FREE UK DELIVERY ON ORDERS OVER £30.

About Us Blog Trade Contact Us Search for products Account Cart

HOME LED BULBS SOCKETS & SWITCHES INDOOR LIGHTING OUTDOOR LIGHTING NEW IN CLEARANCE

Rated Excellent Free UK Delivery on orders over £30 Get Tips and Advice: Join Our Mailing List

SEARCH BLOG Incandescent vs CFL vs LED vs Halogen Light

Search
Bulbs
4 Minute Reading Time

LED Lighting & Light Bulbs 25/10/20

Incandescent light bulbs are currently being phased out, with more energy efficient alternatives becoming the norm. There are still a
CATEGORIES number of options available though including CFL, LED and Halogen, so when choosing a bulb, it is useful to know which type is most
suitable for your needs.

Blog Home

Bathroom Lighting

Bedroom Lighting

Design Guide

Dining Room Lighting

Downlights

Elesi News

Hallway Lighting

Indoor Lighting Guide

Interior Design

Kitchen Lighting

LED Lighting

Light Bulbs
The type of bulb is not the only consideration you need to take into account. You also need to think about the cap size, the bulb shape, the
Living Room Lighting
lumens and the colour temperature. You can read more in our bulb buying guide. In this article however, we will look specifically at
Office Lighting incandescent, halogen, CFL and LED bulbs and their pros and cons.
Outdoor Lighting

Pendant Lighting What are incandescent bulbs?

Smart Homes
Incandescent light bulbs are the classic light bulbs that have been used in homes for years. The light comes from the heating up of a wire
Sockets & Switches filament in the centre. Electrical current is supplied to the wire, and as it heats, it glows.
Technical Advice

Uncategorised

Whilst they offer a traditional look, incandescent bulbs are inefficient. Less than 5% of the energy they use it converted into visible light.
The remaining energy is lost as heat, hence why these are often hot when they have been switched on for some time.

What are CFL light bulbs?

CFL stands for compact florescent lamp, and these light bulbs are one of the more common types of energy saving bulbs. They typically use
less energy than incandescent and were the first widely available energy-saving alternative bulbs on the market.

These light bulbs use an electric current to excite gases within a bulb, causing a phosphorous coating on the inside of the glass to glow. The
efficiency of these bulbs is due to less of the energy being expended on heat.

CFL light bulbs typically use between 60% and 80% less energy than incandescent bulbs.

What are halogen bulbs?

Halogen bulbs are made like incandescent bulbs but consist of a tungsten filament, sealed into a compact glass casing that contains a
mixture of inert gas and a halogen (this could be iodine or bromine). These operate at a higher temperature and produce a light with higher
lumens than a like for like incandescent.

Halogen bulbs typically use 20-30% less energy than incandescent bulbs.

What are LED light bulbs?

LED bulbs produce light with one or more light emitting diodes. These diodes work with direct current (DC) electrical power, so the bulbs
contain a driver that converts the commonly used alternating current (AC) to the current used by the LEDs.

These are currently the most efficient, commonly available option on the market and typically use 90% less energy than
incandescent bulbs.

LED vs Incandescent
The main benefits of LED bulbs compared to incandescent bulbs focus on energy efficiency, cost to run, longevity and environmental
impact. As previously mentioned, LED bulbs typically use 90% less energy than incandescent bulbs and can turn 70% of their energy into
light. The energy efficiency of LED makes them far better for the environment, as less energy needs to be produced to power them.

Whilst incandescent bulbs were often cheaper than LED bulbs, this is changing as LED technology becomes more and more common, and
the overall cost, when taking into account the energy costs over the lifetime of LEDs compared to the energy costs of incandescent bulbs
makes LED far more cost effective.

Incandescent bulbs have a far shorter lifespan than LED bulbs, so whilst the one purchase of an incandescent may be cheaper, LEDs will not
need to be replaced so often.

LED Vs CFL
CFL bulbs were widely available before LEDs really took off, but LEDs have now covered all bases. With more attractive designs of LED
bulbs, they look far better than CFL bulbs and CFLs contain a small amount of mercury, so need to be recycled or disposed of properly and
handled carefully. This isn’t an issue with LED bulbs.

Perhaps the most common complaint about CFL bulbs is that they take some time to reach full brightness, so when you first switch them
on, they can appear dim. This again is not an issue with LED bulbs.

LED vs Halogen
Halogen bulbs are technically a form of incandescent lighting and are far less efficient than LED bulbs, but are, as mentioned earlier 20% to
30% more efficient than traditional incandescent bulbs.

Halogens offer the look of a traditional bulb, and are often marketed as eco alternatives to incandescent bulbs but a no match compared to
the energy efficiency and longevity of LEDs.

Incandescent vs CFL vs LED vs Halogen

Incandescent bulbs are less efficient than other types of lighting, with just 5% of their energy used converted into visible light. They
typically have a luminous efficacy for 120V operation is 16 lumens per watt, compared to 60 lm/W for a compact fluorescent bulb or 150
lm/W for some white LED bulbs.

Are LED Downlights Better than Halogen?

Whilst halogen downlights can be initially cheaper, the ongoing cost savings in the form of energy saving makes LED downlights a far more
cost-effective option.

What is the cost of running a light bulb?

The cost of running a light bulb varies on the bulb type. LED bulbs are cheaper to run than CFL, incandescent and halogen. On average 15W
LED bulb costs around £0.002 per hour to run, a 20W CFL bulb costs round £0.003 per hour, a 70W halogen bulb costs around £0.008 per
hour and a 100W incandescent bulb costs around £0.012 per hour.

Why do my LED bulbs keep burning out?

If you have had issues with LED bulbs burning out, it could be one of a number of reasons. You may be trying to dim non dimmable LED
bulbs (not all LED bulbs are dimmable), or you could be using dimmable LED bulbs with a non-LED compatible dimmer. In this case, switch
to using a trailing edge dimmer switch.

If you find yourself burning through multiple LED bulbs quickly, the mains in your house might be too high. In UK homes, the electricity
should fluctuate around 230V at 50 Hz. If this is the problem, you should contact an electrician to test, and your electrical provider to
correct the issue.

LEDs can sometimes overheat if used with a fixture that isn't LED compatible. This can cause them to burn out. If none of these reasons are
the cause, then you could have used a bad batch of LED bulbs. In which case, contact the manufacturer.

Related Products

SALE

HIGH CRI HIGH CRI

Soho Lighting E27 ES Opal GLS Soho Lighting 4w B22 Vintage Soho Lighting 4w E27 ES 4100K
LED Light Bulb 8w 3000K Warm Edison ST64 LED Light Bulb Opal Dimmable LED Candle
White High CRI Dimmable 1800K Spiral Filament Teardrop Bulb with white plastic
High CRI Dimmable
£5.99 £4.00
NOW £5.39
SAVE £3.60

Customer Trade Legal Newsletter

Service
Trade Orders & Privacy and Cookies Subscribe to our newsletter to receive all special offers,
About Us Accounts
Terms and Conditions product updates and other exclusive info direct to your
Blog Request a Trade Form inbox. Your details will never be shared, so don't miss out.
Returns Policy
Contact
Legal Notice
Shipping Enter email address SEND

Returns

FAQs

Engraving

Elesi Limited. Registered in England Number: Follow Us

11062882. Copyright © 2024 All Rights
Reserved.