*** Don't miss my giveaway where you can win a £60 voucher for LED lightbulbs ! ***
Just before Christmas, I was emailed to ask if I'd like to join in with an eco-friendly and money-saving blogger challenge. My ears immediately pricked up ! I quickly scrolled down to see what it was all about and read: "I’d like to challenge you to switch to LED lighting in your home and see how much money and energy you could save! We’d be happy to provide you with the bulbs if you’d like to give this a try." Awww my heart sank - it sounded like a great idea but one that we wouldn't be able to try out because as far as I knew, the only LED lightbulbs available were spotlights like these ones.
But I clicked through to try out their LED Energy Saving Calculator to see how much we COULD have saved and was really surprised to see that actually, there is a wide range of LED bulbs available - everything from normal shaped bulbs and candle shaped bulbs to strip lights and flood lights. You even get to choose from cool white light (like in the bathroom picture above) or warm white light, which gives a softer glow that's well-suited to bedrooms and living rooms.
I was over the moon to see that they have the exact bulbs we need for our chandelier type light fittings in our living /dining room - these E14 candle-shaped bulbs that you can see below. At first glance, it seems expensive. We have two light fittings with 6 bulbs each and each bulb costs £8.60, which means the bulbs would have cost over £100 just for this one room. (That's 71% off the RRP of £24.99 per bulb though so the original cost would have been almost £300, plus if you buy in bulk, the price goes down.) That initial outlay may well make you think that it's a false economy and not worth it but the figures suggest otherwise :
Did you know?:
You could save £9.15 per month by swapping 12 standard 50W halogen light bulbs to LEDs – that’s a massive £2,550 over the bulbs’ lifespan!
LEDs last 25-30 years and won’t fade over time, break or burn out like most other bulbs
LEDs use 90% less energy than traditional incandescent lights
A typical home switching all its halogen lights to LED equivalents could also save a staggering 6 tonnes of CO2
I used the online energy saver calculator on the website and put in our 12 bulbs and average daily use of 3 hours - the calculator worked out that we'd save £8.30 per month on our lighting bill so the bulbs will have paid for themselves in six months. That's without taking into account the ecological benefits too.
LEDHut, who sell all sorts of LED bulbs, explain : "In light of soaring energy prices, a home replacing just 12 standard 50W halogen bulbs with LED equivalents, could be making monthly savings of £9.15 – a total of almost £2550 over the lifespan of the bulbs.
Unlike traditional incandescent lights, which lose most of their energy through heat, LEDs are extremely efficient, using a massive 90% less energy. They are also far more durable, lasting 50 times longer than standard bulbs and providing an impressive 50,000 hours of consistent, quality light (that’s the equivalent of around 25-30 years, dependent on use). Over that time, a typical home switching all its halogen lights to LED equivalents could also save a massive 6 tonnes of CO2 in the process.
Comments LEDHut Marketing Director Keith Scott: “A lot of people are clearly still in the dark about the real benefits of LED lights - otherwise everyone would have them! There are lots of common misconceptions, the first being you compromise on lighting quality. This simply isn’t the case. Not only do LEDs give out all their light instantly at the flick of a switch, you get the same light quality and intensity you would expect from a standard bulb or halogen.
“People also think LEDs are more expensive. Again this isn’t the case! Whilst you do pay more upfront, the bulbs typically pay for themselves in less than 12 months and will then continue to save you 90% on your bills thereafter, over their 25-30 year lifespan. They are also incredibly durable so you won’t ever have to worry about them fading over time, breaking or burning out like most other bulbs.”
I have to admit, it's been a total eye-opener for me. I'd heard of switching over to LED lighting but thought it was incompatible with anything other than spotlights, which is just totally wrong.
If I've piqued your interest, don't go away - I'll be back in a moment with a fabulous giveaway which will help you make the switch and start saving on your lighting bills.
Disclosure : I received some LED lightbulbs in order to learn more about them, see how much we could save and tell you all about it. LEDHut are also providing a voucher for a giveaway.
Other blogposts you may be interested in :
I had never considered LED light bulbs before but they definately sound a lot more economical
ReplyDeleteWe have just received our first order from the LED hut. I was so excited because I'm always on a mission to reduce, reuse and recycle!
ReplyDeleteIn August we were £8.00 in credit to our electric bill and only paying £35.00 a month. Yesterday I set up online account managing so we could see how we were doing without waiting for a statement. I submitted a reading and was thrilled to see that we are still 76p in credit! Fabulous for a winter time!
We try really hard to keep of useage down and are just looking to switch over the living room lights which the calculator showed would save us £7.00+ a month. The bulbs will cost £115 though and as I'm just about to go on maternity leave, I cant lay that out at the moment. The £60 voucher would make it possible!
I will like your blog on Facebook and post on your wall, my name on there is Clarissa T'isme.
Kindest regards, Clare x