Energy Saving Tips

A bright idea. Just one Energy Saving Recommended lightbulb can reduce your lighting costs by up to £100 over the lifetime of the bulb. And with a wide variety of styles and wattages available, it's now even easier to choose the energy efficient option. How they work Traditional bulbs waste a lot of their energy by turning it into heat rather than light. Energy Saving Recommended bulbs work in the same way as fluorescent lights; an electric current passes through gas in a tube, making the tube's coating glow brightly. This means that they use less energy and are cool to the touch. You can now also buy low energy light fittings which will only take low energy lightbulbs. These use a ballast or transformer fitted into the base of the light fitting. It controls the supply of electricity to the bulb, allowing for a small surge of power for a millisecond to light the bulb and then reducing the electricity flow to a very low level. Low energy fittings require a pin-based energy saving bulb. This is a different fitting to a conventional bulb but will ensure that the bulbs you buy in future will always save energy, money and the environment. The savings Energy saving light bulbs last up to 12 times longer than ordinary lightbulbs and can save you £9 per year in electricity (and 38 kilograms of CO2) or £100 over the bulbs lifetime. How the savings add up If everyone installed just one energy saving light bulb the CO2 emissions saved would fill 2 million double decker buses. And if each house installed three energy saving bulbs, it would save enough energy to run the country's street lights for a year. Always look for the Energy Saving Recommended logo Always look for the Energy Saving Recommended logo when you purchase lightbulbs. It's your guarantee that these products are the most energy efficient in their category will cost less to run and help prevent climate change. Other energy saving ideas Always remember to turn the lights off when you leave the room. A 100W light bulb if left on for 1/2 hour creates enough CO2 to fill a party balloon In the UK we waste £180 million a year by leaving our lights switched on unnecessarily. This causes 770,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions, enough to fill 150,000 hot air balloons. Saving assumptions Did you know that you should recycle your used energy saving light bulbs? The producers of energy saving lightbulbs have co-founded an organisation that provides free of charge return facilities. Visit the "Recolight" website to find out more.