Alternatives: Energy-saving lamps
The outstanding characteristics of the energy-saving lamp are a power consumption rating 80 percent lower than the incandescent lamp and a six times longer life of at least 6,000 hours. Energy-saving lamps are the unchallenged champions of efficiency for direct replacement of the incandescent lamp. Their higher acquisition costs are quickly recouped because they consume considerably less electricity. Because of their good luminous efficacy, models with a lower power rating – e.g. 11 instead of 60 W – can be installed to produce the same brightness as an incandescent lamp.
Comparison of power ratings
The table below shows which rating classes have approximately the same brightness. Some people find the light of an equivalent energy-saving lamp somewhat darker. Where this subjective impression persists for a number of days, licht.de recommends switching to the next higher rating class.
Incandescent lamp | Engery-saving lamp |
25 W | 5 - 6 W |
40 W | 7 - 9 W |
60 W | 11 - 12 W |
75 W | 14 - 16 W |
100 W | 18 - 20 W |
150 W | 23 - 27 W |
200 W | - |
Perfect replacement for the incandescent lamp
The first energy-saving lamp unveiled in the late 1970s was relatively large and heavy. In the nearly 30 years since then, the lamp industry's developers have improved the energy-saving lamp to the point where it is the perfect replacement for the incandescent lamp. Energy-saving lamps today are light with small dimensions; they start quickly and produce flicker-free light in a choice of three light colours. Switch-resistant and with good colour rendering properties (Ra index ≥ 80), they are available not only with a E27 screw base but also with the smaller E14 screw base. Some special energy-saving lamps are even dimmable.
Apart from rating class, another factor that needs to be considered when selecting an energy-saving lamp is the geometry of the luminaire. The lamp physically has to fit. Today, there are so many sizes and shapes available that there is an energy-saving lamp available for every existing luminaire designed for used with an incandescent lamp. Only in exceptional cases is a halogen lamp better suited, e.g. for crystal chandeliers.
Light colour needs to be right
Light colour is a very important selection criterion. A warm-white light colour similar to that of the incandescent lamp is indicated by the identifier 827: the "8" stands for good colour rendering (Ra index ≥ 80), the "27" for 2,700 Kelvin colour temperature. For special lighting tasks – e.g. in the home office – there are energy-saving lamps available with neutral-white (identifier 840) and daylight-white (identifier 865) light colours.
As far as light colour is concerned, consumers in future will have to decide what they want and what they prefer. If energy-saving lamp light is mixed with brilliant halogen light, neutral white can be the right light colour even for a living room. Where a colour scheme is dominated by reds and earthy colours, halogen lamps are the right choice because the light they produce renders those colours better.
Quality counts
The German consumer test organisation Stiftung Wartentest noted in 2008 that brand energy-saving lamps perform better in terms of longevity. But quality counts when it comes to any characteristic of the energy-saving lamp, including light colour. Finally, brand energy-saving lamps are always fitted with electronic ballasts (EBs), which guarantee lighting quality.
Defective lamps do not belong in the bin
Energy-saving lamps are low-pressure discharge lamps, which contain small amounts of mercury. So unlike incandescent lamps and halogen lamps, spent energy-saving lamps must not be disposed of as ordinary household waste. They need to be returned for recycling!
In Germany, these lamps are classed as waste equipment under the Electrical and Electronic Equipment Act (ElektroG) and must be disposed of accordingly. Hence the establishment of Lightcycle Retourlogistik und Service GmbH (only in German available), a nonprofit company created by the German lamp industry in March 2006 to organise a nationwide return and collection system. Municipal recycling depots and a network of voluntary collection points are associated with it. In some parts of Germany, spent lamps are collected as electrical waste, which individual households can put out for collection on pre-arranged dates.
Click here for the collection point search engine: http://lightcycle.de/.
