Low energy light bulbs, also known as energy saving bulbs or compact fluorescent lights (CFLs) have improved a lot in the last few years, both the way they look and the technology. So they work better, they look better, and they cost less. Whatever types of bulbs you use to light your home, there are sure to be stylish energy saving equivalents – so no excuse – why not switch all your bulbs to energy saving ones?
Variety
Low energy light bulbs are now available in a wide variety of fittings, shapes and sizes. As well as spirals and the traditional sticks, you can get traditionally shaped bulbs, or round and candle shaped, with bayonet or small or medium screw fittings. There are also replacements for halogen bulbs, reflector bulbs and even dimmable ones. These can be dimmed with a standard light switch. Flicking the light switch on and off puts the light bulb into dimming mode; additional flicking of the switch on and off sets the desired light level. Alternatively they can be used with standard dimmer switches.
Brightness
If you think energy saving bulbs give off a cold, harsh light, try “soft tone” bulbs which give a warm glow rather than a cold light. Energy saving bulbs are available at the equivalent wattage for all normal incandescent bulbs, but use 80% less electricity. For example an energy saving bulb only uses 20 watts of power to create the same light as a standard 100 watt bulb.
Wattage conversion table
Traditional bulb |
Low Energy bulb |
100 W |
20 – 25 W |
60 W |
13 – 18 W |
40 W |
8 – 11 W |
25 W |
6 W |
If you still think low energy light bulbs aren’t bright enough, try the 30 watt one which is equivalent to 150 watts!
Cost and savings
The cost of energy saving bulbs is coming down. The average price is only about £3 a bulb. You can sometimes get the basic stick ones for less than a pound, and the more specialist ones are up to £10.Depending on how long your lights are on every day, just one energy saving bulb could save you up to £7 a year on your electricity bills, so even the more expensive ones to buy can pay for themselves in about a year. Because it will last up to 10 times longer than a traditional bulb, it could save you around £60 before it needs replacing. If you fit all the lights in your house with energy saving ones, you could save around £600 over the lifetime of the bulbs. This takes into account the higher cost of low energy bulbs.
We have a savings calculator which will tell you how much you will save in money and CO2 emissions by replacing the bulbs in your house or workplace. Contact us for more details.
How to choose replacement bulbs
Buy energy saving bulbs for your most frequently used light sockets first, and fit in places where access is difficult or dangerous such as above stair wells – because they last longer, you won’t have to change them so frequently.
Choose the right bulb for the right situation. Incandescent bulbs radiate light all around them, whereas energy saving bulbs emit light sideways. If you want to mount a light on a wall, for example, you should choose a 2D CFL.
If the lights are used outdoors, they should be enclosed in a sealed unit to provide thermal and environmental protection, as their effectiveness may be affected by cold conditions. From tests, domed and globe shaped CFLs seem not to dim in cold conditions and their running costs are slightly lower, but they are slower to start than other available CFL shapes.
Ask to see our light bulb library to see and try out bulbs before buying.
Quality
The efficiency and performance of bulbs is constantly improving.
The “Energy Saving Recommended” logo from the Energy Saving Trust means a bulb has met strict criteria and been independently tested. As well as energy consumption, the criteria includes:
- Low long the bulbs last – this is usually marked on the box, eg 10 years lifetime based on 10,000 hours of use. Good quality bulbs maintain their brightness for their full life.
- Quality of light and warm up time – the best quality energy saving bulbs now use electronic ballast (the bulky bit at the bottom) rather than magnetic ballast. This makes them smaller and lighter, eliminates the problem of flickering and humming and reduces the time to reach full brightness, as well as producing a better quality of light.
Standards are constantly being raised.
What’s wrong with traditional bulbs?
With traditional, or incandescent bulbs, light is generated when an electrical current is passed through a thin metal wire, and the wire becomes hot and emits light. Only 10 per cent of the electrical energy is converted to light, so 95% of the energy that goes into them is wasted as heat. In contrast, the operating systems of energy efficient bulbs use electricity to produce light, not heat. They use the same technology as a fluorescent tube in strip lighting – they are coated with a thin layer of phosphorous powder which absorbs ultraviolet radiation and glows brightly when electricity is passed through gas in the tube.
Lumens, Watts and energy efficiency
Light is measured in Lumens, and power in Watts. The lighting efficiency of a bulb is thus expressed in units of ‘Lumens per Watt’ (LPW). Traditional incandescent bulbs give 12-20 LPW, with bigger bulbs producing more LPW. Energy efficient bulbs have much higher LPW ratings, between 50 and 70 LPW – which is why an energy efficient bulb rated at a lower wattage produces the same amount of light as a higher rated incandescent bulb. For example, a 25W CFL that produces 70 Lumens per Watt will emit 25 x 70 = 1750 Lumens, about the same as a 100W incandescent bulb. In other words, in this example an energy efficient bulb uses one quarter of the power to give the same effect!
Electricity consumption
At the moment, lighting accounts for around 16 per cent of domestic electricity consumption, with the average house having around 22 light bulbs. The number of light bulbs, and electricity consumption, is set to increase hugely by 2010. If every household in the UK replaced two incandescent bulbs with low energy bulbs, electricity consumption for lighting would drop by 40 per cent, a saving of 11,985 GWh per annum (more than Sizewell B nuclear power station produces each year).
Energy labelling
Household bulbs are now labelled according to their energy efficiency. The classification system grades bulbs from A to G, with class A having the highest efficiency. Labelling will also show light output (Lumens), power consumption (Watts) and the life of bulb (hours).
Light Emitting Diode (LED) bulbs
These are widely used in bicycle lights and standby lights on electrical equipment. They are a promising technology for future energy saving because they can potentially produce more light per unit of energy than CFLs and have extremely long lifetimes – up to 100,000 hours. Red LEDs have been around for a while, but white LEDs suitable for household lighting have taken longer to develop. Although LED light bulbs are commercially available and falling in cost, they are not yet a straightforward replacement to more conventional lighting technologies. They are likely to become more widespread in the near future.