Want to save on your electricity bill?
Need the most efficient lighting available without sacrifice to light quality?
Gregor can help you cut your expenditure by taking advantage of the latest energy-efficient light bulbs and technologies. We supply and install low-energy lighting throughout the Bristol and Bath area.
Why switch to low-energy lighting?
The Energy Saving Trust reports that lighting accounts for a whopping 18% of a typical household’s electricity bill.
The EST also reports that if the average household replaced their remaining old-fashioned bulbs with CFLs, and their halogens with LEDs, it would save about £35 a year on bills. With an estimated one-off installation cost of about £100 for the complete set of new bulbs, that typical household would stand to get its money back in just three years before seeing real savings pouring in. And with today’s LEDs having lifespans in the decades, upgrading to low-energy lighting is an excellent long-term investment.
Do you still have bad associations of low-energy lighting with dimly lit rooms and poor colour balance?
Then you may be surprised by just how bright and true today’s state-of-the-art LED lighting runs, while consuming very little electrical power.
The energy-efficient alternatives to traditional incandescent light bulbs that Gregor can supply and install throughout the Bristol and Bath region include:
Compact Fluorescent Light (CFL) bulbs
CFL bulbs work differently from traditional incandescent bulbs. Instead of producing light by heating a metal filament until it glows white hot, they contain argon and mercury vapour which is excited by a current to produce invisible UV (ultraviolet) light that in turn excites a fluorescent coating on the inside of the bulb.
CFL bulbs are more efficient than incandescent and halogen bulbs, and last longer. However, they can take a while to warm up; and people can find the light they emit less attractive than that emitted by incandescent, halogen and LED bulbs. They must also be handled and disposed of carefully.
Halogen bulbs
Halogen bulbs work in basically the same way as incandescent bulbs, but they contain a gas from the halogen family. They are only slightly more efficient than incandescent bulbs. However, they produce the same bright, crisp light, and do not take the time to warm-up that is often associated with CFL bulbs.
LED bulbs
LEDs or Light Emitting Diodes are a special form of diode – an electronic component – that is designed to give off light. Traditionally used in low-power electronic circuitry, they have more recently been developed as the basis for highly efficient light bulbs.
LED bulbs are extremely economical, running at much higher electrical efficiencies than CFL bulbs. They also last far longer, with typical lifespans in the decades.
A further advantage of LED bulbs is that they do not suffer the delayed warm-up that can be a feature of CFL bulbs, and emit an attractive light.
The conventional downside has been that they have been relatively expensive to purchase. They still cost more to buy up-front than CFLs. However, prices per kilolumen of light output have fallen by 90% since 2008; and when you factor in their energy efficiency and lifespan, they are an excellent long-term buy.
It has been estimated that in 2017, LEDs will achieve 52% market penetration in the lighting market. This shows just how popular they have become in recent years as an ultra-efficient alternative to CFL and Halogen bulbs.
Call Gregor today on 0117 935 2400 for advice and help with all your alternative and low-energy lighting needs!