Light bulbs for environmentally minded Australians

For environmentally conscious Australian homeowners aiming to reduce their carbon footprint, the light went on again as figures about the impact of halogen bulbs were recently released.

Australian eco company Neco produced a report that showed that halogen downlights, which are used abundantly as standard lighting in homes across the country, make a huge contribution to Australia's greenhouse gas production. In 2005, there were some 25 million halogens in Australian homes, and according to the Australian Greenhouse Office, this has increased to 30 million in 2007.

A leading Australian sustainability coach, Michael Mobbs, recently turned his attention to replacing his halogen downlights with energy-efficient downlights: "I designed the systems, obtained approvals for, and project managed the renovation of what's now called Sydney's 'Sustainable House'. This nineteenth century inner Sydney terrace has provided all its own water, sewage and energy needs since 1996. But it's an ongoing project and replacing our halogen downlights was the next logical step for us. I would urge all Australians with halogens to do the same. The impact this has on the environment is more significant than you'd think."

It's estimated that as much as 35% of a home's energy bills can be attributed to halogen downlights, where they're fitted throughout a house (ie, cost of electricity and air conditioning to offset excess heat generated by downlights).

Standard halogen downlights are everywhere and, according to Dominique La Fontaine, chief executive officer of the Clean Energy Council, are now responsible for around 2000 GWh of electricity consumption and 2 million tonnes of greenhouse emissions every year in Australia alone. That's equivalent to the entire electricity consumption of around 300,000 households.

To undo that kind of damage would require a coal-fired power station to completely shut down for half the year. Thankfully, there are smarter and more efficient alternatives, La Fontaine added.

Neco director Jerry Davies says: "Those of us who put our money where our values lie should dump halogen bulbs and replace them with longer-lasting and greener bulbs."

Neco specialises in residential and commercial building energy, water and waste audits and supplies environmental and sustainable products and services. Its vision is of comfortable, cost-effective and environmentally sustainable living and working environments.

Neco quotes an interesting list of facts and figures about energy-efficient downlights compared to halogen downlights that begs our attention:

• Last up to 10 times longer than halogens (10,000-15,000 hours compared to 1500-3000 hours).
• Replacing 40 downlights in a typical house yields annual energy savings of around $500, since they use 1/5 the power of halogens.
• In a typical apartment block corridor with 100 downlights that are on 24/7, savings of around $5700 per year can be achieved.
• Run significantly cooler than halogens, reducing load on air conditioners and hence cooling costs.
• Use 11 W lamps instead of 50 W halogens.
• In an average home with halogens and air conditioning, halogens use more energy than air conditioning does.