Energy Saving Lighting - Give your kitchen the "Green" Light

Efficient lighting will help to make the room safer, hygienic and a more pleasant environment to work in. Good lighting enables easier cleaning of worktops and reduces stress on the eyes.

There is now a large range of energy saving lighting that is no different from the standard lighting used for many years. Gone are the days that energy saving lighting was large and unsightly, modern technology means that you have a real choice in replacing conventional lights.

So when that spotlight bulb needs replacing do not replace it with the same bulb but look at the energy saving alternative.

Energy saving lighting only uses about a fifth to a quarter of the electricity of ordinary bulbs to generate the same amount of light output. So if you would usually use a 60W bulb, you'll only need a 13-18W energy saving replacement.

Here is a table to help choose the right replacement bulb size.

Normal Light bulb size	Energy saving replacement size
25w	6w
40w	8-11w
60w	13-18w
100w	20-25w

There are many reasons why you should replace existing lighting with its energy saving equivalent and here are some of them:-

Longer lamp life

Many energy saving products utilise LED technology which offers up to 30,000 hours lamp life. This is up to ten times longer than standard halogen bulbs.

Reduced Costs

It is well worth changing any lighting in your kitchen over to energy saving lighting wherever possible. Energy saving products use less watts of power and therefore reduce running costs. This will not only save your energy consumption but save you money in the long term, an even better reason to save energy.

Here is an example of how you can save financially whilst reducing energy and therefore co2 emissions.

Cost Comparison

50 watt lamp - Running costs per year - 10 lights @ 6 hours per day = £164.25

10 watt lamp - Running costs per year - 10 lights @ 6 hours per day = £32.85

Total saving per year - £131.40

A single energy saving light bulb could also save about 26kg of CO² a year imagine the amount you could save if you changed every bulb to energy saving lighting.
See Energy Saving Lighting

If you are considering new appliances for your kitchen ensure that they carry the 'energy saving recommended logo'.

If you must use a tumble dryer then use Dryer balls which cut the drying time by 25%.

Recycle or compost your food waste most authorities will collect food waste or provide containers at your local recycling centre .
See Waste & Recycling