What You Need to Know About Using Energy Efficient Lights
Lighting extends the productive day and enables people to continue working in homes or at work even after the sun has set. Today, as individuals become more environmentally conscious, they are more inclined towards purchasing products that have less negative impacts on the ecosystem. Close to a decade ago energy efficient lights were introduced as a measure of reducing costs to the consumer and the environment. Now, many technological advancements in lighting provide consumers with a lot of energy saving options.
Know the different types of lights
There are several lighting options that are available in the local market that consumers should be aware of.
1) Incandescent bulbs – are the traditional yellow light bulbs which were available in various variants – 40W, 60W and 100W. It is the most inefficient light in terms of energy consumption.
Majority of the energy (90 per cent) it consumes is lost as heat and only 10 per cent is converted into useful light.
2) Tubelights – are fluorescent lamps and is largely better than incandescent bulbs. They and have been available in the market for a very long time. Fluorescent lamps started coming in the form of tubelights and later graduated to come in the form of Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFLs).
Tubelights are available in various variants: T12, T8 and T5. These numbers represent the thickness of the tubelight. The smaller the number, the higher the efficiency.
3) Compact Fluorescent Lamps
(CFLs) – has been regarded as the best energy saving option for quite some time.
It is a variant of fluorescent lamps (or tubelights) but has a different application. CFLs act as a point source of light (light originating from one point) whereas tubelights are line source (tubelights have bigger lengths) and thus the area covered by tubelights is lot more than that of CFLs. CFLs provide up to 70 per cent energy savings over a typical incandescent bulb.
4) Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) - LEDs are the latest and most efficient lighting option which is available in the market.
Their electricity consumption is less than that of CFLs and fluorescent lamps and produces the same amount of light.
LEDs are also long lasting with a life of about 10 to 25 years and their performance remains the same throughout their lifetime (Tubelights and CFLs get dim with time).
Wattage and Lumen
There is a common misconception that wattage measures the light produced by a bulb or tubelight. This is not true. Wattage does not represent the actual amount of
light produced by a tubelight or
bulb. The amount of light produced is represented by a term called lumen, whereas wattage helps consumers estimate power consumption of the particular light being assessed.
BENEFITS OF ENERGY EFFICIENT LIGHTS
• Save energy – Energy saving light bulbs produce similar amount of lights to incandescent bulbs but use less energy.
• Long life span – energy efficient lights typically last longer than incandescent bulbs
• Saves money - while energy saving bulbs cost more initially, the devices can pay for themselves through energy savings over a greatly increased lifespan.
• Good for the environment – the use of energy efficient lights ensures a reduction in Green House Gas Emissions.
Consumer Tips
■ Don’t be scared off by the high price tag when buying energy efficient lights. It will reduce your energy bill each month.
■ Always pay attention to the socket or the light bulb base to ensure you buy the correct type of light that will fit.
- Read the labels on the packaging. This can tell you more about your purchase such as:
• Average lifetime of the lamp
• Colour of the light
• Whether it is dimmable or not
• How many times the light can be switched on and off before it burns out
• The more lumens, the brighter the light
■ Buy energy efficient lamps for the areas of your home that use the most lighting – such as the living room.
■ For fluorescent light luminaires (tubelights), use T5 fluorescent tubes as they are far more efficient than T8 or T12.
Consumers with queries relevant to energy saving lights are urged to contact the Council on 155 or email COMPLAINTS@CONSUMERSfiJI.ORG.