Energy Saving Light Bulbs

eddmac2

None in stock this week either. Seems like a case of "ours are usually £5 but when we don't have any in stock they are on sale at 99pence". I haven't seen this old technique since I used to shop on the hight street many years ago.

sparkymarky

they did have some in stock. I bought 6.
They went out of stock a day after they appeared on this forum.
I got an email saying no more stock before xmas.

matthk_2

You can get cheap bulbs from LOTS of shops - as long as they are partners
in EELS - The Energy Efficient Lamp Scheme. Talk to your Council too - up
here in Edinburgh, www.changeworks.org.uk have details and I think they
even provide low energy bulbs free to pensioners.




ABOUT EELS...

...set up last year to establish a competitive route to market for energy
efficient lamps. It supplies retailers with leading brands of energy efficient
lamps at subsidised prices, starting as low as 40p plus VAT per lamp,
allowing independent retailers to stay competitive with DIY chains without
relying on cheaper imports of possibly lower quality.


To date the scheme, sponsored by PowerGen, has supplied around 170,000
bulbs, making them more readily available to consumers and more viable
for lighting retailers. The Domestic Energy Efficient Luminaire Scheme
(DEELS) operates under the same principle; aiming to assist in the
promotion of approved energy efficient lighting products to a wider audience.

AND FROM THE GUARDIAN:
Powergen, one of the UK's largest energy suppliers, is offering cash
sponsorship to 200 major retailers around the country to enable them to
sell compact fluorescent lights (CFLs) - which use about one-fifth as much
power as normal incandescent bulbs, last more than eight times longer,
but cost between £2 and £8 - for about 50p.


See the Guardian article here:
http://technology.guardian.co.uk/weekly/story/0,,1736676,00.html


And the Lighting Association' sub-site on the subject:
http://www.lightingassociation.com/eels.php


Hope this all helps,
cheers
matthk

PS: Yes, I know it's been a while since I've posted!

mayb_2

Thanks for than matthk

A clearer picture - and one that puts the "negawatts" value of CFLs into perspective - comes from Jonathan Smith of E.ON, Powergen's parent company. "Changing every light fitting in all 20m households in the UK to energy-saver bulbs would result in a reduction on fuel bills of around £4.8bn - the cost of building 64 offshore wind farms, 53 biomass power stations, or 14 gas-fired power stations."

That's a lot of pollution that could be saved just by changing a light bulb. The question is, how quickly will people realise it?

I have just copied this from that Gaurdian article which is well worth a read - it says it all really. Whatever we end up paying for that light bulb it has got to be worth it! - I think we have a mission - to spread the word!

vtailor

3 pack of 20w(100w equiv.) bayonet fitting light bulbs for £2.50 @ Wilkinsons !

ajayr_2

A couple of years ago, a test carried out by a trade lighting magazine found that most cheap, imported low energy bulbs did not give out as much light as their older, conventional equivalents. The problem seemed to worsen with the incresing quoted wattage. Some bulbs rated as 100w gave barely the equivalent to a conventional 75w bulb., and often the consumtion was greater than quoted.
This does not mean that you should avoid these low energy bulbs, but maybe try just one before buying a large quantity.
I write as an enthusiastic user of these bulbs, but most are from well-known makers.
That olden proverb, 'Let the buyer beware', still applies today.

zappomatic

eddmac2 wrote:

None in stock this week either. Seems like a case of "ours are usually £5 but when we don't have any in stock they are on sale at 99pence". I haven't seen this old technique since I used to shop on the hight street many years ago.

This is categorically NOT the case! We work very hard here in John Lewis's lighting buying office to make sure we have stock when we're matching a competitor's price, however we are at the mercy of Philips when it comes to stock. There have been shortages lately because Philips have moved the production of many of their bulbs to a different factory which has caused gaps in supply.

We normally sell at £1.95 which is still cheaper than anyone else on the high street (Argos charge £3.99). We'd love to be able to be in stock even when we're selling at 49p because thanks to rebates we still make a profit.

We don't employ underhand tactics like restricting supply so please consider the reality before making such rash comments.

sparkymarky

I, for one, have thanked zappomatic for his insightful and useful post. What he is implying is that we can rely on John Lewis to provide good prices on Low Energy Lightbulbs in future, and price may vary in future, but in comparison will remain very competitive.

That's good news for people who need a regular reliable supplier.

Jefft_2

zappomatic wrote:

We don't employ underhand tactics like restricting supply so please consider the reality before making such rash comments.

Some time ago a particular toaster was on undersale at a 'very' low price at JL but there were none on display, the previous week (when they were at the higher price) they were on display . I had to ask for one and they were in stock. Is this the kind of tactic that JL do not use?;)

zappomatic

Well, they really shouldn't be doing that kind of thing and I'm sure it would be frowned upon from higher up. But rest assured we're an honest bunch in lighting!

Prices of energy saving bulbs are likely to increase next year, or at least not reach this year's lows: this is due to a planned reduction in subsidy available, and a levy being imposed to pay for the recycling or disposal of spent bulbs (energy saving bulbs contain a lot of harmful materials in comparison with ordinary bulbs).