There are many possible energy efficiency projects possible. Calculate which one has the greatest return. I have created online calculators to work this out. Make a priority list of easiest or cheapest changes to implement. Start saving power, money and water.
Calculate your individual potential savings.
First you've got the power equivalents wrong for cfl versus filament. 3:1 for spotlights, 4:! for others. The equivalents on the boxes arent compared to GLS lighting, and are deliberately unrealistic.
2nd you've not taken account of downlighting versus other methods, downers are an exceptionally inefficient way to distribute light. 3rd your calculator seems to assume that all lights are on and off for the same number of hours per day, which is far from realistic. 4th I dont recall seeing tubular filament on there. Many of us still have them here, and energy efficiency of those is much worse than GLS.Has a lot of potential if these bugs are ironed out.
You've obviously put a lot of work into this, but I can't help feeling you're focussing on the wrong things. The government runs a website for checking the energy efficiency of your house. They concentrate on the big issues: such as loft insulation, cavity wall insulation, double glazing - rather than switching to CFLs or turning your computer off. Take a look at
p.s. for electrical appliances, a rough guide is a cost of £1 per Watt per year for devices left on continuously - reduce this in proportion to usage.
Hi Thank you for your feedback. I have taken your thoughts in and altered the Light Energy Calculator. There is now an extra entry about down lights and halogen strip- lights. There is also a Group Results section where you can import up to 10 calculations into this separate table. You can add our light descriptions and there is Grand Totals.
Thank you for your feedback. I have looked at the link and the site is great. The information available is comprehensive. There is a bias towards UK only audience (requires postcode).
I've just used the page to calc the potential savings in some lighting, and its very handy. Its a neat tool. But... a few issues still remain.
First most of the power equivalent figs are wrong. FYI the equivalents on the boxes are compared to softone filament lamps, which are not the GLS lamps most of us use. These equivalents arent realistic if comparing to GLS filament.
2nd no mention yet of filament striplights, which are exceptionally inefficient. Eg a 30w 221mm filament strip gives 190 lumens, and they cost =C2=A31-=C2=A33 a time. Replacing these gives rather diferent figures = to replacing GLS lamps.Also dont forget IR reflecting halogens, which give improved figures, eg 225w replaces 300w.
Also simply reducing halogen wattage on the high power lamps is often a good move. 500w are often fitted where 150w would be more appropriate.
6w LEDs dont give the light output of 50w halogens.The calculator is great, but the user needs realistic data to put into it rather than sales hype.
Thanks for doing the work.
NT
Is that any surprise, given where you are posting?
MBQ
Hi Thank you for your detailed feedback. I have altered the
Some reference links for lighting efficiency is as follows. LED efficiency
some real issues, that wants people to buy them, and is thus financially motivated, like any business producing products that dont compare well, to convince people theyre better than they are by whatever perfectly legal means they can.
our problems, ie a political source!
Why dont you go read Don Klipstein on the subject, hes a genuine expert. Your calc idea is a goodun, but its only going to be useful if you get your power equivalents right, and dont represent that LEDs are comparable replacements for halogens. There are various ways to massage or re-present the figures, and various reasons that its done. Dont overlook the fade factor.
NT
HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.