HOW boring can you get? aka This Is Why Danny Is In Charge Of All The Thoughts Having To Do With Lightbulbs Chez Challis. AWA Essay #2, page 830

The city council of town X proposes that since LED lights burn brighter and cost no more to purchase, switching to them gradually over time will help town X save money on electrical costs in the future. On its face this seems like a good plan, however additional questions could help evaluate the efficacy of the council's prediction.

The most prescient question to ask is whether or not LED lightbulbs actually use less electricity. If LED bulbs do use less energy, and their total cost of use, including the purchase and disposal price, is indeed less, than the total cost of use of incandescent bulbs, the council's prediction will be strengthened. The city council could consult scientific studies measuring LED bulb electrical use as compared to that of incandescent bulbs fairly easily.

However, there are other cogent logicistical questions to address as well, including about the specifics of which lightbulbs will be replaced with LED bulbs. Will the light fixtures in city X be compatible with LED lightbulbs, or will they need to be replaced as well? What are the specific wattage requirements of the new bulbs, and will they even fit inside of the old fixtures designed for incandescent bulbs? Are there LED bulbs designed for every fixture? If not, will the lack of uniformity in the lighting of public buildings be a concern to those that need to use those buildings? How many LED incompatible light fixtures would make it better for incandescent bulbs to be used? If some of the fixtures are incompatible, the council's prediction would be weakened because there would be less potential for savings in electrical costs.

The city council of town X should also consider how expensive electrical costs are to begin with. Are there significant savings to be had from reducing electrical costs, or are the costs already so low that any savings will end up producing a relatively minimal effect? The council should also consider the rate of change of electrical costs. If electrical costs are decreasing over time, the potential for savings will be less and the council's prediction will be weakened. If electrical costs are increasing exponentially over time and LED lights cost less to operate, the council's prediction that they will save money will be strenghtened.

The city council of town X should consider what the broader effects of switching to LED bulbs might have, and whether they will incur unforeseen costs in productivity, reducing the potential savings overall. For example, how will the quality of light of LED bulbs be different from that of incandescent bulbs? Is brightness the only factor at play, or do LED lights transmit a different quality (temperature, warmth) of light? Do the LED lights in question take longer to light up and off? If so, how will these qualities effect the efficiency and productivity of the people who will be working around them? Will they be able to see what they need to see in order to effectively complete their work? The council's prediction about saving money overall through this switch could be weakened if LED lights will have serious negative effects on the people who need to use them.

The city council should also consider the entire operation cost of LED bulbs rather than merely their cost to purchase. Is the cost of installation and disposal of LED lightbulbs different from incandescent bulbs? If these operational costs are greater than that of the status quo, the council's prediction will be weakened.

The council might also choose to consider the greater operational costs that extend beyond the community of town X; what are the production costs of LED bulbs and how do they differ between that of incandescent bulbs? Are there difficult to measure costs such environmental pollution/impact that might occur during both the production and disposal processes of LED bulbs? If these are real costs, though they might reduct the city's electrical expenses, perhaps the greater cost might be a factor in the council's final decision.

In conclusion, the assessment of the cost of LED bulbs being the same purchase price as incandescent bulbs is not a solid enough basis for the city council of town X to make the decision to make this switch because a variety of factors are at play that could effect the overall electrical costs. If the council wants to prove that LED lights would decrease costs, they should further investigate the electrical costs themselves, the overall cost and effects on workers to operate LED bulbs, as well as the basic scientific facts behind the electrical use of the bulbs.

Typos: logicistical, strenghtened, reduct