Under European Union law, all incandescent bulbs will cease being sold by 2016 and be replaced by energy efficient compact fluorescent lamps ( cfl ). The building regulations already require a percentage of new light fittings to be low energy only. This will save an enormous amount of energy and pollution. Handled correctly, low energy lighting can be superior to incandescent lighting in a number of ways. However there are several issues, real and perceived, around low energy lights which need addressing. Some of these are to do with general acceptance, others with technical issues.
- Lower levels of light output is sometimes a criticism with low energy bulbs. This typically comes from silly people who have tried to replace an incandescent 100W lamp with an 11W cfl. It needs to be at least 20W, maybe up to 30.
- Colour rendering has been something of a problem with cfls although that problem has now been fairly well fixed. Some of the worst makes used to give a strange slightly sickly colour of light with a tinge of green but these are getting fewer. Cfls may never give the full frequency lighting spectrum that incandescent lighting does but it may give healthier lighting if the results coming from research into 17,000ºK fluorescent lighting by Philips is anything to go by.
- run up speed is being rapidly improved
- dimming is now possible with some cfls
- problems with bulbs breaking loose from their bayonet plugs within the light fitting have ceased with cfls. This was linked to the heat problem which often caused the plastic sockets to go brittle.
Conventional fluorescent lighting is particularly good when high frequency gear is used.
White goods and other electrical appliances should be chosen for their EU energy rating.
Voltage Optimisation
In theory the mains voltage has been harmonised across Europe at 230 volts. What happened in practise was a bit of a fudge. Instead of the UK voltage being changed to 230V it was allowed to be 230 V +10% -6%. This effectively allowed it to stay at 240V. and it can therefore rise to 256V. Manufacturers of electrical equipment work to 230V to best cover the European market and so when equipment is fed the much higher voltage of up to 256V it is not working to its optimum efficiency. Enter the Voltage optimiser which is a gadget fitted near the electric meter to regulate the incoming voltage down to 230. There are claims that this could save up to 10% of your electricity costs.
I would also comment that the range of low-energy lighting (now required to be 75% of all lights in new-build properties) is very poor and unimaginative. There is an enormous restriction going on in terms of what lighting fixtures one is allowed to put in new-build properties – deeply depressing for anyone trying to add some personality to new houses.
Also, consumers are being forced into a steady reduction in the light volumes they can practically achieve in their houses from pendants. Try buying a 100W equivalent replacement low-energy lightbulb in a standard DIY shed like Homebase or B&Q, and you’ll see what I mean. They are extraordinarily difficult to come by!