Posts Tagged ‘Difference’

What?s the Difference between the Energy Saving Light Bulbs?

From 1 September 2009 the EU decided to ban the import and stocking of 100 watt and frosted incandescent light bulbs. The landmark decision will help consumers reduce their gas and electricity bills significantly with energy efficient bulb replacements.

However, with a plethora of bulb options available on the market for you to purchase in place of the humble incandescent filament bulb, choosing which bulb is the best for you can be tricky. The two main types of energy efficient bulbs are halogen and florescent lighting. This handy guide will help you to navigate your way through the various lighting options.

Halogen bulbs are not too dissimilar to standard incandescent bulbs in that they also require a tungsten filament to be heated in order to emit light. The halogen lamp differs because it contains a gas from the halogen group, typically iodine gas, which combines with the tungsten vapour at a high temperature to produce light.

Halogen bulbs are able to ‘recycle’ themselves by redepositing tungsten atoms on to the filament as part of the chemical reaction which goes on inside the bulb. This allows the halogen bulb to last much longer than its incandescent predecessor. As halogen bulbs can achieve much higher temperatures for the same amount of energy, this makes them more efficient than incandescent bulbs also, reducing the amount of gas and electricity you use.

The problem with halogen bulbs, as with incandescent bulbs is that ultimately they rely on heating a filament to a high temperature in order to achieve light. This wastes gas and electricity in heat energy radiated from the bulb. Fluorescent lights on the other hand, use a totally different method in order to produce light.

Fluorescent lights give energy to mercury atoms, which gets them excited and causes them to ‘jump’. As the excited atoms fall back down they give off a flare of ultraviolet light, which is converted to visible light through a phosphorous coating. This method does not rely on heat at all, which makes Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFLs) between four and six times more efficient than incandescent filament bulbs, drastically reducing the amount of gas and electricity used.

As CFLs have no filament to burn out, they tend to last much longer as well, up to 10 times the length of the best incandescent bulbs. With greater energy efficiency and longer lasting bulbs, CFLs are the best way to reduce your gas and electricity consumption for lighting purposes.

Home Light Bulbs – Helping you to See the Difference

Lighting can make a big impact on a person’s health, mood and ability to perform their job. Many businesses have realized using the proper light bulbs can increase a person’s ability to think through complex situations, enable a person to make an informed decision and create a positive atmosphere. However, the realization of using the proper light bulbs has not been carried over into the home to enhance one’s home life, but there are many reasons why it should.
The typical household light bulbs are incandescent 60 watt GE light bulbs. Incandescent light bulbs can light up a room well, but it is estimated that over 20% of electrical usage in a home comes from lighting a house and out of that amount only 10% is light producing. The other 90% is heat producing, but the heat produced is not even sufficient for completely heating up a room. Halogen light bulbs used in garages and outside are similar to the incandescent light bulbs only they produce even more heat and use more power. With the increase in technology many other light bulbs have been created that provide a higher percentage of light at a lower cost.
Fluorescent light bulbs have become a popular alternative to the typical household light bulbs, because not only can they light up a room, but they last a longer amount of time and use a fraction of the electricity compared to the incandescent light bulbs. Fluorescent light bulbs come in many sizes and there have been some that are made to fit into the light sockets of the incandescent light bulbs. In addition to the reduced cost of usage the fluorescent light bulbs can be purchased to produce a more natural light.
Another low energy using light source is LED light bulbs (LED is short for light emitting diodes). LED light bulbs are commonly used in computer screens, remote controls and digital clocks, but they are beginning to be looked at as the future of lighting. LED light bulbs generate a significant amount of light, but they do not spread the light around the room like the incandescent or fluorescent light bulbs. They do provide an excellent low cost light source for specific areas that need to be lighted such as reading areas. Some manufacturers have made products using LED light bulbs for times when there is no electrical source and items need to last a long time on batteries. A flashlight produced by Sylvania with LED light bulbs, called Dot It Lights has been making its way into the market successfully.
In addition to the higher cost of incandescent light bulbs there is a health factor that the scientific community has studied. The type of light incandescent light bulbs provide is considered an unnatural light. Unnatural light is considered light that is different from the light produced by the sun. The scientific studies have shown that if a person spends a significant time indoors or without natural light their health will decline. Some of the common health problem symptoms are fatigue and depression, but there have been a few studies that have shown lack of natural light can cause cancers as well.
Many light bulbs are now being designed as full spectrum light bulbs. Full spectrum light bulbs are not a specific type of light bulb, but rather a description of the light the light bulbs produce. Full spectrum light bulbs produce light that is similar to the natural light of the sun. In many areas of the world where the sun does not shine these lights are used to promote a healthy environment. Due to many people spending a lot of time inside full spectrum light bulbs should be used in the home to ensure a person receives natural light, or close to natural light, throughout the day to promote a healthy body.
The benefits of using the right light bulbs at home can impact every area of your life; financially, by reducing cost; mentally, by increasing concentration; and bodily, by promoting healthy chemical production. You have nothing to lose, but a lot to gain by using the new technology of light bulbs.