Benefits Of LED Lighting

LED lighting is an energy-efficient alternative to incandescent or halogen lighting. LED stands for light-emitting diode. Initially, they cost more, however, the savings in the long run are worth it. LED bulbs used to be expensive, however, now the price has dropped and is expected to continue dropping. Some bulbs claim that they have a lifespan of 50,000 hours which is over five and a half years of continuous use.

According to the EECA, “if every New Zealand household installed LED lighting, we’d avoid 82,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions every year – the emissions of almost 34,000 petrol cars.”

Changing to LED lighting is one of the easiest things Kiwis can do to save on their electricity bills and reduce their carbon footprint. LEDs use up to 85% less electricity than incandescent or halogen light bulbs. Used six hours a day, a mid-range LED light bulb with a lifespan of 25,000 hours will last over 11 years, whereas an incandescent light bulb with a lifespan of 1,000 hours will only last five and a half months.

LEDs are able to be switched on and off repeatedly as they don’t have a warm-up or cool-down period. When you switch them on, they instantly reach their full brightness. This makes them suitable for rooms where the lights are switched on and off frequently, such as the bathroom and kitchen. Because of their long lifespan, LEDs are great for fittings that are hard to get to that you don’t want to change very often.

The two most common light colour temperatures for LEDs are warm white and cool white. Warm white LED lights are a good choice for livings rooms, bedrooms, and hallways and cool white LEDs are best for bathrooms and garages.

When you’re looking for LED light bulbs, look at the amount of lumens rather than wattage. Lumens (lm) are a measure of brightness and watts (W) are a measure of power consumption. LED packaging usually states the equivalent wattage of incandescent bulbs that emit the same brightness.

We offer a full LED replacement service or can help you in certain rooms. Our dedicated Residential experts are replacing lights all across Canterbury to LEDs to help both the environment and the pocket. Can we help you? Call us on 03 365 9712.

References and further reading:
• https://genless.govt.nz/individuals/lower-energy-homes/appliances/led-lighting/
• https://www.consumer.org.nz/articles/led-bulb-buying-guide
• https://www.eeca.govt.nz/about/news-and-corporate/news/sales-of-inefficient-light-bulbs-plummet-as-kiwis-embrace-leds/