Types Of Low Energy Light Bulbs
The alternative lighting technologies boil down to just these two: Light Emitting Diodes (LED) or Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFL).
It’s reasonably common knowledge that the days of the regular incandescent light bulb are severely numbered, thanks mainly to a global initiative to reduce both consumption of energy and output of heat and carbon dioxide. What this means for most of use is that we need to get our heads around how best to switch to new low energy lighting instead.
While CFL bulbs have had the market to themselves for a while now, they also have some serious problems; they’re slow to start, deliver low quality light, cannot be dimmed or rapidly switched, are too big for many existing fittings, are expensive to make and contain toxic mercury vapour.
LED lights have been installed in toys and electronic gadgets for years now, but where proper domestic lighting is concerned they are very much the new kid on the block. However, they have caught up fast and currently out perform CFL on just about every measure you can think of, with none of those pesky drawbacks.
So is it a case of: you pay your money and you make your choice? Well in a word, yes. But first be aware that when it comes to lighting you pay twice; once for the light bulbs and again to power them.
Existing incandescent lighting employs a model whereby the bulbs are cheap and require frequent replacement but the running costs account for far and away the greatest portion of the total cost. CFL bulbs improve significantly on that but are frankly kicked into touch by LED’s that totally reverse this traditional model. LED light bulbs are comparatively expensive but they last 20-30 times longer and consume about 10 times less power.
The payback on the cost of LED lights is rarely above 2 to 3 years and not uncommonly within 1 year, and thereafter the savings are very substantial. In fact, the economics of LED lighting are such that the lighting industry has already switched its combined weight behind this technology and all but abandoned CFL. The question now is, which are you going to pick?
So how exactly do you get on board with LED lighting? Well first of all, get past any notion of replacing a bright halogen lamp with a cheap 2w LED. You’ll waste your money and end up disappointed. You need high quality and that means a fairly high price for say a 4w to 7w LED to replace a 50w incandescent. But once you get that idea, then you pull the old bulb out and push a new LED equivalent in. And that’s it.
Probably the simplest way to begin is by replacing GU10 and/or MR16 halogen spots – these are beyond the scope of bulky CFL’s anyway. Staying with the halogen theme, then replace G4 capsules – these are commonly found in desk lamps and other fittings where space is at a premium (another failure for CFL then).
Once you’re done replacing halogen lamps, consider any T8 or T5 fluorescent tubes since these are also really easy to retrofit with LED which can produce as good or even better light quality (and without the characteristic flicker). And finally, even those traditional Edison screw or bayonet mount GLS light bulbs (as used in table lamps and hung from ceilings) can now be replaced with LED equivalent globes.
