If you don't already have energy saving bulbs in every room in your house, you should have! Replace just one standard bulb with an energy saving bulb and you could save £60 over the life of the bulb (which can be up to 6 years in some cases). Assuming the average three bedroom house would need 12 bulbs, that could mean a saving of over £700 over the next few years, and all for an investment of less that £20! And with energy prices rising all the time, this is a saving that few could turn their noses up at.
Yet there are still millions of households around the country which do not have even one of these clever little products in them. Why is that? Lets take a look at some facts about energy saving bulbs, and dispel some of the myths about them while we are at it.
Myth 1: Energy saving bulbs are very expensive
While it is true that you could probably buy a pack of 4 normal bulbs for the same price as just one energy saving bulb, the prices are actually much much lower than they were a few years ago. You can pick up a 11W energy saving bulb (equivilent to a 60W standard bulb) for little over £1 in almost any supermarket in the country. And when you consider the saving an energy saving bulb will bring, they actually work out much cheaper.
Myth 2: The light they produce isn't as nice as from normal bulbs
The light from modern energy saving bulbs is almost indistinguishable from the light produced by standard bulbs. When energy saving bulbs first appeared on the market, the light they produced was indeed a little harsher than people were used to. Now the light is soft and yellow, just like a standard bulb.
Myth 3: Energy saving bulbs are ugly
It is true that the U-shaped energy saving bulbs which first appeared are not that attractive. However, these days you can find energy saving bulbs which look almost identical to standard bulbs. Traditionally shaped low energy bulbs do tend to be slightly more expensive than the older U-shaped bulbs, but the savings you will make are still massive.
Myth 4: Energy saving bulbs take ages to come on
Whilst it is true that you might have to wait a second for energy saving bulbs to light up, it is hardly noticable on modern bulbs. By the time you flick the lightswitch and take one step into the room, the bulb is lit. We will concede the fact that energy saving bulbs do take a little while to reach their full brightness, but in our experience of having these bulbs, the very slight delay is barely noticable.
Myth 5: They take lots more energy to make, which offsets the benefits
It is indeed true that the production of energy saving bulbs uses 3-4 times the amount of energy it takes to produce a standard bulb. However, they last up to 10 times as long as standard bulbs and use 80% less energy during use, more than making up for any extra energy used in production.
Myth 6: You can't use low enegry bulbs with a dimmer switch
That used to be the case, but there are now energy saving bulbs which are full...
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