How Do Energy Saving Lightbulbs Reduce Your Electricity Bill?
A traditional light bulb works by passing an electrical current through a wire, which then heats and glows brightly giving off light. The problem with this method is that as much as 95% of the power is used to heat the bulb (as you’ll have experienced if you’ve ever tried to change a blown bulb too quickly.)
Energy saving light bulbs work differently by passing the current through a gas-filled tube instead, which causes the tube’s coating to glow. It’s similar to the way fluorescent strip lights work.
How Much Can You Save?
The costs and potential savings will depend on your property and energy use. However, as energy saving light bulbs use just 20% of the electricity of a traditional bulb, replacing a 60 watt bulb used for four hours a day with an energy efficient one could save around £10 per year.
It’s certainly not out of the question for a family home to save £50 a year using energy saving bulbs. So for most people, the initial cost of replacing old bulbs with more efficient versions can be regained in lower energy bills in just one year.
Are Energy Saving Light Bulbs Now Required By Law?
Traditional pearl and frosted bulbs have already been banned in the UK, the logic being that they are the least energy efficient bulbs (as they intentionally block some of the light being produced.)
Major retailers have agreed to a voluntary ban on traditional bulbs of at least 100 watts. Over the next few years (to September 2012), this limit will be lowered. The aim is that from September 2016 only energy saving bulbs will be sold.
What About The Drawbacks Of Energy Saving Light Bulbs?
Although there were some drawbacks when first available, many have now been resolved. Early versions were slow to achieve full brightness but current designs are much quicker to light a room with any small delay not really that obvious. A more recent issue has been the lack of compatibility with dimmer switches although there are now some available and wider ranges are coming to the market.
Another early drawback of energy saving bulbs was that they were only available in one size and shape, namely long loops. As well as being combersome to look at they were also too large for some fittings and lamps with the bulb protruding too far out of the lamp shade. Current ranges offer a much wider choice of size and shape to fit most lighting options.
Today, energy efficient light bulbs are usually sold with details of the energy they consume and the equivalent model of traditional bulb, for example, being labelled 13w/60w. This can be a little misleading as the glass in an energy saving bulb is translucent rather than transparent. So, for example, a 13w energy saving bulb is more equivalent to a 60w traditional lightbulb with frosted glass and not a 60w with transparent glass. So, depending on the room you are lighting, it may be worth considering a larger energy saving lightbulb than suggested by the label.