A bright idea has got even better

Transcription

1 A guide to energy saving in the home A bright idea has got even better Energy saving lightbulbs throughout your home could save you around 590 over the lifetime of the bulbs Here to help everyone save energy in the home. 1

2 The bright way to save energy Energy saving lightbulbs have always been a bright idea for your pocket and the environment. They use up to 80% less electricity than a traditional bulb, but produce the same amount of light. In the average home, lighting accounts for around 20% of the electricity bill, and UK households currently spend around 2.3bn each year on electricity to run their lighting. If everyone in the UK switched all their remaining traditional inefficient light bulbs to energy saving light bulbs, the electricity saved would provide electricity for the lighting and appliances of 2.5 million households that s enough for every home in Scotland! Energy saving lightbulbs can help you to save money and energy, all in one wise purchase. And by saving energy, you ll be reducing your home s carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emissions and helping to fight climate change. That s the good news. Now, here s some more. Technology s moved on a lot since energy saving lightbulbs were first invented, and so has the way they look. In fact, whatever types of bulbs you use to light your home, there are sure to be stylish energy saving equivalents. Energy saving lightbulbs use up to 80% less electricity than traditional bulbs See energy saving bulbs in a new light In your mind s eye think of an energy saving bulb. Is it bulky and oddly shaped? Maybe giving off a cold, harsh light? If so, be prepared to think again. There are now more good reasons than ever to buy energy saving lightbulbs. Here are three of the best. Like traditional bulbs, they come in all shapes and sizes Advances in technology mean that energy saving lightbulbs are now available in different shapes and sizes. These range from traditionally shaped bulbs to round and candle shaped varieties, with small or medium screw and bayonet cap types. The choice really is yours. Nowadays, there are even halogen and dimmable energy saving bulbs on the market. And thanks to the invention of soft tone bulbs, you can enjoy a warm glow rather than a cold light. They re just as bright as normal bulbs, but better for the environment Simple fact: energy saving lightbulbs use less electricity than traditional bulbs to do the same job. In turn, using less energy like electricity means that our homes produce less CO 2, one of the main causes of climate change. So, why not do your bit to help fight climate change? Next time you need a bulb, buy an energy saving one. If every UK household installed just one extra energy saving lightbulb, the CO 2 saved would be equivalent to taking around 73,000 cars off the roads. and kinder to your pocket An energy saving light bulb can save you around 2.50 per year on average, or around 6 for brighter bulbs or those used for more than a few hours a day. And because it will last around 10 times longer than a standard bulb, it could save you around 40 before it needs replacing. Fit all the lights in your house with energy saving bulbs and you could save around 590 over the lifetime of the bulbs. And before you ask, these savings take into account the higher cost of energy saving lightbulbs. Prices of Energy Saving Recommended light bulbs start from around 1 2, so you ll usually recoup the extra outlay within a year. An independent survey with 2,000 people found that 4 in 5 people who already have energy saving bulbs in their home think they perform as good as or better than traditional bulbs. 2 3

3 Choose Energy Saving Recommended bulbs When you re shopping for energy saving lightbulbs, look for the Energy Saving Recommended logo. It s the quick and easy way to spot the most energy efficient products on the market. If a bulb carries the logo, it means it s met the strict energy efficiency criteria set by the Energy Saving Trust and has been independently tested by an accredited test house. Traditional bulb 100W 75W 60W 40W Energy saving bulb 20 23W W 8 So you think you know energy saving lightbulbs Over 150 Energy Saving Recommended bulbs are now available to suit all homes, budgets and tastes. Replace your 100W bulb with the following: Extra Mini Eco Spiral CTS 25W 5 7W As well as energy consumption, criteria for lightbulbs cover: how long they should last, quality of light, warm up time, packaging information and safety. The criteria are reviewed on a regular basis and standards are constantly being raised to make sure that energy saving bulbs keep on improving in terms of efficiency and performance. So, by buying an Energy Saving Recommended bulb, you can be sure it will not only save energy but also be of the highest quality. Buy the right level of brightness for your needs If you re replacing a traditional bulb, look at its wattage. The chart to the right shows you which energy saving bulb you should buy to produce the same amount of light. This information will also be found on the packaging of your new bulb. Remember: the wattage of a bulb tells you how much electricity it uses not how much light it produces. An energy saving lightbulb will only use 20 watts of electricity to produce the same amount of light as a traditional 100 watt bulb. Fitting energy saving lightbulbs throughout your house could save you 590 over the lifetime of the bulbs All bulbs are available in multiple cap types: BC (Bayonet Cap) ES (Edison Screw), SES (Small Edison Screw), SBC (Small Bayonet Cap) R80 Genura 23W Duluxstar 2 21W Elegance GLS, Tesco 4 5

4 Replace your 75W bulbs with the following: Replace your 60W bulb with the following: Elegance Low Energy Low Energy Eco Spiral CTS 12W 12W Status Status, B&Q, Tesco TJ Morris, T/A Home bargains, Boyes Stores, WM Morrisions TJ Morris, T/A Home bargains, Boyes Stores, WM Morrisions Duluxstar 2 EL Facility Eco GLS CTS Softwhite GSU111i 14W 14W 12W 11W Osram Osram G3U0215 Dulux Superstar: Duluxstar CL409, Energy Saving Osram, B&Q, Tesco SU115 Replace your 40W bulb with the following: Ryness, All about Electrics Extra Mini Eco Sprial CTS 8W 6 7

5 Elegance GLS, Tesco, B&Q Replace your 25 35W bulb with the following: Ultra Compact Candle Replace your dimmable bulb with the following: Dimmable Osram Mini-Lynx Step Dimmable Sylvania Screwfix, Edmundsons, Newey and Eyre, WF Electrical, Rexel Senate GSL0207 7W Eco Candle Replace your plug in or halogen bulb with the following: Lynx-De, Homelight 13W Sylvania Screwfix, Edmundsons, Newey and Eyre, WF Electrical, Rexel Senate Lynx-Se, Homelight Sylvania Screwfix, Edmundsons, Newey and Eyre, WF Electrical, Rexel Senate Elegance Candle opal 5W Ultra Compact Candle, CL707iCS/SE, E14 7W Lynx-Se, Homelight 5W Sylvania Screwfix, Edmundsons, Newey and Eyre, WF Electrical, Rexel Senate BR0707i 7W Low Energy 8W Status TJ Morris, T/A Home bargains, Boyes Stores, WM Morrisions GA607 7W Please note this is not an exhaustive list of retailers, wattages or cap types. The bulbs available will also vary depending on the size of the store. For a full list of retailers and Energy Saving Recommended lightbulbs, visit energysavingtrust.org.uk/lighting 8 9

6 Outdoor lighting Just a few outdoor lights left on each night will quickly add to your lighting bill and be responsible for increasing your CO2 emissions. If you have a security floodlight, you could fit heat and movement sensors. These save electricity by switching outdoor floodlights on when they re needed, and off when they re not. This also improves your home s security, as you can tell when someone is approaching the house. Many standard energy saving lightbulbs are not suitable for use with timers or sensors however there are a few exterior energy saving floodlight fittings endorsed under the Energy Saving Recommended scheme, for example the Micromark Evolution floodlight. The Osram EL Sensor has a dusk to dawn sensor that turns the lamp on as night falls and off as it becomes light again, and is suitable for outdoor use. For outdoor lights that must stay on for long periods, replace traditional bulbs with energy saving lightbulbs instead, choosing the lowest wattage that gives enough light. Even better, you can now buy solar powered garden lights that use no mains electricity and produce no CO 2 emissions. Plus you don t need to wire up your garden to get lighting. Don t stay in the dark You re bound to still have some questions about energy saving lightbulbs. Here, we ve answered some of the most common queries and shattered several popular myths along the way. Don t energy saving lightbulbs take a long time to light up? Some energy saving bulbs do take a short while to warm up to full brightness, however it varies between bulbs and the technology is rapidly improving. This short warming up process is due to the way they work. An electric current is passed through gas in a tube, making the tube s coating glow brightly. In traditional bulbs, the current is passed through a wire which heats up and produces light straight away. What makes them incredibly inefficient is that 95% of the electricity used is lost in the production of heat. Energy saving bulbs, by contrast, use the same efficient technology as fluorescent lights but are more compact and use even less energy. Look for Energy Saving Recommended bulbs and you know that it has met strict criteria which mean they must reach a target light output within a short time. Don t traditional bulbs give a better quality of light? In April 2008, the Energy Saving Trust invited 760 shoppers at Blue Water Shopping Centre, Kent to take a test to see if they could tell the difference between traditional and Energy Saving Recommended light bulbs. Half of people could not spot the difference and two out of three preferred the light from the energy saving ones! Bulbs can only display the Energy Saving Recommended label if they produce light of a similar warmth to traditional bulbs (unless stated on the packaging). By choosing Energy Saving Recommended, and taking care to select an equivalent within the right range of wattages (see page 4), you should be able to find an energy saving light bulb that suits your lighting needs. Producing an energy saving bulb uses more energy than making a traditional bulb. Doesn t that make it inefficient? No. Because of its clever technology, an energy saving bulb may take more energy to make than a traditional bulb. But the energy saved by the bulb over its lifetime far outweighs this extra energy consumption. Lots of my lights have dimmer switches. Can I fit them with energy saving bulbs? If an energy saving bulb doesn t state that it is dimmable on the packaging, it shouldn t be put into fittings with dimmer switches. However, there is a growing range of fully dimmable energy saving bulbs available these include dimmable versions of the candle, stick and spiral energy saving light bulbs, plus dimmable versions of the newer look-a-like bulbs (shaped like the traditional bulbs) and halogen spotlights

7 Are traditional bulbs being banned? The European commission has recently adopted new regulations which will mean that inefficient lightbulbs will be phased out across the European Union. However the UK is already one year ahead, thanks to the voluntary phase out initiative. The Government, energy suppliers and some major UK retailers are leading a voluntary initiative to phase out traditional lightbulbs from the domestic market by 2011, where there is a suitable replacement. Retailers have already stopped replenishing suppliers of bulbs with an energy rating of higher than 100W. Bulbs with an energy rating of higher than 60W started being phased out in January From January 2010 all traditional bulbs with an energy rating higher than 40W will be phased out. Finally all remaining 40W and 25W A-shape GLS bulbs as well as 60W GLS candles and golf balls will be phased out in The initiative is estimated to save over 3 billion kgs CO 2 per year by For more information visit DEFRA at defra.gov.uk/environment/business/ products/lightbulbs.htm typically around 700. An energy saving bulb might only consume 12 watts to provide the same level of light and in the future we may be buying a 5 watt LED bulb which provides the same amount of light. As the phase out of traditional bulbs progresses, we will start to move from watts to lumens and so you will begin to see lumens printed on light bulb packaging. Lumens will be used to describe the light output of a bulb. How should I dispose of an energy saving lightbulb? You should always recycle your bulbs. If they are disposed of in your normal rubbish, the mercury in the bulbs will end up in landfill, and a build-up of mercury in the ground could be hazardous. All retailers who sell energy saving bulbs are obligated under the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) to provide information to the public about where they can take waste bulbs to recycle them. Most retailers have funded Designated Collection Facilities, where you can recycle bulbs. These are normally found at local authority civic amenity sites. Contact your local authority to find out how to recycle energy saving bulbs in your area, or alternatively use the Bank Locator tool at recycle-more.co.uk to find facilities near you (select Gas Discharge Lamps ). All local councils have an obligation to make arrangements for the disposal of household hazardous waste at a civic amenity site or household waste recycling centre. The National Household Hazardous Waste Forum runs a website with details of these centres (chemaway.org.uk). Alternatively contact your local council direct. Are halogen bulbs more efficient than traditional bulbs? Halogen bulbs in the home consume less energy than traditional bulbs (typically 50W for halogen bulbs compared with 40W 100W for traditional bulbs). However, rooms lit with halogen bulbs usually have more fittings than rooms lit with traditional bulbs or energy saving bulbs. Therefore,they may use more energy. If you have halogen lighting in your home you can buy Energy Saving Recommended halogen bulbs. What about Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs)? Although LED lighting is a relatively new technology it s fast becoming a practical solution for lighting your home in an energyefficient manner. LEDs have been used in household items like TVs and radios for many years, but using LEDs to light up homes is new. LEDs to replace halogen spotlightsand security lights are being tested forenergy Saving Recommended and should be available soon. Busted: myths and misconceptions about energy saving lightbulbs What are lumens? Traditional lamps have always used watts as an indication of light that can be expected from the bulb. This hasn t changed in over a hundred years, however with new technology and more efficient lamps, watts are becoming increasingly irrelevant. The wattage of a bulb actually tells you how much electricity it uses, not how much light it produces. Light is measured in lumens. For example 60 watt bulb will consume 60 watts of electricity but it provides light in lumens, What should I do if my energy saving lightbulb breaks? When a bulb does break, although it s unlikely to cause harm, it is always best to minimise exposure to mercury and broken glass. The best thing to do is to vacate the room and ventilate it for at least 15 minutes. Use rubber gloves to clean up, and put all particles and glass fragments in a plastic bag don t use a vacuum cleaner. Wipe the area with a damp cloth, then add that cloth to the plastic bag centre

8 Have you seen the light? The Sheridans have Energy conscious householder Paul Sheridan is a keen advocate of energy saving lightbulbs. With a range of energy saving lightbulbs in different rooms, he s more than happy with the light they produce. He s also keenly aware of the benefits of his bulbs. Paul said: Energy saving bulbs use less energy, so are cheaper to use and better for the environment. They are much better value than traditional bulbs. An energy saving lightbulb might cost around 2, but each bulb on average saves you 2.50 a year and lasts around 10 times as long. If you add up how many bulbs you have in your house, that s quite a bit of money saved. So, why doesn t everyone follow Paul s example and kit out their homes with energy saving bulbs? Paul said: They probably don t know that there are lots of different varieties now, so they might be worried about their size and appearance. But the fact is, energy saving lightbulbs have changed for the better. Take Paul s word for it. They don t stick out of the top of lampshades any more and they come in all sorts of stylish shapes and sizes. Lots of people like to have four candle lights in the middle of a room, and the old style energy saving lightbulbs looked a bit funny in their place. But nowadays, you can buy candle-shaped energy saving lightbulbs, and four will use less electricity than one traditional bulb. In short, the new generation of energy saving lightbulbs is more than a match for traditional bulbs. Paul Sheridan said: They no longer take a long time to light up and they are smaller than they used to be. They re about thinking ahead beyond purchase costs to bigger issues like rising fuel prices and the environment. Plus, we haven t had to change one since we started buying them. And that s been a good few years now! Energy saving bulbs use less energy, so are cheaper to use and better for the environment. Get more advice on energy efficiency Call us today on for free, impartial advice on making your home more energy efficient. Our experts Can advise you on the most cost effective energy saving measures that are suitable for your home. Know your local area and where you can buy energy saving products. Can tell you about any available grants or offers for energy saving home improvements. Can put you in contact with local professional installers or trades people. Will guide you through the whole process of taking energy saving action. More bright ideas to save energy There are plenty of other simple things you can do today to help you save energy. Turn your thermostat down by 1 C; this could cut your heating bills by up to 10% and save you around 55 per year. Switch your appliances off; don t leave them on standby or on charge and save around 33 per year. When making hot drinks, only boil as much water as you need but remember to always cover the element in an electric kettle. Washing your clothes at 30 C instead of at higher temperatures uses around 40% less electricity. To save even more energy other measures you could consider include insulating your walls, installing a condensing boiler and topping up your loft insulation to 270mm (10.5 inches). For more ideas on how to save energy visit energysavingtrust.org.uk or call

9 About the Energy Saving Trust The Energy Saving Trust is one of the UK s leading organisations set up to address the damaging effects of climate change. We aim to cut emissions of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) the main greenhouse gas causing climate change by promoting the sustainable and efficient use of energy. We are an independent, non-profit making organisation that provide free impartial information and advice. Our network of advice centres across the UK are specifically designed to help people take action to save energy. The costs and paybacks shown are approximate, are provided for illustrative purposes only and are based on a gas heated semidetached house with three bedrooms. Insulation and heating savings assume a gas heated three bedroom semi-detached house and a gas cost of 3.80p/kWh. Appliance and lighting savings assume an electricity cost of 12.96p/kWh and take into account the heat replacement effect. Full details of our energy saving assumptions can be found at energysavingtrust.org.uk/energy_saving_assumptions At time of print, all savings data are correct. However, financial savings will change as energy prices rise or fall. Please refer to our website for the most recent measure costs and savings. 16 Energy Saving Trust, 21 Dartmouth Street, London SW1H 9BP Tel , energysavingtrust.org.uk EE148 Energy Saving Trust July E&OE. Printed on paper comprising 75% recovered fibre and 25% virgin fibre and awarded the NAPM Recycled Mark