For the sake of completeness, we couldn’t leave out lighting when it comes to energy labels and savings. The classic incandescent light bulb wastes about 95% of energy through heat, with just 5% used in light when the filament gets hot.
But we’ve seen a shift by homes to using energy saving light emitting diodes (LEDs) and compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs). From August 2023, you’ll no longer be able to buy halogen or incandescent light bulbs at all.
Taking a closer look at a lightbulb’s energy label, you’ll see:
The electrical power used in watts (W): its energy consumption; the more powerful a bulb, the more electricity it uses.
How much light the bulb produces in lumens (lm): the higher it is, the more light emitted for the same electricity consumption.
The lifespan in hours: how long you can expect the bulb to last (bear in mind that 1,000 hours is about one year’s use).
CFLs were the first energy efficient lightbulbs on the market and use about 70% less energy than incandescent bulbs. But LEDs outstrip those now as the most efficient, with a whopping 80% of energy being converted to light.