Energy prices.

[Maker]

We've just cut our leccy bill in half...


My brother's just gone back to uni, it seems his TV and PlayStation average about five units a day!

 

[mike os]

How far can you go though? I used to use 100 watt lightbulbs. Now I use 11 watt low energy and 10 watt LED in the kitchen. Our fridge freezer probably used a quarter of the power it would have done 20 years ago, likewise the tv. The only thing I can't do anything about is the heating, although the loft is insulated well. It's just a sixties built prefab and there's nothing I can do about it. I dread this winter's electric bill. The only possible thing I could do is build a porch front and back, which would have a big impact on my bills, but is sadly beyond my means, as I suspect it is for many others.

How serious do you take this ? You don’t NEED gas or electricity, central heating or a motor vehicle …

Yes life would be more inconvenient and less fun

 

[julianthegypsy]

No. I could build myself one of those lovely woo

How serious do you take this ? You don’t NEED gas or electricity, central heating or a motor vehicle …

Yes life would be more inconvenient and less fu

How serious do you take this ? You don’t NEED gas or electricity, central heating or a motor vehicle …

Yes life would be more inconvenient and less fun

Really? I could happily live off the grid. I build wood fired cookers for other people, so heat is easy, I could rig up a couple of solar panels to provide 12 volt lighting and enough extra for a marine fridge and entertainment, no problem at all. Unfortunately, I'm not in a position to do that. Our landlord banned solid fuel and installed a useless air source heat pump and they'd have something to say if I added a 12 volt ring to the house. Some things I can live without, but heating of some description isn't one of them. I've set the heat pump so it basically doesn't heat anything and we heat the living room with bursts from a fan heater. Everyone needs heat.

 

[julianthegypsy]

Oh, and a motor vehicle. I live five miles from nowhere, I'm old and my back is a mess so I can't cycle. There is a bus twice a day in the wrong direction at the wrong time to go to work. I give up.

 

[fizzy]

How far can you go though? I used to use 100 watt lightbulbs. Now I use 11 watt low energy and 10 watt LED in the kitchen. Our fridge freezer probably used a quarter of the power it would have done 20 years ago, likewise the tv. The only thing I can't do anything about is the heating, although the loft is insulated well. It's just a sixties built prefab and there's nothing I can do about it. I dread this winter's electric bill. The only possible thing I could do is build a porch front and back, which would have a big impact on my bills, but is sadly beyond my means, as I suspect it is for many others.

What many people don't realise is that the waste energy from lights and fridges etc is heat. For 9 months of the year in Britain that heat is quite welcome in a house!
Obviously electric heating is more expensive than gas etc but the energy itself isn't actually wasted!

 

[MysterG]

What gets on my tits is the number of units, offices, warehouses you see empty and To Let which have all their lights on 24/7.
Obviously the energy companies love it, but it really irritates me ...

 

[R Kraft]

What many people don't realise is that the waste energy from lights and fridges etc is heat. For 9 months of the year in Britain that heat is quite welcome in a house!
Obviously electric heating is more expensive than gas etc but the energy itself isn't actually wasted!

During heating season, there is no such thing as Waste heat.

 

[fizzy]

What gets on my tits is the number of units, offices, warehouses you see empty and To Let which have all their lights on 24/7.
Obviously the energy companies love it, but it really irritates me ...

Yes and councils sticking lamp posts everywhere even when they aren't needed or wanted.
Believe it or not the LED lights are no more efficient than the old sodium ones.

 

[Kayos]

Yes and councils sticking lamp posts everywhere even when they aren't needed or wanted.
Believe it or not the LED lights are no more efficient than the old sodium ones.

You post some nonsense but that wins today's prize

 

[fizzy]

You post some nonsense but that wins today's prize

Evidence for your wonderful statement please

 

[Kayos]

Evidence for your wonderful statement please

STD sodium bulb is 70w, 5000 lumens. Led replacement is 30w, 5000 lumens so a 60% reduction in energy use

 

[fizzy]

Here is mine

400W high pressure Sodium 56000 Lumens.

HO Venture High Pressure Sodium Tubular Clear 400W GES

An Tubular Clear Edison Screw HPS Lamp designed to replace a 400W Sodium lamp. Benefits include longer life, higher lumen output and reduced maintenance costs.

www.bltdirect.com

https://www.venturelightingeurope.com/products/streetlights/vsoldier-plus/

50,400 Lumens per 400w.

And will LEDs last as long?

 

[fizzy]

STD sodium bulb is 70w, 5000 lumens. Led replacement is 30w, 5000 lumens so a 60% reduction in energy use

High pressure sodium or metal halide I am talking about.
Just did the lights in my warehouse.
5 new LED 300 and 400W highbays and new 400W bright white metal halide in the other 3. There is no difference in efficiency - virtually the same.
But the light is even better from the old fittings.
And the originals lasted probably 50 years. The bulbs last at least 15 years. I bet LEDs won't!

 

[fizzy]

And here is a picky I posted before to prove it. Still talking rubbish am I?
The "old" 400W metal halide fitting with a new bulb is front left . The others are 400W LED

 

[Kayos]

High pressure sodium or metal halide I am talking about.
Just did the lights in my warehouse.
5 new LED 300 and 400W highbays and new 400W bright white metal halide in the other 3. There is no difference in efficiency - virtually the same.
But the light is even better from the old fittings.
And the originals lasted probably 50 years. The bulbs last at least 15 years. I bet LEDs won't!

I only guarantee the LEDs for 20 years, and fit thousands of them. But yeah, direct comparison to you fitting 5

Did you do measurement and verification on the old fittings to CIBSE standards and use a tier 1 supplier for the replacements?

 

[fizzy]

I only guarantee the LEDs for 20 years, and fit thousands of them. But yeah, direct comparison to you fitting 5

Did you do measurement and verification on the old fittings to CIBSE standards and use a tier 1 supplier for the replacements?

I just changed the 400W bulbs on the old ones as they were dead.
The new ones came from Collingwood Lighting.

 

[fizzy]

I only guarantee the LEDs for 20 years, and fit thousands of them. But yeah, direct comparison to you fitting 5

Did you do measurement and verification on the old fittings to CIBSE standards and use a tier 1 supplier for the replacements?

That's brave of you. Does that include your labour for fitting replacements? Hiring a lift etc?
I see LEDs of all sorts failing all the time. Including council lamp posts going into strobe mode.

 

[Kayos]

That's brave of you. Does that include your labour for fitting replacements? Hiring a lift etc?
I see LEDs of all sorts failing all the time. Including council lamp posts going into strobe mode.

It's what we have to do.

Just looking for a datasheet on the 1000w fittings we install on pitch floodlights, metal halide out and led in, 60% energy saving according to my spreadsheet, however if I find the info I will share it

 

[julianthegypsy]

What gets on my tits is the number of units, offices, warehouses you see empty and To Let which have all their lights on 24/7.
Obviously the energy companies love it, but it really irritates me ...

And the external lighting just to show the building off. A huge amount of power wasted and massive light pollution. Horrible.

 

[fizzy]

It's what we have to do.

Just looking for a datasheet on the 1000w fittings we install on pitch floodlights, metal halide out and led in, 60% energy saving according to my spreadsheet, however if I find the info I will share it

LEDs have the advantage if the lights are going to be auto switched. And they are so easy to install.
But the actual savings are a lot smaller than people think.
I have also got quite a few LED tubes installed - and again the efficiency is very similar to a standard tube.
I think people make the mistake of ripping out a load of old lights that are way past their best and maybe very orange in colour - and then have fancy ultra white LEDs installed and think they are so much better. They are not comparing like for like.