Lighting in your home – are you switched on?
Warning - Arithmetic required!
Since September, it has been illegal to manufacture or import light bulbs of 100W or greater – this is part of the Government phase out to reduce our carbon emissions through more efficient lighting by 2012.
I’m sure we’ve all seen various campaigns about how energy-saving bulbs save us money, but just how much? There’s a simple test to find out, but you’ll need a calculator, a pen and some paper!
- Write a list of the wattages of tungsten and halogen bulbs in your home (if you don’t know the wattage, let’s assume 60 for normal bulbs, 50 for downlighters)
- Alongside this, write how many hours a day you are using each one on average (bearing in mind you’ll use them less in the summer)
- Multiply each wattage by the hours used, and add the results together
- Multiply that figure by 0.365 – this gives you the total wattage you use per year
- Multiply this figure by 0.12 (or, if you know how much you pay per unit of electricity, use that figure instead – for example: if you pay 10p per kWh, multiply by 0.10 instead)
- This tells you how much you are currently spending on lighting every year (in pounds)
- Divide this figure by 5.5. This tells you how much your lighting would cost you every year if you converted to energy savers.
You can typically buy energy savers for less than £2 a piece, so is it worth changing them now?
For all new homes in England and Wales, a number of internal light fittings (based on floor area and total light fittings) should not be able to take tungsten or halogen bulbs. In Scotland, this figure is 50% regardless.
Energist’s assessment team will calculate this figure for you as part of our Guaranteed Pass service on all new build SAPs – helping you to meet all aspects of Part L or Section 6.
Give us a call on 08458 386 387 to find out more.