08 June 2012 LED lightbulbs can save you hundreds in energy bills
With prices up to £25 per bulb, the received wisdom that LED lighting is too expensive seems deserved. But rising electricity prices and falling LED costs mean that for homes with a large number of halogen bulbs, the new generation of low-energy lighting finally makes financial sense. Concerns over the weak or cold quality of LED light have abated, say energy experts, whose verdict is backed up by shoppers posting positive online reviews on Amazon and energy-saving forums. Despite usually costing more than six times as much as halogens, the payback for LEDs now comes in 15 months or less £ and for homeowners changing dozens of halogen bulbs, the savings can be in the hundreds of pounds every year afterwards.
James Russell, technical development manager at the Energy Saving Trust, said: "If customers are prepared to pay the up-front higher cost they will quickly calculate that they will see a return on their investment within the first couple of years £ and will go on making financial savings for many more years. Customers will also not have the hassle of continuously replacing burnt-out halogen lamps." LED bulbs come with advertised lifetimes of 10,000 hours and up, compared to the typical 1,000-hour lifetime of hot-running halogen bulbs.
LEDs, or light-emitting diodes, are semiconductors that make old-fashioned lightbulbs (incandescents) and even "energy savers" (compact fluorescents) look incredibly inefficient. A typical 35W halogen replacement LED will use as little as 4W, considerably less than the 10W or so a CFL would use to produce the same level of light. They also have the advantage of being "instant-on" and do not suffer from warming up slowly like some CFL replacements for halogens.
While early generations of LEDs were criticised for being too cold in colour temperature £ more of a blue white than a warm yellow £ new models are able to match halogens for colour. Look for LEDs with a colour temperature of about 2700k for halogen replacements. For the full news article and to be taken to the website, click here |
