Consumer Utility Services Blog

The Case for Energy Saving Light Bulbs

Last month on the 9th March it was announced by EU leaders that they sought to introduce legislation that would lead to the eradication of traditional incandescent light bulbs in favour of energy saving light bulbs by 2010. The following week, the UK government announced that they would take the lead and ban traditional incandescent light bulbs from the vast majority of domestic usage by 2011. Currently as a consequence of lighting UK homes we produce approximately 7.8 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions. By introducing the ban on traditional incandescent light bulbs in favour of energy saving light bulbs we would save roughly three million tonnes worth of carbon emissions.

What are the options?

Currently over 90% of homes in the UK still use traditional incandescent light bulbs. These bulbs have a very short life compared to energy saving light bulbs and they produce light in an extremely inefficient way - only 5% of the energy used creates light, the rest is simply turned into heat.

Energy saving light bulbs use a quarter of the power of traditional incandescent light bulbs and can last up to 12 times as long. There are a number of different models, shapes and colours that one can choose from, although there are still relatively few models that can be used with dimmer switches. However, as demand grows, so will the number of options offered to the consumer. The initial cost of an energy saving light bulb is substantially more than a traditional incandescent light bulbs, but over the lifetime of the bulb it will not only pay for itself, but also actually save you money on your electricity bills. Research suggests that if one traditional incandescent light bulb is replaced with an energy saving light bulb, over the lifetime of the bulb the average consumer will save approximately £100 in heating costs. It should be noted that energy saving light bulbs contain mercury, so it is essential that they are disposed of in a responsible manner - currently IKEA offer recycling options.

Low energy LED (Light Emitting Diode) lighting offers an even longer life span than energy saving light bulbs - up to four times longer and can use as little as four watts. Initially, LED lighting was used solely in devices such as digital clocks, however, the technology is advancing rapidly. LED lighting is not comparable to energy saving light bulbs as they do not currently offer a strong enough light output to challenge energy saving light bulbs at this time, but the technology is improving quickly and they could soon be a credible alternative. At this time, they are best used for low output mood lighting.

Overall it would appear to be a no-brainer to use energy saving light bulbs in your home. It is true that the initial costs for purchase are higher, but it can be demonstrated that over time they will actually save you money on your energy bills, which in turn helps to conserve the environment. Why not join in the movement to ban traditional incandescent light bulbs and support Dr Matt Prescott over at Ban The Bulb in his campaign.

posted by Admin @ 10:29