Are LEDs The Future Of Energy Saving Light Bulbs?

Like many people I live in a flat with lots of halogen lights (the little shiny ones with two round prongs - called a GU10 fitting). I was lying in bed the other day thinking it's a shame I can't buy energy saving light bulbs - as the only ones I've seen have bayonet or screw fittings.

Luckily I decided to write this article, and found out that there are energy saving bulbs which I can use to replace my current ones. In fact there is quite a wide range of LED lights with GU10 fittings.

According to the Wikipedia page on luminous efficiency, white LED lights can be up to 10 times more efficient than old fashioned incandescent bulbs, and up to twice as efficient as CFL energy saving bulbs.

I found a site that sells both Halogen, and LEDs with the same fittings. The Halogen lights cost £1.95, have rated life of 2000 hours, and a power consumption of 75 watts. The LED lights cost £8.99, have rated life of 40,000 hours and a power consumption of 3 watts.

I've calculated that Halogen = £0.000975  per hour, and LED = £0.000224 per hour. The LED costs roughly 1/4 of Halogen, comparing purchase cost divided by lifespan. There will also be considerable savings on electricity bills, as they consume far less power.

CFL (Compact fluorescent lamps) are the most commonly used energy saving bulb by people with bayonet or screw fixtures. One disadvantage of these bulbs is they contain Mercury vapour. This can be dangerous if you break one and breathe it in, and if disposed of in a landfill they cause pollution. LED lights are available for these types of fixtures too, so if you need some new bulbs you might want to check out the alternatives to CFLs.

I found an article showing a comparison of Halogen Vs LED lights with the G10 fitting. It demonstrates how they can be used in dimmer circuits, unlike many CFLs.

There are often complaints about the quality of light from low energy bulbs. I will definitely try these out though and let you know how they perform. Saving money AND the environment can never be a bad thing.

Published - Mon 19th Oct 2009 14:57:42