Energy Efficient Vs Regular Light Bulbs

Have you ever wondered what the real difference between energy efficient and regular light bulbs are? The choice of efficient home lighting systems is a sure way to reduce your domestic energy consumption. The average household commits over 10% of energy consumption to lighting. Advances in bulb design have given potential power savings of 50-75% before better controls and conservation techniques are considered. The incandescent bulb was very cheap and gave instant light when turned on and too many of us had a certain pleasing look to it.

The early commercial versions of CFL’S [compact fluorescent light bulbs] offered much more efficient energy consumption. There are verifiable claims of 70% reductions in power needs but at a cost. The benefit to the environment of CFL’s is therefore apparent when reductions can be made in the demand for electricity. The much publicized downside of these bulbs is their containment of mercury and the disposal of this toxic metal.

The very real threat of pollution to water and air may be overstated but even small bulbs contain several milligrams of this toxic substance.

One of the major benefits of CFL’s is their long life and this has increased from early levels of 6-8 times incandescent to up to 12 times from the latest designs. Major energy savings here in the cardboard boxes required and plastic shell cases that are needed to wrap them for display. For the consumer the lower use of energy can mean savings of up to $30 over the life of a bulb. The CFL’s produce about 75% less heat energy; this is reducing the need for home cooling. They are also claimed to be safer to operate with this reduced heat output particularly in recessed lighting situations.

Dimmers can save considerable amounts of energy when a direct light is not required. Where you have torchiere fittings with halogen lamps there are compact fluorescent torchieres that use less than 30% of their halogen equivalent. The rapid improvement in CFL technology has seen a recent test conducted by Popular Mechanic showing that as well as benefits to the wallet and the environment they can also produce better light. The savings you can make a year in the average household of 45 bulbs are enough to give these bulbs the thumbs up from the energy conscious.$180 plus per year is a significant boost to the household budget.

The latest technology is LED light bulbs used for years in watches and cell phones to display information. This has been a costly option, relying on expensive semiconductor technology and not suited to larger applications. The maximum output is around 35 watts which is scarcely enough for reading but the plus side is the low yearly cost to run. On Balance CFL’s are the light for the immediate future as long as recycling is an option!