The 50plus
Head office: 110A High Street Chesham Bucks HP5 1 EB
0845 22 50 495 and local numbers
LED lighting – it’s time to switch
The 50plus in conjunction with:
1. Why fit LED light bulbs
LED lighting has already transformed commercial lighting and is coming to
transform our homes, saving vast amounts of energy and resulting in substantially
lower household bills. LEDs come on instantly, use around 90% less energy than
traditional bulbs and have a long a life of typically 25,000 hours.
Around 15% of electricity expenditure is on lighting1. Changing just one traditional
incandescent (standard) 60 watt light bulb, in use for 4 hours a day will save you
upwards of £50 on your bill over five years; 10 bulbs = £500. After accounting for
bulb and fitting costs it's still over £40 per bulb. A household changing ten bulbs
should save at least £350 over five years 2. And this assumes electricity prices don't
increase.
Savings are nearly as much when replacing halogen bulbs, which offer only around
10% improved efficiency compared with a standard bulb; they also use the old
fashioned technology of heating up a wire to give off light.
For many people and particularly the elderly convenience is also a factor. LED bulbs
last for typically 25,000 hours of use, far exceeding old technology. It makes
changing bulbs is an infrequent occurrence.
This all makes so much sense that Government is doing its bit by phasing out the
sale of incandescent bulbs (nearly complete) with a broad range of halogens due to
be phased out shortly.
NB - technical people call light bulbs 'lamps' and light fittings 'luminaires'. We'll
stick with the term 'bulb' in this article.
2. Choosing LED bulbs
There are three points to consider when purchasing LED bulbs. They are:

Bulb bases

The required brightness of light

Light colour.
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Bulb bases
Light bulbs have a range of 'bases', which need to match the light fitting. Most are
familiar to us as initials including BC (bayonet cap), ES (Edison screw), GU50 (mains
halogen) and MR16 (low voltage halogen). The picture shows the most common
types found. LED bulbs use the same bases.
The required brightness of light
We are all familiar with the concept of thinking of light bulb brightness in terms of
their wattage. In reality the wattage refers to the power the light bulb consumes
rather than the light given off. LEDs use only a fraction of the power to produce the
same amount of lights as the old bulbs so it's better to start thinking in terms of
lumens, which are a measure of the amount of visible light. The table3 below shows
the approximate comparison for differing bulb types.
Light colour
We are used to the light from our household bulbs
being a yellowish colour as shown to the right4.
This is typically a 'colour temperature' of around
2700 to 3000 degrees Kelvin (K). LEDs are available
in a range of colour temperatures but we generally
recommend sticking with a colour temperature of
around 3000K. A higher figure of 4000K provides a
whitish moonlight type colour. 6000K is more like
daylight but can seem glaring in the home.
Lumens / watts chart courtesy of www.ovoenergy.com (sources EU and Shrink That Footprint).
Colour temperature chart courtesy of www.pleinairstyle.com
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3. Is it easy to change to LEDs?
On the whole the change is easy and is just a question of selecting a suitable LED
bulb to replace a standard, candle or globe bulb or GU50 downlighter. As well as
understanding the points above there are few pitfalls to watch out for.
Check what you are buying
Some stores have been selling low cost low wattage LEDs which whilst decorative
don't provide enough light to replace bulbs used to illuminate rooms or read by. Use
the table above as a guide.
Dimming LEDs
Whilst LEDs can be dimmed most LEDs sold are not dimmable. If you require
dimmable LEDs you'll need to purchase LEDs designed to be dimmed AND change
the dimmer control for one designed to work with LEDs - most dimmers used with
standard bulbs won't work with LEDs. We've also found that the LED bulbs and
dimmers have to be matched to ensure successful dimming.
Low voltage bulbs
Low voltage halogen bulbs (MR16 fittings) often found in downlighters, can only be
switched to LED if a wound transformer is in use. If the fitting is powered by an
electronic power supply (typically a small box) then the chances are LED bulbs
won't work properly. The best bet is to move away from low voltage downlighters
to 230-volt bulbs using GU50 fittings, which don't need a power supply.
Bulbs sizes
Most standard bulbs can be replaced with an LED. Some LEDs including standard,
downlighter and candle bulbs can be larger (usually longer) so if available space for
example in a flush light fitting is critical then check the LED size before buying or
specify a smaller bulb type.
Don’t be put off, on the whole it’s straightforward and help is available if required.
For more on LED lighting and the services provided by 50plus visit www.the50plus.co.uk
Sources
1. DEFRA
2. 50plus calculations available on request. Assumed cost of electricity is a conservative 13p/kWh you may be paying more.
3. Lumens/Watts data source European Commission, picture source www.ovoenergy.com
4. Colour temperature chart diagram source www.pleinairstyle.com
Author Roger Runswick is a director of 50plus and a member of the Institute of Engineering Technology. He
can be contacted at [email protected].