What is DIY if it isn’t about saving yourself a few bob in the long run? So what better way to save than a few quick and easy ways to reduce your home energy costs. First up: energy saving lighting.
Energy efficient lighting
Changing old incandescent light bulbs for the more energy efficient type is a really good way to start making your house more eco-friendly, not to mention a great way to save a few quid.
Energy efficient lighting saves the environment and saves you money in the long run. Plus, it’s not as if changing a light bulb is the hardest thing in the world (you can forget all those ‘how many *insert stereotype here* does it take to change a lightbulb?’ jokes…)
You mightn’t even have known that ordinary (i.e., incandescent) bulbs are incredibly wasteful as 90 per cent of the electricity they use produces heat rather than light. And don’t even think about installing enough of them to allow you to ditch the central heating.
Anyway, back to the serious stuff. It turns out the EU has been phasing out ordinary incandescent bulbs since September 1st 2009 and they have encouraged everyone to buy energy efficient alternatives. However, some of us still go out and buy the less energy efficient ones because they’re cheaper on the shelf, which is a nicely short-sighted view. You’ll end up buying a lot of ordinary bulbs in the time it takes your energy efficient one to run its course, trust us.
Being energy efficient is all about looking at the future benefits, after all. Sure Rome wasn’t built in a day and all that.
If you want to make a change for the better, then head on over to the Electric Ireland website now and make sure to check out their Electric Ireland Lighting Calculator while you’re there to see what your current bulbs are actually costing you.
