child, 68% reported leaving three or more bulbs on for four or more hours per day compared with 59% of homes without children. Households earning less than $20,000 per year were also less likely to leave lights on for longer periods of time than households that earn $100,000 or more.