Lighting

摘要

Well, it's finally out. After a year of nail-biting anticipation, the Lighting Association's 2008 Domestic Lighting Report has been published, and for those able to stump up the ￡2850+ VAT to secure themselves a copy, it promises to be a real page turner. The Association surveyed over 2000 houses and conducted 500 in-depth interviews to try and work out the number of bulbs in the UK, and consumer attitudes towards them. I know my attitude towards mine. If I throw a switch, I expect the light to come on, and I'm not happy if it doesn't. Statistically though, I own 17 of the 903.6 million bulbs in the UK, and to my shame, but visual delight, they are all incandescent. But things may be about to change. You do the math. If all 17 bulbs were on, I would be using 1020 watts per hour, as opposed to 136 watts if every bulb was a compact fluorescent. Assuming 11 hours of night on average, that's 4MW of power a year as opposed to 0.55MW with the compact fluorescents. Translated into financial terms, that's ￡1000 a year spent on lighting as rather than the far more manageable ￡125. That's a hell of a lot of wasted money and energy, just to lay claim to the warm orange glow of incandescence.