Eco Lighting... A Bright Idea?

We are being taken down the road of low-energy lighting whether we like it or not — 100W lamps are no longer available, 60W will be gone by 2010 and all high-energy lamps will be off the shelves by 2011. Why? Because they are so inefficient. A massive 85% of the electricity consumed by incan descent lamps produces radiation in the invisible infrared part of the spectrum — or to put it simply, they produce more heat than light. It is estimated that if we swapped all the incandescent lamps in the UK for low-energy lamps, we would save five million tonnes of CO² emissions every year.

Compact Fluorescent Lamps

The technology in compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) has improved massively in recent years. Because we are increas - ingly buying them, there is value to the manufacturers in developing better technology. In the past the colour of CFLs was limited to ‘cold blue’ light, but they are now available in the full range from ‘cold blue’ to ‘warm white’. Look for the Energy Saving Trust logo on the packaging as these lamps have to emit the same quality of light as an incandescent lamp.

CFLs can be used anywhere that an incandescent would have been used, and they don’t have to be ugly. Take a look at greenpeace.org.uk/climate/lightbulb- gallery to get an idea of the full range. There are now CFLs for every application.

ABOVE: Redefining the look of ‘ugly’ CFLs, the Plumen project by Hulger explores the possibilities allowed by the tubular form of CFLs. The company is in talks with bulb companies to mass manufacture them. Log on to plumen.com.

Light Emitting Diode

To some extent this is the new kid on the block. LED lights have been around since 1979 but getting a good-quality white light was always a problem. LEDs naturally emit blue, red or green light, and that needs to be altered in some highly technical manner to produce white light. In commercially viable terms, LEDs which provide a good white light have only been available since the late 1990s.

LEDs have generally been used for highlighting – downlighters particularly – as they emit a fairly tight beam of light. But again technology is moving on and there will soon be LED lamps available that look like a traditional light bulb and give a similar, diffuse light.

A 5W LED lamp will give the same amount and quality of light as a 35W halogen — and would be used in the same application. At around £6 each they are two to three times the price of halogen lamps, but with a life in excess of 40,000 hours they will last five to six times as long. Take a look at our lighting gallery (BELOW) to see what is possible with LEDs. Because they are small, dimmable and have a range of colours, LEDs offer a design flexibility that is unsurpassed.

Halogen Lamps

With the advances in LED technology and the range of LED lamps now available, it is difficult to see the point of halogen. They are a bit cheaper but you will need to buy five during the life of one LED lamp. And the LED will cost about £9 less per year to run.

Low-Voltage Lighting

The advantage of low-voltage lighting is that it gives the lighting designer more flexibility, more scope. It is not about saving energy. The light emitted by a lamp is a factor of the number of Watts of electricity delivered to that lamp. O-level physics tells us that Watts = Volts x Amps. Reducing the voltage makes the lighting circuits less dangerous to handle and therefore more adaptable to interesting designs, but does not reduce the amount of energy needed. If a lamp is rated at 5W or 50W, that is the amount of energy it will consume, irrespective of whether that energy comes from a 12V or 240V supply.

Renovators: Is it Worth Switching?

A new four bedroom house has maybe 20 to 25 lamps, usually being a mix of incandescent, CFLs and halogens. They will consume about 1,800kWh of electricity per year at a cost of £220. Switching to all CFLs and LEDs will reduce the consumption to about 450kWh and the cost to £60 per year. To say nothing of saving 0.6 tonnes of CO2 emissions. Taken across the UK that would equate to not needing eight power stations.

I am sure my Grandma moaned about electric lights — too harsh, too bright (she was that kind of woman). She liked the warm, flickering glow of her gas lamps. Low-energy lighting is now a fact of life. Within two years there will be no alternative. We can moan about waiting two seconds for the lamp to get to full brightness, whinge about them not being what we are used to, or we can embrace the change, encourage the technicians and welcome in a bright new dawn.

ABOVE: 1. Wofi’s Katar nickel wall light, £46, from all-lit-up; 2. Luminair’s LED Eco Drop 36, with walnut lampshade, £180; 3. Luminair’s LED Spectra Lighttube, £228; 4. B.Lux Quadrat, £705 from Ray Lighting; 5. Astro’s Azumi Nickel wall light, £65

The Building Regulations

Part L of the Building Regulations now dictates that new domestic dwellings and extensions have at least some energy-efficient lighting (which means fittings that only take lamps of a luminous efficacy greater than 40 lumens per circuit-Watt). A reas onable provision would be at least one fixed energy-efficient light fitting per 25m2 of dwelling floor area (excluding garages) or one per four fixed fittings. A light fitting can take one or more lamps.

Lights in cupboards and other storage areas don’t count.

Further reading:

• Lighting: Your Room by Room Guide
• Is it Worthwhile Hiring a Lighting Designer?
• Know Your Lighting