The incandescent bulb, and why you shouldn’t be using it |19 April 2017
People have been using incandescent bulbs for decades, centuries now, ever since Thomas Edison patented his invention to the world. Since then, the advances in science and technology have transformed this device that brightens up our days and nights into a better version than what it first was. Say hello to the Light Emitting Diode, more commonly known as the LED bulb.
An incandescent bulb works by allowing electricity to flow through a filament, producing heat up to 2,200°C, creating light! That’s a lot of energy! It takes so much energy to heat up the filament that only 5% is what you get as light. The other 95% of energy is lost as heat energy and it contributes to making your room uncomfortably warm. So it is not a very efficient way to light your room.
A LED bulb works by passing electricity through a small semiconductor crystal, which produces light. Just like magic! (Ahem, science…) Unlike incandescent bulbs, most of the energy (sometimes up to 95%) that is put into an LED bulb comes out as light! Now that is what you call efficient.
Incandescent bulbs could be dangerous, as the air inside can expand too rapidly due to the heat produced and result in the bursting of the glass bulb. In addition, touching an incandescent bulb can leave you with second degree burns, whereas LED bulbs are quite cool to the touch.
Figure 1: Graph showing the comparison between a LED and an incandescent bulb in relation to Cost and Lifespan.
Let’s say you were buying a bulb. An incandescent bulb in Seychelles costs approximately R10 whereas a LED bulb costs approximately R80. The average lifespan of an incandescent bulb is 1000 hours. So if you keep your lights on 8 hours a day, your bulb would last you only 3 months on average. So in 9 years you would buy 36 bulbs, meaning you would spend R360 to replace that burnt out bulb. On the other hand, the average lifespan of a LED bulb is 25,000 hours, meaning it would last you 3,125 days on average, which would last you 9 years. So in 9 years you would only have needed to buy that one bulb, so spending only R80 in the whole 9-year period on a bulb! Whenever a bulb is switched on, more energy is consumed burning fossil fuels, and as a result more Carbon Dioxide (CO2) is emitted into the atmosphere. By replacing incandescent bulbs with LED bulbs, you can reduce your energy consumption by using efficient light bulbs, combat global warming by reducing your carbon footprint, and save your hard earned money in the long run all at the same time!
So next time you’re going to buy a bulb, remember to shop efficiently.
Get 2 Free LED bulbs by exchanging it for 2 incandescent bulbs this Saturday April 22, 2017 at the STC Hypermarket as from 10.15 a.m.
Contributed by the Ministry of Environment, Energy and Climate Change