Energy Efficient Light Bulbs

When we burn fossil fuels (oil, coal, natural gas) in power stations to generate electricity, carbon dioxide (CO2) is released. Like other greenhouse gases, carbon dioxide traps the sun’s heat in the atmosphere, leading to global warming and climate change. Top scientists agree – climate change is real, it’s happening and it’s time to take action to stop it.

One easy step to reduce greenhouse gases is to replace your light bulbs with energy efficient light bulbs. These use a fraction of the energy, save money, last about 8 to 15 times longer than a normal bulb and also produce the same amount of light. If every home in the country replaced just one 100 watt light bulb with a 20 watt energy saving light bulb, the entire pollution from a large power station could be prevented.

To illustrate how you can save money we have produced a table comparing normal light bulbs with energy saving light bulbs. With savings like this it makes financial and environmental sense to swap your light bulbs

Besides the normal "stick" bulbs, energy saving bulbs can be purchased in lots of different shapes and sizes. The picture (below left) shows pear shaped energy saving bulbs, the normal stick bulb and a candle shape bulb. The bulb shown in the middle of the page is a direct replacement for halogen spot lights (GU10) and the picture on the right show an energy saving spot light bulb. Many more types exits. Click here for more examples.

For a list of frequently asked questions click here. For general information about energy saving bulbs click here.

Besides helping the environment and saving money at home, office, factories and shops can also take advantage of energy saving light bulbs. The article below explains how a large hotel chain has benefited for low energy light bulbs

Replacement of inefficient downlighters with Megaman GU10 energy saving compact fluorescent lamps has helped the Novotel hotel at Excel in London's Docklands to reduce energy consumption and improve the performance of air conditioning.

The energy saving bulbs provide around 80% savings in energy consumption to produce the same levels of light. In addition, the lower heat outputs mean that the air conditioning is also able to operate at optimum efficiency, providing additional energy savings as well as maintaining comfortable conditions for guests. A further benefit is that GU10 compact fluorescent lamps have a life of 15,000 hours, some 15 times the life of a halogen lamp. This has enabled the hotel to reduce its maintenance costs as re-lamping cycles are greatly extended.

Article based on http://www.lightingdirectory.com/news/article/125

Examples cost savings for energy saving "halogen bulbs".

Purchase Costs

Halogen (GU10) Light Bulb (50 Watt)

Energy Saving GU10 bulb (9 Watt)

Cost of 15 bulbs 5 x 3multipacks @ £4.99 = £24.95

(Argos price April 2006)

Cost of 1 bulb = £7.10

Note: only one bulb is required as it lasts 15 times longer.

SAVING = £17.85

Cost of Electricity

Halogen (GU10) Light Bulb (50 Watt)

Energy Saving GU10 bulb (9 Watt)

If the bulb is used 5 hours every day for a full year then:

5 hours x 365 days = 1825 hours

This bulb will use 91 units of electricity. If electricity costs 9p per unit, the yearly cost of electricity for this bulb will be £8.19

If the bulb is used 5 hours every day for a full year then:

5 hours x 365 days = 1825 hours

This bulb will use 16 units of electricity. If electricity costs 9p per unit, the yearly cost of electricity for this bulb will be £1.44.

SAVING = £6.75 each year