Technically, what’s wrong with the ordinary cheap bulb?

An ordinary filament light bulb will burn on average for only 500-1000 hours. And it converts 95% of the energy it consumes into heat and only 5% into light. This means that a large proportion of electricity and therefore money goes straight into heating the surrounding air. The extra electricity means higher carbon dioxide emissions and soaring electricity bill.

Because of the EU obligation in reducing well-documented greenhouse gas which has long term impact on our fragile climate, EU is pushing energy efficient directive that ban the sale of the ordinary filament light bulb within EU state, which also apply to Bulgaria state.

It time to scrap outdated inefficient technology and make big saving with exciting new high tech energy saving lamps, you’ll be more free with less energy bill!

What is energy saving lamp?

There are three basic types of energy saving lamps suitable for home and office:

LED - Light Emitting Diode

LEDs are small, solid light bulbs which are extremely energy-efficient. Until recently, LEDs were limited to single-bulb use in applications such as instrument panels, electronics, pen lights and, more recently, strings of indoor and outdoor Xmas lights. Recent improvements in manufacture have lowered the cost of LEDs, which has expanded their application.

The bulbs are now available in clusters, from 2 to 36 bulbs, and are popular especially for battery powered items such as flashlights and headlamps. LEDs are also available in arrays which fit standard AC and DC receptacles, lamps, recessed and track lights.

They requires a special transformer as they operates at lower voltage from 220V mains, however there are emerging new screw in lamps with build in transformer so it can operates 220V. They do not flicker like old fashion fluorescent lamps.

Halogen Lamp

A tungsten-halogen lamp is a filament lamp with gases from the halogen family sealed inside the lamp. It has similar light output to an ordinary filament bulb while using up to 40 percent less power. Although tungsten-halogen lamps are more expensive to buy, they last two to four times longer than ordinary filament blub.

Tungsten-halogen lighting provides excellent colour rendering and gives off a whiter light than ordinary filament blub. Tungsten-halogen lamps can be used indoors and outdoors and are suitable for gardens and marking pathways. These lamps can be dimmed, although they should occasionally be used at full power to keep the bulb from darkening. They requires a special transformer as the operates at lower voltage (ideal for bathroom/kitchen use).

Compact Fluorescent Lights (CFL)

CFLs are simply miniature versions of full-sized fluorescents. They screw into standard lamp sockets, and give off light that looks just like the ordinary filament bulb - not like the fluorescent lighting we associate with factories and schools (as it has been done in the older generation CFLs).

Early technology of the CFL are unpopular due to relatively high cost and poor (harsh) light quality, unpleasant long stick shape, but they do make significant energy saving. Due to significant research and development, they no long the case as they come with various shape, design, colours and fitting (very close to ordinary filament lamps). All these benefit is now impossibly hard to not to make excuse:

CFL consume up to 80 percent less electricity than ordinary light bulbs for the same amount of light and last up to 15 times longer. An ordinary light bulb will burn on average for only 500-1000 hours. And it converts 95% of the energy it consumes into heat and only 5% into light. This means that a large proportion of electricity and therefore money goes straight into heating the surrounding air. The extra electricity means higher carbon dioxide emissions.

When purchasing CFLs, consider the following

(a) Choose the colour temperature

           2700K = warm white, pleasant colour just like ordinary filament blub, suitable for home
           5000K = cool white
           6400K = harsh blue-white, suitable for daylights

(b) Screw in connector, usually E14 and E27 in Bulgaria

(c) Shape that fit to your fitting

(d) Match lumens, amount of light being generated, higher number, brighter the light (but consume more
          power in watts), see table below:

FAQs about compact fluorescent bulbs

Do they flicker when you turn them on?

Yes, they do, but unlike early energy saver lamps a few years ago, the latest designs generally include electronic rapid start circuitry to make the lamp light in less than 1 second with virtually no flickering.

Don't they give a rather harsh light?

Some older designs had quite a high "colour temperature" (known as 6400K colour) which may be perceived as "colder and harsh" but many energy saving lamps now use a "warm white" coating to make the light very similar to a ordinary filament bulb (colour code 2700K). Note that 6400K colour is generally cheaper than 2700K colour.

Do they take time to "warm up"?

The latest compact fluorescent lamps "warm up" very much faster than older designs, typically reaching 95% of their full light output in under a minute.

They are always too long and stick out above my lampshade!

Again, with the latest designs, this need not happen. Many compact fluorescents are now so small that they are virtually the same size, or even smaller, than ordinary bulbs. If the bulb is visible, you can choose from one of the designs that use a decorative outer bulb to cover the fluorescent tubes.

Do compact fluorescents get hot?

Compact fluorescents give out far less heat than normal incandescent bulbs, making them safer for use in unattended security or night light applications. This also makes them ideal for use with lampshades made of delicate materials that can be damaged by heat. All lamps do however give off some heat and should not be used in a totally enclosed light fitting unless there is some way for the heat to escape.

Can energy savers be used with a dimmer switch?

Most compact fluorescent energy savers available on the UK market cannot be dimmed using a standard domestic dimmer. The latest technology "Dimmerable" energy savers starting to emerged and can be dimmed simply by rotating a standard dimmer switch.

We offer professional design and installation of LED technology

LED lights embedded into tiles, wall, stairs, ceiling and outside can make an aesthetically modern statement, with a dramatic flair and an emphasis on low-light safety. We offer professional lighting architect and installation project for your eco-building , please enquire for more details.