Lighting accounts for approximately 10% - 15% of domestic electricity bills, which definitely provides an incentive for investing in energy saving lighting. And in fact energy saving lighting can save you up to £9 a year and up to £100 over the lifetime of just one bulb as energy saving bulbs, or Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFLs), last up to twelve times longer than standard bulbs!
Of course it is important in terms of energy saving to ensure that you always turn lights off when leaving a room, and, contrary to popular belief, it does not save power to leave on fluorescent lights. But energy saving lighting can really save you money by significantly reducing your power consumption, which also has a positive knock on effect for the environment. In fact, if every household in the UK installed just one energy saving light bulb, we could power the lighting currently used in three million homes for a year! So imagine what we could do if everyone only used energy saving light bulbs!
So where should you install energy saving lighting? Energy saving light bulbs are somewhat more expensive than their standard equivalents, but it is almost always more cost effective to use CFLs. In particular consider fitting them in rooms you use often (an average of three hours lighting per day taking into account the difference between summer and winter usage) such as living areas. Energy saving light bulbs are available in a variety of styles so you should have no difficulty in finding one suitable for your existing fittings. And the cost of the bulbs is coming down significantly so all the more reason to use them.
It is also important to note that energy saving lighting does not require the same wattage as standard lighting in order to achieve equivalent brightness. The table below indicates the wattages required (as a rule of thumb divide your usual wattage by four).
Ordinary Bulbs CFL's Versus Compact Fluorescent Lamps
- 40w = 7-10W
- 60W = 15-18W
- 100W = 20-25W
- 150w = 32w
