When you review which light bulbs to replace with low energy lighting, initially think about lights that you leave on a lot and/or don't require to be bright (night lights spring to mind). Elderly first generation LED lights are basically up to the job here, providing suitable light levels and able to be left walking more or less permanently at no cost. They are also cheap since by modern domestic LED standards they are elderly expertise.
Other obvious domestic applications to think about for preliminary replacement are those halogen spotlights, since most people have them installed in light clusters (say ten or more down lighters in a kitchen or seven or three spotlights on a rack in a bathroom). Kitchen lighting tends to be left on a lot and you will obviously get the best savings from those lights you normally use the most. The beauty of installing LED kitchen lighting using retrofit replacements for halogen lamps (MR16, GU10 and ES formats are all available) is that you get low power consumption and low heat output, so no more issues with being fire-rated. There's now hello power GU10 LED energy saving bulbs equal in power to GU10 50w halogen output but walking at 9 watts that deliver the holy grail of full spectrum light, low power and long life.
In the event you already have display lighting, this again is a great area to tackle for all those reasons mentioned above. In the event you don't as yet use display lighting then you ought to think about the opportunities that LED strip lights and spots provide. In the event you have any open or glazed display cabinets, shelves, recesses or features/ornaments then you can basically turn these effectively in to light sources that add interest to a space by bouncing LED lights off reflective surfaces or using LED color wash effects.
The next targets to select on are any other areas around the house that use or would benefit from bright directional light. Table lamps and other reading lights are clear candidates since that is the whole point of a reading light tidy, bright light aimed where you actually require it.
Feature lighting that is, a light source that is itself intended to be the focus of attention may even be amazingly enhanced with domestic LED lighting expertise. Colored or color changing LEDs are an obvious example with the stunning rich depth of colors available. But also, definite materials such as polished metal and cut glass are a match made in heaven for the bright, sparkling light that is unique to small, low heat, low energy domestic LED lighting clusters.
Last to think about are fittings that use the common or garden lampshade. These are actually designed to scatter light in all directions and although this effect can be achieved by replacement LED light bulbs, current expertise does not yet provide as effective a substitute as for those applications that need bright directional light. This is set to alter in the near future though, so watch this space!
Also worthy of consideration are any domestic light fittings that throw light up lighters for example where you could accomplish a similar effect by bouncing light from an LED light source so that it is diffused over a wall or ceiling.
When it comes to ceiling lighting fixtures a lot depends on the nature of the lamps to get replaced. Recessed and track spotlights are ideal for replacement with LED bulbs, as are fixtures that throw indirect light, but lots of pendant style fixtures use regular GLS bulbs and are not so simple at present to replace with LED (as noted above).
But in the mean time, you could think about halogen based replacements for ordinary light bulbs as an effective interim solution since these have similar characteristics to GLS (General Lighting Service) light bulbs in terms of range of fittings and light quality and intensity, but bring the added benefits of lasting at least seven times as long while using about third less energy.
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