Lighting
An Incandescent light bulb
The prolific American inventor, scientist and businessman, Thomas Alva Edison (1847 – 1931) is credited with creating the first commercially viable, long-lasting, practical electric light bulb.
One of the simplest yet most effective measures any household can take to reduce energy consumption is to replace some or all of its light bulbs with energy saving models. There are now a wide variety of these, designed to fit lighting installations of many kinds.
In addition, energy saving light bulbs throughout your home could save you around £590 over the lifetime of the bulbs.
Approximately 90% of the power consumed by an incandescent light bulb is emitted as heat, rather than as visible light. Due to the higher energy usage of incandescent light bulbs in comparison to more energy efficient alternatives, such as compact fluorescent lamps and LED lamps, many governments have introduced measures to phase out their use, by setting minimum efficacy standards higher than can be achieved by general service lamps. The UK government announced in 2007 that incandescent bulbs would be phased out by 2011.
A fluorescent light tube
Advantages of the Fluorescent Light Tube
A fluorescent lamp converts electrical power into useful light more efficiently than an incandescent lamp. The lower energy cost typically offsets the higher initial cost of the lamp.
- Fluorescent lamps convert more of the input power to visible light than incandescent lamps. A typical 100 watt tungsten filament incandescent lamp may convert only 2% of its power input to visible white light, whereas typical fluorescent lamps convert about 22% of the power input to visible white light
- Typically a fluorescent lamp will last between 10 to 20 times as long as an equivalent incandescent lamp when operated several hours at a time. The higher initial cost of a fluorescent lamp is usually more than compensated for by lower energy consumption over its life. The longer life may also reduce lamp replacement costs, providing additional saving especially where labour is costly. Therefore they are widely used by businesses and institutions, but not as much by households.
- Compared with an incandescent lamp, a fluorescent tube is a more diffuse and physically larger light source. In suitably designed lamps, light can be more evenly distributed without point source of glare such as seen from an undiffused incandescent filament; the lamp is large compared to the typical distance between lamp and illuminated surfaces.
- About two-thirds to three-quarters less heat is given off by fluorescent lamps compared to an equivalent installation of incandescent lamps. This greatly reduces the size, cost, and energy consumption of air-conditioning equipment.
Time to change!
Buy the right level of brightness for your needs. If you’re replacing a traditional bulb, look at its wattage. The chart to the below shows you which energy saving bulb you should buy to produce the same amount of light. This information will also be found on the packaging of your new bulb.
Remember that the wattage of a bulb tells you how much electricity it uses – not how much light it produces. An energy saving lightbulb will only use 20 watts of electricity to produce the same amount of light as a traditional 100 watt bulb. To find out more, please see the information brochure below from the Energy Saving Trust.
A Bright Idea Has Got Even Better! (PDF - 1MB)
To view this document you may need to download a free copy of Adobe Reader.
External Link