In most homes lighting counts for 10-15% of the electricity bill. The electricity used over the lifetime of a single incandescent bulb costs 5 to 10 times the original price of the bulb itself. Replacing old and inefficient light bulbs with LED (Light Emitting Diode) bulbs will reduce the cost of lighting your home significantly (1). It is possible to save up to £9 per year, per bulb, by replacing your incandescent and halogen bulbs with energy efficient ones. This means that your investment will be paid off within a year for the majority of the energy efficient bulbs that are available. Remember to look out for the Energy Saving Trust Recommended Logo when purchasing light bulbs as these will be the most energy efficient on the market.
There are a number of reasons why energy saving bulbs is more beneficial over traditional bulbs:
- They are five times brighter than traditional bulbs
- The cost of energy saving light continues to drop while their quality is constantly improving. With new homes now being required to have 75% energy efficient light fittings and inefficient bulbs being phased out, market forces will mean prices come down further
- They use around 80% less energy than traditional bulbs as shown below (2)
| Ordinary bulbs | Energy saving equivalent |
| 25W | 5-7W |
| 40W | 8-9W |
| 60W | 11-14W |
| 100W | 20-23W |
- The energy saved contributes to mitigating the negative impacts if climate change. According to a study by the International Energy Agency, a global switch to efficient lighting systems would trim the world’s electricity bill by nearly one tenth. This is because lighting is a major source of electricity consumption: 19% of global electricity consumption comes from lighting. This amounts to 3 times more carbon dioxide emissions that aviation (3).
- They need changed less frequently as they last up to ten times as long as incandescent bulbs (4)
- They do not have a filament like incandescent bulbs and so are far less likely to get damaged
- They do not cause heat build-up, therefore saving energy further
- They are a versatile and sensible solution to your lighting needs (5).
There is a large range of energy efficient light bulbs on the market that can help homes and businesses cut down on electricity costs, become more environmentally friendly and energy efficient. There is generally a low energy option now available to replace every style and fitting of traditional lighting. Energy saving bulbs can be selected by cap type, brightness (10-400W) or shape (disk lamps, picture lights, spirals etc). Connection types range from bayonet, screw cap, R16, GU10 and even specialist connections such as L1 and GX33. Furthermore, there are now many dimmable energy efficient light bulbs available so you no longer have to sacrifice your mood lighting to become energy efficient. LEDs allow for more creative designs, not only for everyday illumination, but also for colour changing, wall washing and special effects. For example, there are many ambient lights such as illuminated fruit bowls and coloured lamps and spots showing that LEDs are not just cold blue dull lights that people have often thought. In other words, LEDs are getting brighter and better! (6)
Furthermore, there are many energy efficient light fittings such as ceiling spotlights, low energy wall lights, pendants, flood lights, wall washers, under cabinet lighting. There are also portable LED lights such as wind up torches, for example, the Powerplus Barracuda. It can be extremely frustrating when you try to use a torch only to find that the batteries are flat. To avoid such frustration the answer is solar powered and wind up torches that require no batteries or electricity which makes them better for the environment and also more convenient as they never run out of power when you need them most (for example during a power cut or on holiday). They have a direct-charge generator allowing the user to store all the energy needed, combined with the use of low energy bright LED bulbs. The Powerplus Barracuda can be charged up by solar power or manual ‘wind-up’ power.
Another portable solar powered light is the ‘Sun Jar’. It works by storing sunlight in the daytime and when it gets dark the Sun Jar automatically turns itself on and glows with the day’s sunshine. It produces light for about five hours on one charge, works inside and out and is around £20. Similar to this is the Candela Rechargeable LED Light. It produces soft mood lighting for eight hours, perfect for lighting the patio or for around the bath. However, this one is more expensive at around £50.
Moreover, even smaller portable torches are available that will fit in your pocket or attach to a key ring. Five hours of sunlight will give one hour of light time; they are surprisingly powerful and are priced at around £5.
The Powerplus Nighthawk wind up LED torch has an additional advantage because it allows you to charge up your mobile phone as it comes with adapters for various phone types. Winding the torch up for a minute will give you about 90 minutes on the two small LED lights. Talk time on your mobile after 1 minute winding is 2-8 minutes and standby time after 1 minute winding is 20-30 minutes.
Next, the Ecozone Moonlight Energy-Saving Nightlight uses a high tech LED panel so there are no bulbs to blow, break or replace. It will run continuously for less than 1p per week, cutting down your carbon footprint and saving you money in comparison to traditional night lights. The Moonlight uses only 4.38 KWH per year compared with 61 KWH for a regular 7 watt night-light. It produces a soft green light ideal for providing night light to bedrooms, corridors and is safe for children’s rooms as it is cool to touch. It is also light and compact so can be taken away when travelling.
The 1W Luxeon Star LED Headlamp is ideal for fishing, camping, DIY and reading. It is extremely bright, has a long battery life and costs around £25 (4). Another good reading light is the Beam N Reed LED 6 deluxe hands free light. It is portable, has a night vision filter and a hands free magnification that creates a bright, wide light without disturbing those around you. It lasts for 120 hours reducing your need to replace the batteries and waste to landfill (7).
Moreover, energy efficient sensor lights contain a unique infra-red sensor which automatically switch the light on at dusk and off at dawn, improving home security in an energy efficient way.
Energy efficient lighting delivers high quality long-life performance with energy and cost saving benefits. By switching to efficient lighting you will be making your home greener and more affordable to run (and it is becoming less expensive). An example of how much money could be saved comes from an article in the Telegraph of a restaurateur who made the change from 200-halogen ceiling spots to LEDs. His lighting used 10KW and cost him £1.20 per hour to run; now he uses just 1.4KW which costs him only 14p to run. That represents savings for his business of over £5,700 a year and he has lost nothing in terms of illumination. LED’s are the future for ultra-low energy beautiful lighting (8).
(2) www.energysavingtrust.org.uk
