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Lightbulbs - how much to run ?

11 replies

SomewhereOnlyIKnow · 28/01/2022 08:04

Which are the cheapest lightbulbs to run ?
Need to buy some more now, so looking to reduce costs wherever I can.

OP posts:
dementedpixie · 28/01/2022 08:27

LED probably

hedgehogger1 · 28/01/2022 09:40

LEDs got our elec bill. Some of our recessed lights we had to buy new fittings but they'll pay themselves off quickly

Daftasabroom · 28/01/2022 09:50

LED. You pay for electricity by the kWh. So if you had 10 x 3.6W running for 5 hours they would use 0.18kWh. If you pay 20p per kWh that would cost you 36p.

SomewhereOnlyIKnow · 28/01/2022 09:55

@Daftasabroom

LED. You pay for electricity by the kWh. So if you had 10 x 3.6W running for 5 hours they would use 0.18kWh. If you pay 20p per kWh that would cost you 36p.
Maths is not my strong point ! How much would one 3.6kw be for an hour ?
OP posts:
SomewhereOnlyIKnow · 28/01/2022 09:56

Sorry, 3.6 watt .
Is 3.6 a standard LED bulb ?

OP posts:
dementedpixie · 28/01/2022 12:25

There's a variety of wattage for LED bulbs. Also depends on your electricity tariff

Tommika · 28/01/2022 13:01

Bulbs today are generally marked with two watt ratings:

A ‘classic’ bulb shows the wattage it runs at - and gave an indication of its brightness
e.g. a 60 watt bulb was general purpose, a 100 watt bulb was high brightness

A low energy bulb tends to show its ‘equivalent’ brightness wattage and in smaller print it’s actual wattage

Eg an LED 60w/9w takes 9 watts of electricity to be as bright as a classic 60watt and an LED 100w/11w uses 11 watts of electricity

On your electricity meter one unit of the dial is one kilowatt hour - 1000 watts per hour

So if you have a classic 100 watt bulb turned on for 10 hours (100 x 10 = 1000) then you have used 1 unit of electricity

For a classic 60 watt bulb to use 1 unit then divide 1000 by 60, which is 16.666

Your electricity price is for one unit. A bulb will cost you that in this basis:

A 100 watt bulb uses 1 unit in 10 hours
A 60 watt in 16 & two thirds (16 hours 40 minutes)
A 11 watt in 90.9 (nearly 4 days)
A 9 watt in 111.11 (about 4 and a half days)

Bulbs are an easy way to reduce electricity by swapping to LEDs
But they are a fairly low user in the household (it makes a noticeable difference across the country as a whole)

Have a nose around your electricals for their wattage. The actual consumption will vary, for example a fridge needs to cool down it’s contents then just trickle at a steady state unless you leave the door open, the kettle is a high energy user, but only for a short time and ideally only boiling as much water as you need

SomewhereOnlyIKnow · 28/01/2022 14:04

Thanks

OP posts:
Daftasabroom · 30/01/2022 14:31

An older LCD TV may well be a bad offender.

saleorbouy · 01/02/2022 21:20

Led bulbs. See Screwfix or Toolstation for very reasonable prices compared to most high street outlets.
Warm white - offer the normal light tone associated with old incandescent bulbs.
White - are a brighter daylight light tone.

whyohwhyohwhyohwhywhy · 02/02/2022 06:57

Thank you tommika that is brilliant

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