Ease your way into saving energy
You found your way to our site so your intentions are likely to be good - you want to save electricity. Whether that's prompted from wanting to do your bit for the environment or for your bank balance, it doesn't really matter.
But when you count all the light bulbs in a typical house, it can become daunting and costly having to replace them all. So the more practical approach is to start fitting energy-saving CFL or LED light bulbs where they're going to be most effective - that is, where you have the lights working the longest. That's typically going to be the hall and landing, the kitchen, maybe a reading light in the living room and perhaps a child's bedroom. You'll make your investment pay back faster by changing to eco-friendly low-current light bulbs in these areas first.
As a rule of thumb, update those bulbs that tend to be on for longer at a stretch, rather than those that are switched on and off more often.
Note that 'Daylight White' LED bulbs are best suited to commercial applications (shops, exhibition lighting) as the colour is very clinical. Generally best to opt for 'Warm White' bulbs in the home. These will still tend to give a 'whiter' light than most Halogens and much whiter than the orangy/yellow glow of typical incandescent bulbs, but you get used to it.
But when you count all the light bulbs in a typical house, it can become daunting and costly having to replace them all. So the more practical approach is to start fitting energy-saving CFL or LED light bulbs where they're going to be most effective - that is, where you have the lights working the longest. That's typically going to be the hall and landing, the kitchen, maybe a reading light in the living room and perhaps a child's bedroom. You'll make your investment pay back faster by changing to eco-friendly low-current light bulbs in these areas first.
As a rule of thumb, update those bulbs that tend to be on for longer at a stretch, rather than those that are switched on and off more often.
Note that 'Daylight White' LED bulbs are best suited to commercial applications (shops, exhibition lighting) as the colour is very clinical. Generally best to opt for 'Warm White' bulbs in the home. These will still tend to give a 'whiter' light than most Halogens and much whiter than the orangy/yellow glow of typical incandescent bulbs, but you get used to it.
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- Brand:
- Long Life Lamp Company
- Buy New: £8.99 (On sale from £14.99)
- as of 16/5/2012 18:30 BST details
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- Brand:
- Mirrorstone Lighting Ltd.
- Buy New: £6.74 (On sale from £9.59)
- as of 16/5/2012 18:30 BST details
Categories
- •Low Energy LED GU10 mini-spot
- •Low Energy Halogen GU10, GU4, GU9
- •Dimmable Low Energy Bulbs (various)
- •Lumineux Candle Style Energy Saver Bulbs
- •Small Screw (SES)
- •Standard Screw (ES)
- •Small Bayonet (SBC)
- •Standard Bayonet (BC)
- •Bulbs with 4-Pin Fitting
- •Ioniser Bulbs
- •LED Strip Lighting
- •Full Spectrum / SAD
- •Floodlighting / PIR
- •Energy Saving Ultra Violet Bulbs/Tubes
- •Pendant (Ceiling) Lights
- •Wall Lights / Outdoor
Expert Article
Low Energy Lighting for the Home
By Robert Craythorne
Building and lighting regulations change all the time, and one example of the changing industry is the move towards energy saving lightbulbs. The EU is forcing both production of traditional light bulbs to phase out and homeowners to move towards low energy light bulbs.
This has combined with a real increase in technological advances, so that low energy options are brighter and more attractive - far more so than the older, duller models that took some time to fully illuminate and often offered less visibility. An example of this was the compact fluorescent bulb, which was notoriously slow to light. Modern varieties are both quicker to fully light and also a far more attractive colour, providing real aesthetic value alongside cost saving. MORE
Dimmable low energy bulbs without a dimmer switch
Megaman DorS Dimming technology allows these Energy Saving bulbs to be dimmed without the need for a dimmer switch. The bulb is for use with ordinary light switches (infact it will not work with dimmer switches). Flicking the switch on and off reduces the brightness in 4 steps. A quick and easy upgrade to energy-saving bulbs while at the same time giving the option to dim your room lighting literally at the flick of a switch.
Megaman Dors Dimming GU10 Spot Bulb - Cool White
Megaman Dors Dimming GU10 Spot Bulb - Cool White
Savings to be made from switching your lighting to eco-friendly low current CFL bulbs
Many people see their cooker, washing machine, television, computer and hi-fi as the things that use up most electricity, but that's only true to a point. These electrical appliances draw more current than a typical lightbulb but they tend to be used for less time. And for every TV in your home you may have 10, 20 or 30 lightbulbs. Infact, it may surprise you to know that around 20% of the typical household electricity bill goes on lighting.
Did that sink in enough? Mmm, maybe not, let's try that again. That's 20%... one fifth, £20 out of every £100 of your bill. That's actually quite a lot when you think about it, perhaps even annoying when you think how many lights are usually left on in rooms when there's nobody in them! We all do it (the under 20s just seem to do it more!).
It's easy to see that fitting energy-saving light bulbs (known as a CFL or 'Compact Fluorescent Light' bulbs) that use up to 80% less electricity than standard bulbs will save you quite an amount of money over time. Yes, 'eco bulbs' are more expensive than standard bulbs, but... and here comes the real winning blow... they last around ten times longer. Suddenly the sums are heaped in their favour and the only hurdle is the one that you need to overcome in your head (and wallet) to make the initial investment.
It does help to view it as an investment, like savings in a building society. It does tie up a little money at the start, but the benefit is the bonus you receive later - or, in this case, the savings you make. If you were to replace all the standard light bulbs in your (typical) house with energy saving bulbs, the saving you'd make over the year on your electricity bill would be, typically, between £35 and £40 according to research. And since they last much longer, that could work out to around £600 in saved electricity and replacement bulb costs over the lifetime of those CFL bulbs. Not forgetting a benefit to the environment from a reduction in CO2 estimated at around 3 tonnes (135kg per year).
Did that sink in enough? Mmm, maybe not, let's try that again. That's 20%... one fifth, £20 out of every £100 of your bill. That's actually quite a lot when you think about it, perhaps even annoying when you think how many lights are usually left on in rooms when there's nobody in them! We all do it (the under 20s just seem to do it more!).
It's easy to see that fitting energy-saving light bulbs (known as a CFL or 'Compact Fluorescent Light' bulbs) that use up to 80% less electricity than standard bulbs will save you quite an amount of money over time. Yes, 'eco bulbs' are more expensive than standard bulbs, but... and here comes the real winning blow... they last around ten times longer. Suddenly the sums are heaped in their favour and the only hurdle is the one that you need to overcome in your head (and wallet) to make the initial investment.
It does help to view it as an investment, like savings in a building society. It does tie up a little money at the start, but the benefit is the bonus you receive later - or, in this case, the savings you make. If you were to replace all the standard light bulbs in your (typical) house with energy saving bulbs, the saving you'd make over the year on your electricity bill would be, typically, between £35 and £40 according to research. And since they last much longer, that could work out to around £600 in saved electricity and replacement bulb costs over the lifetime of those CFL bulbs. Not forgetting a benefit to the environment from a reduction in CO2 estimated at around 3 tonnes (135kg per year).