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Energy Efficient Light Bulbs

Electric lighting is a vital part of the home, but many Australian households still use the incandescent lightbulb, which is known for its energy inefficiency.  However, with incandescent lightbulbs to be completely phased out by 2010, what are our options for more energy efficient lighting?

Why Standard Lightbulbs are So Inefficient

The standard incandescent lightbulb wastes about ninety percent of the energy that it uses, mainly as heat.  If you have ever felt a lightbulb after it has been on for a while, you know that they can get white hot.  This is because they create light by running electric current along a very thin wire called a filament.  The filament is usually made of tungsten.  The current heats the filament in order to create light.

Currently, the energy used to light homes in Australia accounts for approximately twelve percent of all greenhouse emissions from households.  Switching to energy efficient lightbulbs can save up to four million tones of greenhouse gases per year escaping into the environment – a massive saving!

Compact Fluorescent Bulbs

Compact fluorescent bulbs or CFLs use eighty percent less electricity than the incandescent bulbs.  CFLs work by having a small amount of mercury vapour inside a glass tube.  By discharging electricity into the tube, the mercury produces ultraviolet light.  The fluorescent coating on the inside of the tube absorbs the photons from this ultraviolet light and re-emits them as visible light.

LED Lights

LED (light emitting diodes) lights work by generating light through the electronic movement of particles rather than through the generation of heat.  Even though LED lights are the most expensive type of lights, they are very energy efficient, have the longest lifespan, are able to be dimmed, and are suitable for dimming.

The Benefits of Using Energy Efficient Lights

Energy efficient lights may seem to be an unattractive option at first as they cost more than the standard lightbulbs at the supermarket but, over time, they prove to be cheaper as they do not need to be replaced as often, and the savings in the energy that they use will translate to cheaper electricity bills.  Energy efficient light bulbs can be used in most standard light fittings, and they produce the same amount of light as standard lightbulbs do, without having to use as much electricity.  For example, a 15 watt CFL will produce the same amount of light as a 75 watt incandescent bulb.

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