Your guide to lighting your home

Transcription

1 Your guide to lighting your home

2 The average household could save 300 by being more energy efficient around the home. (Source: Energy Saving Trust) Brighter ways to save From getting up early to snuggling up at night, we all need to light our homes. Traditional light bulbs waste lots of energy and money. Thanks to energy saving light bulbs, you can cut costs, save money and do your bit for the environment. All energy savings facts and figures are provided by the Energy Saving Trust, are current at the date of going to print, November 2009 and are based on the average 3 bedroom semi detached house and paying a gas price of 3.80p/kWh and an electricity price of 12.96p/kWh. Since their invention in 1800, light bulbs have come a long way. Today s energy saving lightbulbs don t just use up to 80% less electricity than standard bulbs. They re just as bright and come in many different styles. So, whether you want classic shapes, candle styles, different colours, dimmable bulbs, and screw or bayonet fittings, you ll find a modern light bulb to match. In this guide you ll find lots of facts and tips on saving money and energy on lighting. Isn t it time you made the switch to big savings? Hot spots These symbols show where you can get the energy saving measures if you decide to give them a try: This guide has received the Wallace and Gromit seal of approval for top tips on saving energy From most DIY stores From most superstores From npower 1

3 Lighting Lighting your home doesn t have to leave you counting the cost of high energy bills. There are lots of ways you can save money and energy before you even click the switch Did you know? If everyone in the UK switched all their remaining traditional inefficient lightbulbs to energy saving lightbulbs, the electricity saved in just one year would run the UK s street lighting for four and a half years (Source: Energy Saving Trust) Switch to energy saving bulbs they use up to 80% less energy and last around 10 times longer than standard bulbs. Turn off the lights switching off when you leave the room will cut your costs and reduce energy use. In the UK, we waste around 170 million a year leaving lights on. Replace faulty bulbs and fittings keeping everything in good working order will help reduce your energy bills. Use lower wattage bulbs if you don t need a strong light, choose a bulb that uses less power. Clean your windows making the most of natural daylight means not needing to switch the light on. Stick with the stickers From getting up early to snuggling up at night, we all need to light our homes. Traditional light bulbs waste lots of energy and money. Thanks to energy saving light bulbs, you can cut costs, save money and do your bit for the environment. All energy savings facts and figures are provided by the Energy Saving Trust, are current at the date of going to print, November 2009 and are based on the average 3 bedroom semi detached house and paying a gas price of 3.80p/kWh and an electricity price of 12.96p/kWh. Pick the best bulb Light bulbs aren t what they used to be. Today s bulbs don t just save money and energy, they look good too. Here s a selection of energy saving light bulbs available from most DIY stores or superstores. From most superstores From most DIY store How will you spend your savings? Just one energy saving light bulb could save you around 40 before you need to replace it around the cost of a delicious dinner for two in a good restaurant. 2 3

4 Lighting Separating fact from fiction There are many myths surrounding energy saving light bulbs. We debunk some of the common falsehoods and fictions Fiction Switching lights on and off uses lots more energy than leaving them running. Energy saving lightbulbs always take a long time to light up. Energy saving bulbs are inefficient because they need more energy to manufacture. Traditional bulbs give better light quality. Modern bulbs are bad for the environment because they contain mercury. Fact No, switching on an energy saving bulb only uses the same power as leaving it on for a minute or two. Most energy saving bulbs only take a few seconds to warm up to full brightness. The electric current passes through gas in the bulb s tube, making it glow brightly. Yes, an energy saving bulb s technology needs more energy to make than a traditional bulb. However, the energy it saves over time far outweighs this. For technical reasons, energy saving bulbs must be opaque, not transparent. So, it s only fair to compare them with soft tone traditional bulbs. In which case, you won t see any difference. Energy saving bulbs contain only very tiny traces of mercury. And because energy saving bulbs are so efficient, they require less burning of fossil fuels the biggest source of mercury in the air. Watt do you need? Replacing a traditional bulb with an energy saving alternative? Before throwing it away, check the wattage on your bulb. This chart shows which energy saving light bulb you should buy to get the same strength of light. You ll find details of the wattage on the packaging of your new bulb. Remember, the bulb s wattage tells you how much power it uses, not how much light it produces. So, an energy saving bulb only uses 20 watts to create the same light as a standard 100 watt bulb. Switch to the right wattage There is now a great range of energy saving light bulbs to replace your standard bulb. Here is a list of available bulb from our energy light bulb supplier, Philips * My old standard bulb is 100W 60W 40W 25W For the same light, I ll need an energy saving bulb of 20-25W 13-18W 8-11W 6W Green electricity at no extra cost Switch to npower juice. Juice supports the generation of clean, greener electricity in a very simple way. We estimate your electricity consumption throughout the year and feed the same amount of renewable electricity from renewable sources into the electricity network. At the end of the year, we ll check your annual consumption data and ensure the correct amount of renewable electricity has been purchased to cover your usage - its as simple as that. To find out more, call or visit How will you spend your savings? Fit all the lights in your house with energy saving bulbs and you could save up to 590 before they need replacing. Around the cost of a short break for 4 in the UK. 4 5

5 On your marks, get set, save! The next steps... We hope this guide has given you some useful tips on saving money and energy when using appliances around the home. If you would like to find out more about cutting your costs and energy use, our Energy Efficiency Helpline is here to help. If appropriate, the team can also arrange for an Energy Services Representative to visit your home and offer advice. Call the Energy Efficiency Helpline on Mon - Fri 8am - 8pm and Sat 8am - 6pm. You can also the team on energy.efficiency@npower.com or visit npower.com/savingenergy The Energy Saving Trust is a non-profit organisation providing free, impartial advice to help you stop wasting energy and money and help fight climate change. To find out what you can do to stop wasting energy visit our website at energysavingtrust.org.uk orgive your local Energy Saving Trust advisor a call on It s easy to stop wasting energy. visit energysavingtrust.org.uk or call Our advisors will: Give you personalised advice on what s practical for your home Explain any technical or planning issues Tell you about grants and offers available in your area Terms and conditions: Facts and figures are sourced from the Energy Saving Trust and are correct as of October 2009 npm6252/12.09 Calls may be monitored and recorded for training and security purposes. Price of call may vary depending on your operator, please check for exact charges. Aardman/Wallace and Gromit Limited (2009). npower Solar Thermal, Climate Cops, npower and hometeam are registered trademarks and npower is the trading name of Npower Northern Limited (registered in England and Wales No ) and associated companies. Registered office: Windmill Hill Business Park, Whitehill Way, Swindon SN5 6PB.