The Benefits of Switching From Halogen to LED
If you haven't already made the switch from halogen bulbs to LED, what are you waiting for? Here is everything that you need to know about the benefits of switching from halogen to LED:
LED Uses Less Energy
An LED bulb uses approximately 90% less energy than a halogen or incandescent bulb. If you currently use a 50w bulb, you should be able to replace it with a 5W LED bulb. Traditionally, when electricity passes through the filament of a bulb, it produces a lot of heat before it generates light. With an LED bulb, as soon as the electricity passes through, light is produced. In turn, this stops energy from being wasted as heat.
Cost-Saving
Investing in LED should mean that you will see a reduction in your energy bill. If you had 8 x 50w halogen spotlights in your kitchen, they would use 400w of electricity per hour if you used them for four hours a day, or 0.4kWh per hour, adding up to 1.6kWh of energy. In the UK, the average cost of electricity is 13p/kWh meaning that the cost would be 0.21p a day for having the lights on, or £76 a year. When you compare that to a 5w LED bulb, the hourly usage would be just 40w of electricity or 0.04 kWh. Over four hours, this equates to a usage of 0.16kWh at a cost of 0.02p per day, or £7.59 per year. If you think about this saving across all of the rooms in your home, you could save a small fortune on your energy bills.
LED Lasts Longer
If you have halogen bulbs in your home, the chances are that they blow on a regular basis, particularly if you have spotlights in your kitchen or bathroom. LED bulbs last around 20 times longer than a traditional halogen bulb. This is because the filament gets thinner every time that you switch the bulb on due to the heat, and it eventually pops. As LED bulbs don’t generate heat, this won’t happen.
More Colour Choice
Incandescent bulbs produce an inviting warm light. When LEDs first came onto the market, they were seen as cold and harsh. However, this has all changed now, as you can get any colour on the colour temperature chart with LEDs. If you prefer a warm light, you can get that, but you can also get blue, bright white and even green, which means you can tailor the lighting to every room in your home.
Environmentally Friendly
Why does LED lighting help the environment? Well, it uses less energy, which reduces the demand and less power is required. If everyone were to switch over to LED, the impact would be substantial, as 10-20% of a household energy bill goes on the cost of lighting.
LED lighting can also be recycled, unlike CFL bulbs. CFL bulbs contain mercury, which means that they have to be disposed of as toxic waste. LED bulbs are fully recyclable, making them better for the environment.