Incandescent and Halogen vs CFL vs LED

With energy prices continually rising, most of us could greatly benefit from electrical cost savings devises. A typical office spends 38% of their electricity bills on lighting, which means lighting is an area pretty much all businesses can save in. So then what are the best options and what one should your business choose?

CFL's

CFL Light Globes are a great energy saving alterative to incandescent bulbs. CFL Globes use the same fittings as regular incandescent lighting so they are easy to replace. CFL Lights generally use about 80% less energy than incandescent lighting and create 80% less emissions. CFL's also last around 8 times longer, sometimes even up to 15 times longer with a 15,000 hour life span.

CFL's are more expensive initially to buy but generally pay themselves off within a year and of course last much longer (up to 15 times longer). They provide the same warm white light as incandescent lighting and switch on instantly and take about a minute to reach full brightness.

CFL's globes work by heating the gas inside which creates light. CFL's do contain a small amount of mercury which helps to create the light from the globe. This is why they take a minute to reach full brightness as the gas has to heat up within the globe. Some people feel that this is a major downfall and that you have to leave them on for hours to get their rated life.

They also can't be used in dimmers (unless you get the $20 special dimmer versions) or outdoors and they don't produce a wide color gamut (most CFLs produce only two or three colors of light).

The main issue with CFL's is the large amount of energy and materials that go into manufacturing them. Fluorescent tubes can contain up to 15mg of mercury that is an extremely toxic element, especially dangerous to pregnant women, babies and children. One fluorescent tube contains enough mercury to pollute 30,000 liters of water. It is essential that all CFL's and Fluorescent tubes are recycled appropriately. The amount of mercury in CFL's is minimal and not a concern for humans unless the light is broken. If a CFL breaks you should cover it with a damp cloth (while wearing gloves) and place it in a plastic bag and then throw it away and open any windows to allow fresh air in. For businesses there are CFL tube recycling programs to reduce the environmental impact.

LED's

LED is an acronym for Light Emitting Diode. Diodes are semiconductors, which will conduct energy in only one direction. LED lights and tubes use diodes instead of gas or heated filaments to produce light making them the most energy efficient lighting option available.

The benefits of LED Lighting are endless. LED Lights are energy efficient, cost effective, durable and more. They are the latest technology in lighting and offer a great alternative in replacing your current halogen or standard lights. Below is a detailed list of some of the many benefits of LED Lighting.

A standard 50W halogen lamp turns 90% of electricity used into heat with only 10% into light. The benefit of LED Lights are that they use only 15% of the energy a standard halogen uses, provide up to 85% of the light output and create less heat making them so cool to touch. This makes LED Lights not only energy efficient but extremely cost effective as air conditioning use can be lowered. Some LED Lights can be operated by mains power, but when used with a Low Voltage LED Driver, LED Lights will produce more light output per watt.

LED Lights have the benefit of a super long life span of up to 40,000 hours which means you can cut maintenance costs as the lamps last up to 8-10 times longer than standard halogen lamps making them an ideal replacement.

LED's have no filaments so can withstand a greater intensity of vibration and shock than standard lights making them durable with less risk of breaking and need to replace.

LED Light bulbs can be as small as 2mm making them ideal for fitting into hard to reach and compact areas.

LED Lights will start at full brightness, instantly, every time, therefore there is no need for backup lighting. LED Lights are a benefit because they switch on and off instantly making them ideal for flashing signs, traffic signaling and automotive lights, compared to standard compact fluorescent lights which fade in and out or flicker.

Most LED lights operate at low voltage so are cool to touch and much safer to handle during installation and maintenance and can be exposed to rain and snow.

The benefit of LED Lights is that they are an eco-friendly form of lighting as they do not contain mercury or other harmful gasses or emit any harmful UV rays. For example, a 13w LED light emits 68% less CO2 than a standard 40w incandescent bulb running 10 hours per day.

Halogen Incandescent or Halogen Energy Saver bulbs

Basically, these are incandescent lamps that use a more efficient halogen-gas-filled envelope that does two things- it reduces the amount of power required to get the same light output as a standard incandescent lamp and second, it doubles the life of the lamp from 1000 to 2000 hours. They produce a light very similar to incandescent lamps and cost around 1/3rd the price of a CFL.

They do use more power than CFLs but can be used in halogen lamps in dimmer circuits and because they are a standard bulb, they fit more fittings than many CFLs.

For more information please visit the sites below.

http://www.todae.com.au/LEDLighting/Compact_Fluorescent_Light_CFL_Globes

http://www.led-lamps.net.au/led-energy-saving/led-vs-cfl-vs-halogen/24-led-vs-cfl-vs-halogen

http://www.climatechange.gov.au/what-you-need-to-know/lighting