LED Lights - Go Greener with LED Lighting

Over the years, we’ve all been told about the importance of becoming ‘greener’ and helping the environment. But many people still don’t realise just how easy it is. Forget what Kermit said – it is easy being green. And the best part..? More often than not, by taking steps towards becoming greener, you’ll also find you save yourself money too.

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LED Lighting Saves You Cash

LED lighting has been around for years, and many companies (and homes) are yet to make the switch. Why? Well, there could be a number of reasons. They might be stuck in their old ways, they might not fully understand the benefits of LED lighting, or they might not know the best place to buy LED bulbs. 

If any of that sounds familiar, or if you’re still using an alternative to LED, keep reading…

Lights - The Facts

In most cases, your lighting will make up nearly half of your electricity bill – 40% to be precise. Let’s say your last bill was £100. £40 of that would typically come from your lighting. Now, if you knew there was a way to save up to 90% on that figure, you’d want to find out more, wouldn’t you? It’s as simple as switching to LED lights.

Be part of a UK-wide change

When you consider there’s more to LED lightbulbs than just lowering your electricity bill, it makes even more sense to switch. We’ve heard for years about the importance of lowering our carbon footprint and how small changes can truly make the biggest difference – especially if we were to all start making those changes together. So consider this… an LED lightbulb emits up to 70% less UV than halogen bulbs and will help to reduce your carbon footprint. Changing a lightbulb can take seconds, and switching to an LED bulb doesn’t make that process any harder – it’s exactly the same. But it will have a lot of positive repercussions – for you, for your business or home, and for the environment.

Talking of changing lightbulbs… LED lights, like the GU10 bulbs, last a lot longer than your typical lightbulb. 25 times longer, in fact! Whereas a standard lightbulb will only last a matter of months if you leave it on constantly, an LED bulb can last years. So you’ll be saving money, helping the environment, and reducing the maintenance of your lightbulbs. You won’t have to change them so often, you won’t have to spend so much money on your electricity bills each month, and you can feel confident that you’re taking steps to reduce your carbon footprint and help the environment.
To learn more about the environmental impact of LED lights and how they are helping the planet, check out the article 10 Ways LEDs Help the Planet from LED Lighting Supply.

And remember what we said when you first started reading this… you could save up to 90% on your lighting bill. You simply need to enter the wattage of your current fittings, how many you have, how much you use them, and your current cost per KW in electricity. And if you like the estimate you receive, you can start browsing for LED bulbs immediately. And it’s not just your lightbulbs that could save you money… There are a whole host of other things that you could be doing to improve your bank balance and help the environment.

Your heating

Think about your heating… There are a number of tools available nowadays that can really help you keep on top of your heating. Tools like Nest and Hive, for example. They’re designed to track your usage; to know when you go out, when you come in, when you often turn the heating off, etc. And, based on everything they track, they can turn the heating off when you go out. But don’t worry – you won’t be coming back to a cold home, because you can also use tools to turn your heating on before you get back. Or perhaps your heating system already has a timer. If that’s the case, make sure you take full advantage of it. Don’t leave your heating on when you’re not there – nobody will benefit from it, and it will only be costing you money.

Your washing

You’ll have heard it before, no doubt… Washing your clothes at a lower temperature is better for the environment. And, with more and more washing powders and conditioners being designed specifically to work at lower temperatures, there’s no reason not to do it. So if you’re currently washing your clothes on a 60° cycle, why not lower it to 30°? Chances are you won’t spot a difference – but the environment will! And don’t stop there! When your washing’s done, instead of chucking it in the tumble dryer, why not use a clothes horse instead? You don’t have to worry about what the weather’s like because you can dry your clothes inside - without spending a penny on electricity. But the savings don’t stop there… you’ll also be able to wave goodbye to tumble dryer sheets, too.

Your transportation

If you’re a car owner, take a few seconds to consider your driving style. Think about ways that you could continue to drive your car whilst saving fuel. Because in the long run, it’s going to save you money and help the environment at the same time. Or perhaps you’d like to go one step further… in that case, you could try using public transport more often. This helps to reduce your carbon footprint that little bit further. And if you’d like to kill three birds with one stone, you can start riding a bike wherever possible. This will help save you money, help the environment, and help improve or maintain your current level of fitness. It really is a win-win situation – especially when you consider you’re less likely to get stuck in traffic on a bike!

Your windows

Yup – your windows can help too. Why not switch to triple glazing? Not only will it help to reduce the sounds from outside, but it will also help to make your home much more energy efficient. They’ll help to keep heat in over winter, so you can spend less on your heating bills. And, if you’d like to take it that little step further, why not consider installing solar panels on your property? Think of it as an investment – you’ll be able to create your own electricity which, yep – you’ve guessed it, helps to lower your energy bills. How? Well, the UK government's Feed-In Tariff means that you’ll be paid for all the electricity you produce. And if you make more energy than you need, you can sell it back to the grid. So you could actually make money on your electricity, instead of spending it!

Your food

Sounds like a bit of a strange one, we know. But why not start growing your own vegetables or herbs? You don’t even need a garden to get started – you can easily grow herbs in a window box. It won’t just be helping the environment, it can also turn into a great little hobby. One that rewards you for years to come. There’s a great sense of pride that comes from using ingredients you’ve grown yourself in your dishes. And, by growing your own produce, you’ll know exactly where it’s come from and can be confident that no chemicals have been sprayed on them.

Your devices

Even though we’ve been told for years not to leave things on standby, many of us still do. We tell ourselves "It’s on standby", so it’s hardly using any electricity at all, so it’s okay”. But do you know what’s better than hardly using any electricity when you don’t have to? You’ve guessed it – using none. It doesn’t take any more energy to turn things off completely. Now, of course, there may be times when you need your device to be on standby but, if you don’t, turn it off. Over time, you’ll start to notice it really does make a difference to your energy bills at the end of the month. And once you start doing it, you’ll find it becomes a habit you don’t even consider any more. It just becomes the norm.

So take the first step today

These are just a few of the ways you can take steps to becoming ‘greener’ and saving money. By now, you’ll have realised that, for the most part, there are small changes that you could make immediately. And whilst they’re small changes, they can make a world of difference to the environment. So take the first step today – maybe it’ll be by lowering the temperature on your next clothes wash, perhaps you’ll switch to rechargeable batteries, or maybe you’ll start using LED lightbulbs instead. Whatever it may be, it really will make a huge change in the long run.