A guide to electrical light usage
Typically 30% off residential electricity bill is spent on lighting your home. By installing energy saving light bulbs this will reduce the typical residential domestic electricity bill by producing the same amount of light as a standard light bulb but by using a fraction of the electricity. This new technology means that energy saving light bulbs can out live standard light bulbs by up to eight times.
By installing energy saving light bulbs or otherwise known as low energy light bulbs also they can be known as (CFL) light bulbs you will be reducing your co2 and helping the environment
A consideration that one must take in to account however is that some energy saving light bulbs do not work with standard electronic sensors, times or dimmers, although there are products available from the likes of (Megaman hyper link) that can work on dimmers and sensors
There are many different types of domestic light bulbs and further information can be found below.
Standard light bulbs
These are sometimes known as tungsten filament light bulbs or resistive light bulbs. Standard incandescent light bulbs are generally pear shaped and burn electricity to heat a filament until it glows white, this produces a bright light approximately 90 % of the electricity used to power the standard light bulbs is lost to heat and you can expect the burn time (average life of the light bulb) to be approximately 800 – 1000 hours before expiration
Standard Halogen light bulbs
These types of light bulbs contain a small pocket filled with halogen gas which omits a bright white light. They omit a great degree of light than standard light bulbs of a similar wattage and use a little less electricity; in addition they have a burn time of approximately 1000 hours in total. This type of light bulb gets extremely hot.
Energy saving IRC halogen light bulbs
The new energy saving halogen dichroic light bulbs offer up to 65% energy saving over the standard dichroic type of halogen light bulbs. They have a much longer lamp life up to 5000hour which gives significantly lower co2 emissions due to the superb energy savings this dichroic light bulb has to offer.
Standard fluorescent light bulbs
Sometimes these are known as fluorescent tubes these light bulbs are long and thin tubes that can often be found in offices or garages. They are more energy efficient than standard light bulbs because they do not produce heat and they can last ten to twenty times longer than your standard light bulb.
Colour Temperature of Energy Saving Efficient Light Bulbs
Not all energy efficient light bulbs are the same in colour. This is a measure of how warm or how cool the light given off from the light bulb appears, with warmer colours having a yellowish tinge and the cooler colour been tinged with blue, what confuses some people is that a warmer colour is the colder the colour temperature is, this is because something that is red hot is actually colder than something that is white hot. Psychology says the bluish white object seems colder as we associate blue with cold
Colour temperature is measured on the Kelvin scale which uses the same units as the celseius or centigrade scale, but starts at absolute zero (minus 273 degrees celseius). A warm white light bulb similar to an incandescent light bulb has a colour temperature of around 2700 k and gives off light with a yellowish quality, whilst 6000 k represents a bluish white colour. This is called colour temperature because theoretically if you were to heat something up to 2700 k it would glow yellowish/white and if you heated it to 6000 k it would glow bluish/white, this is how an incandescent light bulb works with an element heated to around 2700 k which explains the warm colour that you get from the light bulb. The most common colour temperature of light bulbs available are as follows:
- 2700K - Warm white is recommended for most household use as it is the closest to a standard traditional light bulb that most people are used to
- 3000K - This is classed as warm white but is slightly colder than 2700 k and mimics the colour of a halogen light bulb, therefore 3000 k energy saving light bulbs are often used in kitchens which are decorated in white or silver metallic to give a cleaner feel to the room
- 4000K - This is cool white colour and is often used in commercial buildings like offices and shops to give a more professional feel, you might consider using this 4000 k light bulb in your home dependant on your decoration style
- 5400K - These light bulbs are often described as "daylight" coloured, giving off a similar quality of light to a hot summers day with a blue sky, this colour temperature is generally found in liner fluorescent tubes. This colour temperature is sometimes helpful for people that suffer from seasonal affective disorder otherwise known as ‘SAD’
- 6500K - This colour gives off a slightly harsh bluish/white light and is generally used by architects and designers to make drawings on white paper appear very clear
Please note that there are many types of energy saving light bulbs available, but in general the world leading Manufacturers, the likes of, Megaman, Osram, Phillips and GE generally only manufacturer lamps between 2700 k and 3000 k which are designed for the normal household use. The manufacturer Megaman does produce certain light bulbs from their extensive range which have a colour temperature of 3000 k, normally these are available on the GU10 cap type reflector light bulbs. You should avoid purchasing cheaper unbranded light bulbs because in general you do not get constant colour and longevity.