lighting
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If you're just replacing a normal bulb replacement without dimmers, budget around £6 (+VAT) per bulb and sort out the details later with a supplier like Gil-Lec. For all other situations, read the sections below.
Gil-lecs' energy saving lamps pages (funny looking CFL and pointy, candle and other styles) can give you a better idea of current prices. Gil-lec is a 9carrots supplier and pays 9carrots 10% commission which helps keep this not-for-profit volunteeer run project afloat.
The technology is changing fast. If a supplier gives you new information that's different to what's here, please update this page.
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Dimmers
- sep, 2010by anewholm
Low-energy lighting installations become very complicated if dimmers are involved! If there are dimmers then it's best to talk to a supplier about what can be done.Dimmable low-energy (compact flourescent) bulbs are available for about £15 each, but they're a bit fussy about what dimmer they're connected to. It might therefore be necessary to replace the dimmers. Basically, dimmer units have minimum and maximum load limits on them. For example, a normal dimmer may support between 40W and 400W of incandescent lighting, which means it can support 15W - 67W of dimmable fluorescent lamps. This means that if you are using an 11W dimmable low energy bulbs, you can only use between 2 and 6 bulbs per dimmer. (These recommendations may vary with different lamp and dimmer manufacturers)
Low-energy bulbs need to be left on full power for a few minutes before they can be dimmed.Gil-lec supplies dimmable MegaMan lamps that we are currently trying out. Watch this space!
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Glossary
- sep, 2010by anewholmBulb shapes
- GLS - traditional shaped bulb
Bulb types
- CFL - Compact Fluorescent, like a long fluorescent tube but wound round in to a bulb
- LED - Light Emitting Diode - just another type, often used instead of Halogens
- Incadescent - High energy filament bulbs
- Halogen - high energy often found in 240v or 12v downlights
Fitting types and acronyms
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Cap - the fitting type, bayonett (common indoor) or screw - BC - Bayonett Cap (22mm diameter) - the most common indoor fitting, also called B22
- SBC - Small Bayonett Cap (15mm diameter) - also called B15
- ES - Edison Screw (27mm diameter) - more common with outdoor, also called E27
- SES - Small Edison Screw (14mm diameter) - also called E14
- GU10 - A two pin fitting (push and twist) usually for halogen spot lights/downlights
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Fluorescent tubes
- sep, 2010by anewholm
If the business already has fluorescent tubes, that's great - they are already really energy efficient. There's not a lot of saving to be made here: generally you can save about 10% on energy by upgrading to the newer low energy fluorescent tubes and get 3 x lifespan. These tubes are very cheap though at around £3 for a 2 foot tube. -
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Power and efficiency
- oct, 2010by anewholmLight bulbs come in 5 grades, usually shown on the side of the box: A-E. Grade A and B are low energy (more commonly compact fluorescent) and are endorsed by 9carrots. Grades C-E should not be part of a 9carrots installation unless there is no suitable alternative.
The wattage, e.g. 60W bulb, indicates the amount of power the bulb uses. The lower the better! Old fashioned, energy-hungry bulbs use between 40W and 100W although 100W + 'non directional' (ie: NOT spotlights) incandescent bulbs have been banned since last year, with 75W + following suit this year.
Low-energy bulbs only use about 1/4 of the energy of their old-fashioned equivalent. For example, a 100W Incandescent bulb can be replaced with a 18W Compact Fluorescent bulb that produces the same amount of light.
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Halogen Downlights
- oct, 2010by anewholm
There's no perfect low-energy replacement for halogens at the moment, so you'll need to ask the business owner which they'd be most happy with:Compact fluorescent
These are fairly cheap (< £10), bright, give a warm-ish light and a wide beam. They use 75% less energy than halogens. The catch is that they're longer than halogen bulbs, so they'll stick out by a few centimetres.
LED
These are the same size as halogens and save just as much energy as flourescents, but are more expensive (about £15), produce a very white light in quite a narrow beam and even the most powerful ones on the market aren't as bright as a 50W halogen bulb. They're getting better fast though, so check with suppliers for the latest developments.
IRC (Infra Red Coated) halogens
These are exactly the same as a halogen but with a special coating that makes them 30% more efficient. Thus a 50W can be replaced by a 35W. That's not nearly as much energy saved as the options above, but they're only £3 a bulb and are probably better than nothing.
