If you’re thinking about ways to become ‘greener’ and reduce your carbon footprint, there is nothing easier than changing the light bulbs in your home. Switching to energy saving light bulbs could save you money on your energy bills and have a positive impact on the environment.
For a given light output, energy saving bulbs use 20-33 percent of the power of equivalent incandescent lamps. Around 10% of UK household carbon emissions come from light bulbs so the environmental benefit of these bulbs could be enormously significant.
Energy saving bulbs are produced for both alternating current (AC) and direct current (DC) input. DC energy saving bulbs are often used in recreational vehicles as well as in households. Interestingly, they can also be operated using solar powered street lights, using solar panels located on the top or sides of a pole and luminaries that are specially wired to use the lamps. This makes them an even more eco-friendly feature.
Although incandescent bulbs reach full brightness a fraction of a second after being switched on, e[nergy saving bulbs manufactured after 2009 also turn on within a second, but they do still take time to warm up to full brightness. Some Energy saving bulbs are marketed as “instant on” and have no noticeable warm-up time scale, but others can take up to 60 seconds to reach full brightness or longer in very low temperatures.
It’s important that we all play a part in trying to reduce our own carbon emissions. Every little bit we do, even if it’s as simple as changing a light bulb contributes towards slowing down global warming and protecting our future.