It’s estimated the average household lighting bill in the UK is roughly £300 per year. But by replacing your existing light bulbs for LED ones you could significantly reduce yours.

How Much Can I Save by Switching to LED?

How much switching to LED bulbs will save you depends on a few factors, including:

• How many bulbs you have in your home.
• The type of bulb you have.
• Bulb wattage.
• How much kW/hr your current bulbs cost you.

As a rough guide, if you had 4 GU10 spotlight 35w bulbs, costing 12p per kW/hr, switching to 3w LED bulbs would save you roughly £384 over the lifetime of the bulbs. If you had 7 standard GLS 40w bulbs, costing 12p per kW/hr, over the lifetime of the same number of 7w LED bulbs, you could save roughly £240.

Combined, to switch all the light bulbs in your home based on the above scenario, you could see a saving of £1,077 during the lifetime of the bulbs.

For a more definitive answer on how much you’d save by switching to LED bulbs by visiting our Energy Saving Bulb Comparison, we recommend working out the type of bulbs you currently have in your home and their wattage, before entering the information into an energy saving calculator, such as the one found on lightbulbs-direct.com.

Why Are LED Bulbs Energy Efficient:

It has been suggested 80% of electricity used by LED bulbs is converted into light, whilst LED bulbs also use 90% less energy than their halogen counterparts. Put simply, a 4 watt LED bulb will produce the same light output as a 50 watt halogen bulb.

• Due to using up to 70% less UV light than halogen bulbs, LEDs reduce the carbon footprint of homes.
• Fed up of waiting for your current energy saving bulbs to heat up before they produce enough light? LED bulbs switch on instantaneously, meaning you’re not wasting electricity (or money) as you wait for the required light.

• The lifespan of an LED bulb is reportedly 50,000 hours, which means if you were inclined to leave your lights switched on for 8 hours a day, they should still work 17 years later. By comparison, a 50w halogen light has an estimated lifespan of 2,000 hours – the equivalent to roughly 83 days.

What to Look Out for When Switching:

When it comes to switching from a halogen to an LED bulb, you’ll need to consider how bright you want the light to be, and this can be done in two ways.

1. Consider lumens. These provide a clear indication of how bright the bulb will be, and as a rough guide, if you’re looking to change a 60 watt halogen bulb, you’ll need to consider an LED bulb which offers at least 700 lumens.
2. Check the kelvins, as these provide information as to the colour temperature offered by the bulb. For general home usage, an LED bulb with 2700 kelvins should suffice.

By making such a small change throughout your home, you’ll be amazed at the big savings you will make, so instead of waiting for your existing bulbs to go – why not switch today?

Have you already switched to LED bulbs throughout your home, how are you finding them – have you noticed a difference in your utility bills? Share your stories in the comment section below.

Tags: Energy Efficient, LED Bulbs, Money Saving Tips