I am right on the cusp of going into the dreaded "DAC" [Domestic Alto Consumo] electric rate for excessive usage over the previous 12 months. To put that into perspective, if in the next week I use three kWh more than I used last year over the same time period, my bi-monthly July-August electric bill will increase from $27 to $105 USD. I take daily meter readings and analyze the data in a spreadsheet, so I know to the nearest kWh exactly where I stand.

It looks like I will squeak by this time, but barely, so I am looking for ways to save; even one kWh per week on average would do it. I am actually running the house pretty economically now as far as usage. If I exclude my refrigerator and the computers (with accessories like router, cable modem, VOIP phone) I am using one kilowatt hour per day for the entire house. That doesn't leave a lot of room for improvement. This isn't guesswork: remember I take and record daily meter readings.

I have 23 light fixtures in my house with halogen bulbs similar to the one pictured below, except that most, if not all of them are 50 watt, not 20 watt. What would I do to change over to LED lights? Can I get LED bulbs to fit the existing fixtures, or do I have to tear up my ceilings and cabinets and install new fixtures? How expensive is this?

tanstaafl.