Living Greener

Green Advice ~ Lights

Filament globes will no longer be sold in stores from November 2009. It might be tempting to continue using the old globes to not waste the resources that went into making them, however this understandable idea will end up wasting a lot of money and producing much more greenhouse gases.

A much better idea.

A much better idea is to keep the filament globe as a spare and purchase energy efficient globes.

A 15 watt energy efficient light gives off as much light as a 75 watt filament globe but lasts up to 6 times longer. It also saves 60 watts. So, if the light is run for three hours a day, it will be saving you $12.50 in a year based on a price of 20c for 1 kWh. What’s more, it will be saving more than 60kg in greenhouse gases per year, with output down to around 15 kg.

So, typically, your new globes will pay for themselves within three months of purchase, not to mention the environmental savings.

If you are in an area subject to power fluctuations, these may cause energy efficient globes to blow. To avoid this and to protect sensitive electronic equipment such as computers, televisions, etc, ask your electrician to install a surge protector in your fuse box. They cost around $125.

The best energy efficient lights to buy are those with a lifetime of 3000 hours or more. It is worth considering LED lights that will soon be available for use in home lighting. If you only purchase a few energy efficiency lights, replace the filament globes that are used the most.