Light bulb types

Light bulbs, It’s now LED

With the introduction of new LED light bulbs both incandescent and fluorescent lamps are now obsolete. This technology has transformed the energy required to light a room. With light output now measured in Lumens, these super-efficient bulbs make a real saving to the amount of electricity used to light your home.

LED  (Light Emitting Diode)

With LED lighting, the modern technology used provides a very clear, bright light for your home. LED lights have a life of up to 30,000 hours, that’s 20 times longer than it’s equivalent output from an incandescent bulb AND it uses up to 85% less electricity.   This technology is now available to replace the traditional candle bulb.  The traditional 40 watt bulb can be replaced with a 4 watt LED bulb, same light output, less electricity used and less heat output.  The technology in this area is constantly improving the lamp life and the lumen output.  At present LED bulbs need a specialised dimmer switch which will operate at such a low wattage.

It's all about the Lumens, the new way to measure light output

There seems to be some confusion these days about how to measure the brightness of a bulb. It was relatively simple when we all used incandescent lights. You could choose from a 40, 60, 75 or 100 watt bulb, and we all have a rough idea how bright that will be. With the introduction of CFL and LED technology, this now has got a little bit more complicated.

Nowadays it’s all about the lumens!

A lumen is a standard unit of light as it is perceived to the human eye. Essentially it will tell you how bright something is, unlike a watt, which is actually a measurement of energy consumption or output. The lighting industry has standardised ways that it measures the total emission of light from a product and this information is now included on most product packaging.

BULB EFFICIENCY

This traffic light diagram explains the how the energy efficiency of bulbs has progressed and the approximate lumen output for the electricity used for the new LED lamps.

What difference will it make to my electricity bill, how much will I save?

This is an example of replacing 6 bulbs in your home with the equivalent LED’s

Replacing a standard 50 Watt bulb with 6 watt LED’s the following savings could be made over 12 months.

Replacing 6 x 50 watt bulbs with 6 x 6 watt LED’s, same lumen output, 264 watt electricity saving.

Running time

7 days per week 6 Hours per day, 26 weeks per year.

Electricity cost £0.13 per unit.

Lamp cost £5.00

Electricity saving = £62.00 per year

With LED bulbs now available in all the various cap sizes and with similar filaments to the original GLS and candle bulbs, they can be exchanged with standard incandescent bulbs and keep the same appearance. There is now no compromise between energy efficiency and the lighting pendant style you prefer. As the design of LED bulbs has improved they are now suitable for all decorative fittings, you can have "style and function". The best of both worlds.