Last Updated on December 29, 2020 by HodgePodgeDays
When we bought our first house and we had a new kitchen installed, we had spotlights fitted. It was very much the fashion back in 1999, but they were so expensive to run. There were times when I’d cook by the light of a small table lamp fitted with an energy saving bulb, because it was far cheaper than having eight spotlights burning bright. These days we’re moving over to having LED lighting throughout our house. They’re just as bright, if not brighter, and much cheaper to run.
LED lighting uses much less electricity than both traditional incandescent light bulbs and halogen light bulbs. They even outlast energy efficient light bulbs and are cheaper to run too!
To start with, we started replacing bulbs in our kitchen with LED lights. The kitchen is naturally a really dark room and changing over to LED bulbs made an immediate difference. We bought our bulbs from LED lighting specialists, LED Hut in their summer sale, which really helped to cut the cost of the bulbs too.
We also got new LED strip bulbs under the kitchen cupboards which illuminated the worktops. This was a real game-changer for me as I was able to focus the light where I needed it most. Plus the under cupboard lights are better for creating a bit of mood lighting, should your kitchen ever need to change its mood.
The next room we tackled was the bathroom. The bathroom is a tricky room to light. You need it nice and bright for when your husband is having a shave, or if you’re doing something you really need to see; but when you’re having a soak in the bath you just want to dial down the lighting. We replaced the existing bulbs with bright LED bulbs and again went for the under-cabinet strip light. I chose a waterproof one just in case. It means when I’m having a restful soak I’m not being dazzled by a bright light overhead; but there’s still enough light to read a book in the tub.
We bought a box of regular LED bulbs too. As the old ones around the house blow, we replace them with these new brighter, more energy efficient bulbs. It helps that we’ve had a smart meter fitted and each time I look at the amount of electricity we use, I have a dicky-fit. The monthly amount we use and spend seems to be slowly dropping.
I have high hopes that as more bulbs get replaced throughout the house, the less electricity we will use. I just need to persuade my family that we’re not actually living in Manchester Airport and we don’t need every light on at all times. Wish me luck with that one!