U.S. households are increasingly switching to light-emitting diode (LED) 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). In the previous RECS, conducted in 2015, only 4% of households used LEDs for most or all of their indoor lighting.

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.

Use of LED bulbs in homes varies across key household characteristics, such as household income and ownership status. Among households earning less than $20,000 a year, 39% reported that LED bulbs were their main indoor lighting choice, while 54% of households earning $100,000 or more per year used mostly LED bulbs in 2020.

Owner-occupied housing units were also more likely to use LED bulbs than renter-occupied households. Homes without children were more likely to use LED bulbs for all or most of their indoor lighting (52%) than homes with at least one child (45%).