Using Energy Efficient Light Bulbs

I have information, but I'm not sure I have answers. I hope the light bulb manufacturers improve their packaging so people can buy with confidence.

Put it All Together

This chart was an attempt by JasonMorrison.net to compare LED to CFL and incandescent bulbs. As you can see they just don't compare yet.

My personal conclusion is to strive for the highest lumen rating as possible and pay attention to the color temperature when possible. But packaging varies so you will often feel you are buying blindly. I feel like manufacturers keep us in the dark, if you'll excuse the pun.

A rule of thumb you can use in deciding which CFL you want to replace your incandescent bulb is CFLs produce the same light and about a quarter of the wattage. As LED bulbs become more cost effective I suspect we'll see better lumens at a better price to go with the better quality.

Because efficiency is of importance, looking at the lumens/W, as shown in the above chart, is an important consideration. The direction of light emission is also important in your evaluation of what bulb you want to use. Incandescent and CFL bulbs cast light omni-directionally, and LEDs cast light in a "semi-directional", or hemisphere pattern.

This aspect of light bulbs is important to make sure you get the light output you want and expect. The 1.5W LED I bought at Sam's Club recently had no indication of output, energy efficiency, nothing to help me understand how bright or what color it would be. It's too dim to use for anything other than as something like a night light. That experience, combined with looking at the new CFLs that talk at length about lumens and wattage, spurred me to write this article. I figured if I was confused by all this different terminology, you might be too.

A complaint I occasionally hear about CFLs is the glow up period, or delay in getting to full brightness. Though much shorter than in the late 80s, the glow up period still exists for most CFLs. It can take up to 3 minutes to glow up, and the color cast maybe slightly different initially.

Did you know the average American household has 28 light sockets, and about 10-20% of their electric bill is from lighting? How does that relate to a hotel's energy consumption? Inn by the Sea in Cape Elizabeth, Maine, saved $8,000 the year it changed to CFL lighting; it had 43 guestrooms during that year. Now, how does your hotel compare in rooms and potential savings?

With energy efficient lighting you not only save money in the daily operational cost, but also you save money in the maintenance side of the house by not spending as much time on changing bulbs as you do with incandescent bulbs. The savings comes from the fact that CFL and LED bulbs last so much longer than incandescent bulbs. The saving's a factor that is important to note.

As energy efficient lighting evolves so does the confusion about what you are buying. How does at 75W incandescent bulb compare to a CFL or LED bulb? There isn't an exact translation. LED technology hasn't developed enough yet to create an equal bulb, though it is getting closer. CFLs are almost there but you really need to pay attention to lots of details to make sure you are getting what you want.

You want your guests to have the best experience at your inn, and to participate in your greening efforts. Change the lights in your guestrooms and common areas, not just your offices and backstage areas. There's an energy efficient light bulb for your various needs, be they activity or color balance to fit your decor. And now you can wade through the terminology that's used in so many different ways, and confuses the casual shopper.