Energy Saving LightingWhy use energy saving light bulbs? The real question is why not - by replacing regular light bulbs with an energy saving alternative not only do you help ease pressure on the environment, but you also save yourself time and money.Energy saving light bulbs use 4 or 5 times less energy than the traditional bulbs commonly used in the home. This because they need a much lower level of wattage (measurement of electricity) to generate the same amount of light, meaning that where you would usually use a 60 watt bulb, an energy saving bulb would only use 15-18 watts of electricity. As 10 - 30% of the average household’s electricity bill is attributable to lighting costs, the potential savings of switching to energy saving bulbs are huge. It is estimated that each bulb could alone save you up to £10 in electricity costs a year. Additionally, the majority of these bulbs last over 10 times as long as their alternative. Taking these factors into consideration, despite the fact that energy saving bulbs are initially more expensive, the amount of money you will save both on your electricity bill and on buying replacements will make switching to energy saving bulbs well worth your while. The environmental impact of switching to energy saving bulbs is huge; a recent estimation by the IEA predicted that a global transition to energy saving lighting would cut the world’s electricity consumption by a tenth. However, the environmental impact isn’t just limited to the amount of electricity you save; energy efficient bulbs also emit less than 70% of the CO2 their regular counterparts emit into the atmosphere. The technology of energy saving light bulbs has come a long way and many of the initial problems associated with them have been ironed out, the slow, flickering start-up has been eliminated so that the majority of lamps now reach their full brightness in less than a second. Developments in glass coatings means the cold, harsh light previously associated with energy saving light bulbs has now been replaced by a quality of light virtually indistinguishable from a regular bulb. To top that, energy efficient bulbs are now available in all the colours, shapes and sizes of their traditional counterparts, so that whether you require a candle bulb or spotlight, an energy saving alternative will be available. You may wonder how energy saving bulbs manage to consume so much less energy than regular bulbs whilst providing the same quality and strength of light well, here’s the science bit…. Regular bulbs operate by heating a tungsten filament until it glows, as a result the filament often reaches temperatures of will over 2000 degrees C and so give off a huge amount of heat as well as light to the surrounding area. Energy saving light bulbs on the other hand are a variety of fluorescent light and are also known as CFLs (compact fluorescent light bulbs). They work by passing an electric current through gas encased in a glass tube coated with a layer of phosphor. The electricity causes the gas to emit UV rays which in turn cause the phosphor coating to glow, resulting in light emission. As the majority of energy is emitted as light rather than heat, it is a much more efficient way of producing light. In an ideal world, energy efficient bulbs would be used throughout every room in every house. So next time a bulb blows, why not replace it with an energy saving bulb, the savings could be huge, not just for you but for the environment too. |
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