Compact fluorescent lamps (CFL) lamps have become most common and widely spread energy saving alternative to incandescent lamps. CFL’s have been on the market for several decades and have gained significant market acceptance during that time.

The technology is based on fluorescent tubes, which are bent into a small shape. Integrated electronics allow the lamp to operate as direct replacement for IL’s. In terms of shape, size and light quality, the better CFL’s have come very close to traditional IL’s.

For consumers that still do not wish to compromise in any way, a range of energy saving bulbs which make use of halogen technology have been introduced recently. Light characteristics are equal to IL’s, while energy saving is approximately of 25% (compared to 75-80% for CFL lamps).

An emerging alternative is LED-based energy saving bulbs. These bulbs are expected to exceed the energy saving percentages of CFL lamps, as well as having longer lifetime and light quality closer to IL’s. Costs of these lamps will come down as a result of advancing technology (aligned with the performance/price evolution of semiconductors).

The following are efficient alternatives for IL’s for a variety of applications in the home:

• Residential lighting – efficient halogen, compact or linear fluorescent lamps & LED.
• Commercial lighting (offices) - efficient halogen, compact or linear fluorescent lamps, compact high intensity discharge lamps (HID) & LED.
• Industrial sector - compact or linear fluorescent lamps, high pressure sodium lamps (HPS), high intensity discharge lamps (HID) & LED.
• Outdoor lighting – high pressure sodium lamps (HPS), quartz or ceramic high intensity discharge lamps (HID) & LED.

The ranges below provide wattage equivalents (that produce the same amount of light) for regular incandescent and energy-saving lamps:

There are new lamps available today which can dim on ordinary domestic dimmer switches or alternately by staged dimming using a standard light switch. These products are a relatively new innovation and therefore in limited supply, that said the number of these types of products is expected to increase over time.

Some LEDs can be dimmable and some cannot. This is indicated on the packaging via a special logo.

LED technology is currently being used in some specific applications (such as traffic signals, mobile phones, etc.) and offers great potential for the future of lighting. However, this technology still requires further development before it can be used as a cost effective replacement for lamps in the home.

Put simply, LED’s are tiny light sources that fit easily into an electrical circuit but unlike ordinary incandescent bulbs, they do not have a filament that will burn out with time. Just a few millimeters long, they emit light by the movement of electrons in a semiconductor material which converts electric current directly into light. An LED consists of several layers of semiconductor material. If the diode is operated in a forward direction, light is generated in one of these thin layers, the active layer. In contrast to an incandescent lamp, which produces a continuous spectrum of light, the LED emits light of a particular color or wavelength depending on the material used at the base of the chip.

LED systems are almost maintenance free and their total cost of ownership is significantly lower. The lifetime of the LED is considerably longer than a conventional lamp. Furthermore, unlike many filament lamps the LED are not subject to sudden failure, they gradually dim over time rather than failing abruptly like an incandescent at the end of its life.

LEDs produce less heat than incandescent lamps and are less fragile than fluorescents. They are built inside solid cases that protect them, they have no moving parts, no fragile glass, no exposure to toxic gasses and no filament making them hard to break and extremely difficult to cause damage. Given that they do not contain mercury, they are also safer for consumers and friendlier for the environment.