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Advice on Energy Saving Bulbs, Please!

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Fire_Fox
Fire_Fox Posts: 26,026 Forumite
Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
I feel I have done a lot to reduce my electricity usage, given that I live in a flat. I haven't got low energy bulbs tho, as I don't fully understand the theory and don't want to waste money.

We have eight 50W MR16 halogen spots in our main living area which are switched on a good deal as it's a north-facing flat and pretty dark. The same room has four uplighters with screw fitting bulbs, but these are rarely used. The lighting is mainly on a dimmer switch, which would be difficult to replace as it has four switches on the one plate.

In the hall we have six 50W GU10 halogen spots which are also switched on a lot as there is no window and the light switch is by the front door. The current lighting replaced two MR16 halogen spots as the area was too dark.

I am willing to replace some or all of these bulbs, but struggle to see how a lower wattage would not make the areas very dingy. :confused: At the moment I am buying replacement bulbs 4 for £1 in the pound shop but they don't last long! What is the most cost effective way to replace these bulbs? Prices and wattage seem to vary widely, what is the difference in performance?

Sorry for what is probably a stupid question, and thanks for your time!
Declutterbug-in-progress.⭐️⭐️⭐️ ⭐️⭐️
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  • Fire_Fox
    Fire_Fox Posts: 26,026 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    Also can someone check my maths cos this does not seem right:

    14 bulbs x 50W = 700W = 0.7KW per hour = 7p per hour @ 10p per KWH

    10 hours a day = 70p x 30 days = £21 a month

    My electricity bill is £30 a month at the moment including standing charge, basic heating, hot water etc. :o
    Declutterbug-in-progress.⭐️⭐️⭐️ ⭐️⭐️
  • Maths seems fine assuming you have them on all that time and on full glow. Do you have the hall ones on 10 hours though - might be an overestimate. It would leave very little for fridge, cooking and pc / laptop for example not to mention the heating.

    Can't comment on the type of bulbs but if i had them I would be inclined to go for the cheapy option and use a couple of desk lamps with CFLs. Pick them up at a charity shop, car boot or freecycle. Hopefully the ambiance is comparable.

    Good energy bill for all those lamps though as I am spending about £33 per month, averaged over six months, for gas and electricity including standing charges.
  • Fire_Fox
    Fire_Fox Posts: 26,026 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    Thanks for your reply. The lights are always on full glow, although I did realise last night we almost always have one or two bulbs out, so that would reduce the cost! The hall lights are on slightly less than the sitting area - they are switched off when the first person goes to bed.

    The lamps are confusing as there seem to be LEDs (expensive and not bright enough), 11W, 20W and 35W halogen. I have priced up the 35W as two for £2 at Wilkinsons, or even 50p each from 'mygreenlighting' (online) plus a small delivery charge. But then if you go to the £3+ price bracket there are branded 35W which claim
    "The Osram Decostar IRC Energy Saving Halogen bulb range brings new energy saving technology to standard halogen bulbs. Designed to be a direct replacement for low voltage halogen MR16 (GU5.3) bulbs, the Osram Decostar IRC is exactly the same size (50mm diameter) and offers a 40% reduction in energy costs.
    The 35W Osram IRC energy saving halogen bulb offers the same 3000K warm white light output as a standard 50W bulb and lasts for 5000 hours - five times longer than normal halogen MR16 bulbs meaning both the cost of maintenance and energy consumption are greatly reduced."


    Is this just sales mumbo jumbo or do these work as they say? :confused:
    Declutterbug-in-progress.⭐️⭐️⭐️ ⭐️⭐️
  • JohalaReewi
    JohalaReewi Posts: 2,614 Forumite
    Energy saving MR16s are thin on the ground. There are LED versions but as you have spotted, the brightest are equivalent to a 35W halogen and they aint cheap. I found some Philips MasterLine long life energy saving MR16s which are normal halogens but give more light so you can go for a lower wattage and still have the same amount of light. So for a 50w standard you can use a 30w philips. They aren't that expensive either and do last. Google philips masterline mr16 for suppliers etc.

    For GU10, LED versions only give up to 35W at present (AFAIK) but you can get the Megaman 11W (a CFL bulb) which gives out lots of light (50w equivalent) but can take a few minutes to reach maximum brightness and it is chunky! Luckily, I have a snazzy chrome spotlight bar which suit the megaman bulbs to a T. They are not cheap though but if you hunt around online you might find a bargain.

    A little old now but still worth a look is this review on GU10 bulbs (with an MR16 mention)
    http://www.bettergeneration.co.uk/efficient-appliances/comparing-gu10-energy-saving-ceiling-lights.html
  • Premier_2
    Premier_2 Posts: 15,141 Forumite
    10,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    Fire_Fox wrote: »
    ...I am willing to replace some or all of these bulbs, but struggle to see how a lower wattage would not make the areas very dingy. :confused: ...

    The law of conservation of energy states that energy may neither be created nor destroyed, but may be changed from one form to another.

    In the case of a lightbulb, it's function is to provide light. But have you experienced how much heat is produced by a traditional lightbulb, let alone a halogen one?

    Does that explain how its possible for a lightbulb to consume less power yet output more light?
    "Now to trolling as a concept. .... Personally, I've always found it a little sad that people choose to spend such a large proportion of their lives in this way but they do, and we have to deal with it." - MSE Forum Manager 6th July 2010
  • Fire_Fox
    Fire_Fox Posts: 26,026 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    Premier wrote: »
    The law of conservation of energy states that energy may neither be created nor destroyed, but may be changed from one form to another.

    In the case of a lightbulb, it's function is to provide light. But have you experienced how much heat is produced by a traditional lightbulb, let alone a halogen one?

    Does that explain how its possible for a lightbulb to consume less power yet output more light?

    Thanks. Yes I had read that, but still struggle with the concept of the same technology producing more light from a lower wattage. Not all 35W lamps make this promise either - the cheaper ones certainly don't. Am finding it hard to know whether you are paying for the brand name or whether it is actually slightly different technology.
    Declutterbug-in-progress.⭐️⭐️⭐️ ⭐️⭐️
  • Fire_Fox
    Fire_Fox Posts: 26,026 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    . I found some Philips MasterLine long life energy saving MR16s which are normal halogens but give more light so you can go for a lower wattage and still have the same amount of light. So for a 50w standard you can use a 30w philips. They aren't that expensive either and do last. Google philips masterline mr16 for suppliers etc.

    For GU10, LED versions only give up to 35W at present (AFAIK) but you can get the Megaman 11W (a CFL bulb) which gives out lots of light (50w equivalent) but can take a few minutes to reach maximum brightness and it is chunky! Luckily, I have a snazzy chrome spotlight bar which suit the megaman bulbs to a T. They are not cheap though but if you hunt around online you might find a bargain.

    A little old now but still worth a look is this review on GU10 bulbs (with an MR16 mention)
    http://www.bettergeneration.co.uk/efficient-appliances/comparing-gu10-energy-saving-ceiling-lights.html

    Have read the review, thanks. The Megaman 11W GU10 are impressively low energy, but too large for my lighting fitment as the bulbs are completely on show. I assume it is the size/ shape that reflects the heat back? Amazon Aand Ebay list Finelite 9W (=45W) and 11W (=55W) GU10s at around £5 each which are standard shape. Am off to research further ...

    It seems the Osram Decostar IRC MR16s are £1 cheaper than the Philips Masterline ES MR16s. Unless you have seen the Masterline for less than £4 each?
    Declutterbug-in-progress.⭐️⭐️⭐️ ⭐️⭐️
  • Fire_Fox
    Fire_Fox Posts: 26,026 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    Have just replaced the central four 50W MR16s with Wilko's cheapest 35W and it's only slightly less bright. However ten minutes later I heard a slight noise as one new bulb went out. :mad:

    Two 50W will not work in the same holder, which suggests the transformer has gone ... wierdly it's the same transformer that went previously, and has had an intermittent fault since, which I put down to pound shop lamps. Seriously considering taking the hit and getting an electrician to replace the lot with GU10 fittings.

    :confused:

    Edited to add: We have just replaced the light fitting with one removed when we put new lighting in the hall. It now works fine but, on closer inspection, the electrical wire on the old one is scorched and brittle in two places. I now wonder if the first transformer that appeared to have suffered a mini-explosion had actually melted due to the heat of the halogen lamp??
    Declutterbug-in-progress.⭐️⭐️⭐️ ⭐️⭐️
  • The article referred to in this post might be worth a read:

    http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showpost.html?p=17543773&postcount=17

    The article in the link is quite long but very informative.
  • I replaced 8 downlighters in my kitchen and purchased the Megaman 11W gu10's, as mentioned the main body is longer and wont fit a standard down lighter so for the little outlay I purchased these http://www.gil-lec.co.uk/products/Lighting/Domestic+Lighting/Energy+Saving+Lighting/Energy+Saving+Downlights/Fozz+Vog+Low+Energy+Downlight+Chrome/4236361569
    Although it's an initial outlay in expense I'm well pleased with the overall results.
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