Halogen V LED V CFL

Halogen V CFL V LED

It seems the low energy lighting industry is changing week on week. Originally the next great thing to replace the halogen GU10 would be the CFL (compact fluorescent) version. No sooner had these been introduced it seemed the next stage of bulb evolution was already forming in the shape of the LED GU10. It took the LED a while to reach a decent enough standard but now it seems it is finally there.

So I thought it would be a good time to compare these 2 technologies against the original halogen. After all it is a bit of a minefield trying to choose what is best when buying bulbs (or lamps). There is so much to consider. Where are these bulbs going to be fit? Are they for downlights, spotbars, wall lights? Are they for decorative purposes or for proper illumination? Will the lights be left on for a long time or will they be occasionally activated?

First things first lets start by comparing the 3 physical shapes of the bulbs

On the left is the original Halogen GU10 (similar in size and shape to the 12V equivalent) This type of bulb has been around for a long time and a large percentage of spotbars and downlights (including the ones probably in your own home) and designed to accommodate this type of bulb. You can see from the image that the LED GU10 in the middle is very similar in size to the halogen. This makes it quite easy to replace exisiting halogen GU10s with the LED versions. They should fit fine in to most recessed downlights and spotbars. The CFL version on the right is a physically longer bulb. The diameter may be the same as the Halogen and the LED but the length is longer (some lower wattage CFL bulbs have a smaller length but the 11w, which is the closest to a normal light output, is the same length as the comparison above) This means that quite often you cant simply replace existing halogen GU10s with CFL versions. They stick out of spotbars making them look unsightly and existing recessed downlights dont often have the room inside to accommodate the extra length of the bulb. Recessed downlights that accommodate CFL bulbs are usually designed to allow them to fit (they are longer than normal recessed downlights). Dont make the mistake of buying CFL GU10s and assuming they will fit your current downlights in your ceiling. You may be disappointed.

Power consumption

The typical Halogen GU10 is a 50W. This means it uses 50W of electricity. This figure has nothing to do with light output (I know we have all grown up associating wattage with how bright a bulb is but this has always actually been wrong) Use the wattage of a bulb as a guide to how much power you are using (and therefore how much money it will cost you to run it). A typical LED GU10 will be anywhere from 3w to 7w. The standard CFL GU10 will be around 11w. The Halogen is 50W. This gives you a good idea on the cost of running the 3 bulbs. The LED should be cheapest followed by the CFL then followed way behind by the Halogen. Now think how many bulbs you currently run and you can soon see how much power you are using (and therefore how much money you are paying to light your home). Of course what can put some people off is the....

Price of each bulb

A typical halogen GU10 can cost you anywhere from £1.00 to £5.00. The LED can cost from £10.00 to £25.00. The CFL from £6.00 to £18.00. The cost of both the LED & CFL has always been a factor in putting some people off from changing to this technology. If you are trying to make an informed choice you need to try and look beyond this (I know its hard, especially if you have a lot of bulbs to replace). The way to look at it is the 5w LED uses a tenth of the power and therefore costs a tenth of the price to run than a halogen. Calculate this over a period of a few months and you can see that you very quickly make back the money they cost in savings on your electricity bill.

Light Output

The light output of the 3 examples above are all measured in Lumens. The 50w halogen emits around 800 lumens of light output. The LED emits around 400 lumens and the CFL emits around 240 lumens. The halogen is the brightest followed by the LED and then the CFL. It is therefore a good idea to over-estimate the number of recessed spotlights you may install if using the LED or CFL options to ensure you have enough light output.

Can they be dimmed?

All 3 types can be dimmed however you should be aware that both the LED & CFL bulbs must be purchased as dimmable versions (there are plenty of non-dimmable versions out there). If you require dimmable LEDs and CFLs then make sure they say they are dimmable before buying. The halogens are always dimmable. Another little thing to consider is the actually dimmer you will be using. Bear in mind that the dimmer will have a minimum wattage it can handle (in the same way that it has a maximum wattage as well). If the dimmer switch says the minimum wattage shouldn't be less than 10w then you wouldn't be able to run a single 5w LED GU10 on the switch. This does catch people out from time to time.

Warm or cool white?

Both the LEDs and the CFLs are usually available in both cool and warm white. The cool white option usually gives off slightly more light output but the warm white has a more inviting glow (unless the clinical style of the cool white is what you are trying to achieve).

Heat output

The Halogen will get extremely hot when operated to the point where it will burn your skin upon contact. The CFL is much cooler and will allow you to touch the bulb which will appear warm but shouldn't burn your fingers. The LED will be completely cold on the front when operated and this is often what attracts people to LED however you should bear in mind that LEDs do generate plenty of heat and this is all released through the back of the bulb which will get very hot. 

Speed of full brightness?

The Halogen will emit full brightness the instant the light switch is activated. The LED version will also do this as well. The CFL uses a technology that requires the bulb to heat the gasses inside to reach full brightness. This can take anywhere from 5 - 20 seconds though once fully illuminated it should stay like this for the rest of the night if switched on or off.

All in all it is important to decide which type of bulb is best for your environment. The traditional halogen GU10 is expensive to run and not suitable for areas that require constant light (such as a bathroom during the night or a landing). There is also the real possibility that they may be fazed out in the coming years in the same way that many incandescent bulbs are at the moment. If at all possible I think it is probably best to avoid halogens. CFLs offered a good alternative to halogens but the technology has limitations. Problems with dimming and lower light outputs combined with larger physical size make it an outdated solution. LED appears to be the future of the lighting industry. Improving light outputs with an ever decreasing cost of purchase combined with a much smaller running cost point to the best solution

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Understanding Watts & Lumens

We have always been familiar with a lightbulbs wattage. To most of us this signified how bright the bulb was. We could purchase 40w, 60w, 100w and we pretty much knew what kind of bulb we were getting. This however was not strictly true. The wattage of a bulb (or lamp as it is called in the industry) pretty much actually denotes the power consumption of the bulb. A 100w bulb is brighter than a 60W because it uses 40w more power to operate. The 100w did not refer to a particular brightness. The light output of bulbs has always been measured in lumens (though you couldn't tell this as it was never really displayed anywhere on the bulb itself or the box). With the invention of low energy bulbs, the lumen output is now very important.

It can still be very confusing for someone to compare 2 similar bulbs (one being a 50w halogen and the other being a 5w led) and yet both have the same light output. The wattages indicate to us that the 5w bulb uses far less power (and costs you less on your energy bill). What we actually need to compare is the luminosity of both bulbs to determine how similar they are. If the 50w version is 400 lumens and the 5w version is 380 lumens then we know both are very similar in light output.

New regulations now stipulate that manufacturers must indicate a bulbs lumen output on the packaging so next time you go to buy a light bulb, take a moment to compare the lumens from your standard bulb to a low energy equivalent. It may just save you a small fortune on your energy bill.

Can you afford not to consider Low Energy Lighting?

When it comes to low energy lighting there tends to be a couple of reasons to change over to energy efficient products. One is to help the environment. The other is to save some money on your electricity bill. Sometimes it's both but usually one or the other is the driving force behind the change. Lets face it simply changing a few bulbs can have a massive effect on your energy usage. Recently I changed 2 GU10 lamps in my picture lights from standard 50w halogens to 4w LED GU10s. The outlay didn't hurt my wallet too badly and the light output was pretty much the same. This got me thinking about the electrical companies who provide our energy. These companies are businesses and every business thrives for profit. If that company was charging me a set amount to run my picture lights (that totalled 100w) before and now they are charging me for 8w of power then obviously this is a 92% decrease in my power usage and thus what they can charge me for. Now imagine half the people in my street did the same. This has been happening now for quite a few years. As we continue to replace our traditional bulbs with more and more low energy light bulbs the energy companies have been losing more and more turnover & profits. Or have they? It seems to me that when we hear how the energy companies have increased their charges again and how they have made massive profits nobody questions whether these charges have been increased to cover the loss in chargeable power we use. If for example my energy company used to charge me £50 a year to run those picture lights then suddenly i only use enough power to be charged £4, they aren't going to stand for that. The logical thing to do is increase your charges so now those lights cost £10.00 a year to run (which doesn't sound bad however consider you are now paying more for each watt of power you use, therefore they are more profitable). Still doesn't sound bad does it? Well now consider the other half of my street who didn't change any of their lamps to low energy lighting. They're still using their traditional incandescents and halogens. They're using the same energy tariffs as I am only now they like me are paying more for each watt of power they use. And remember they're not using 8w to power they're picture lights but 100w. Imagine what a difference that makes to your bill. Yes helping the environment is a very worthwhile reason to switch. But at a time where things are tight, can you afford not to consider low energy lighting? Can you afford to be left behind?

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