Low energy lighting significantly cuts electricity bills and reduces greenhouse emission gases. New products are providing consumers the widest choice in residential lighting since the light bulb was invented.

Sales of compact fluorescent lights, known by the initials CFL, went up more than 50% in the past year and already account for 5% of the residential lighting market.

Manufacturers are introducing sleeker designs, having long overcome the flickering and humming associated with the unwieldy contraptions of a decade ago. Philips has recently launched the "Marathon" light, which looks like the standard incandescent light and lasts 6,000 hours, as compared to the 750-hour average life of incandescents.

Consumers realise impressive energy savings by using the new technology. A 20-watt CFL produces 680 lumens (34 lumens per watt), the same amount of light as a 60-watt incandescent (12 lumens per watt).

The average annual running cost of the CFL is £2.20 while the incandescent comes in at £6.00. However, these attributes are hard to communicate, and the price remains relatively high.

CFLs cost between £2 and £7, while the average incandescent is priced at 60p to £2. There may also be the added expense of a new fixtures - lamp holders and shades are still usually made to fit is the old incandescent, not the usually slightly longer CFL.

It becomes apparent what savings can be made by regarding CFLs as an investment. The return can be as quick as a few months and the resultant interest rate varies from 35% to as much as 70% depending on usage patterns.

One lighting consultant has displayed a useful interactive calculator on its web site that illustrates this principle. Users can input their mix of bulb wattage and hours used, and see the resultant savings, should they switch to CFLs, in terms of carbon emissions and money saved and as an interest rate.

Manufacturers are trying to reach that critical mass where a switch in public preference occurs in the industry, such as when glass milk bottles were replaced by coated packs.

They are pitching to an aging population in need of better lighting and a growing number of environmentally conscious consumers who are prepared to pay more to help conserve energy. Manufacturers are also teaming up with state governments and utilities in their energy-efficiency drives to target low-income households. In California, for example, Philips contributed 600,000 CFLs to be given away.

Further information: See our interest rate calculator.

Last updated: 18.08.05

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