Science Questions

Is there any point in useing low energy bulbs and heating?

There’s a lot of talk about energy saving through the use of low energy light bulbs but since a lot of that energy ends up as heat if we’re using low energy light bulbs are we just turning up our thermostats and using more energy to heat our home? Lynn Avies, UK

We put this question to Chris Vivian from CEFAS...

"I suspect that it’s still better to have low energy bulbs.  I’d guess because electricity’s a very inefficient way of producing heat for space.  There are better ways such as using gas and so on.  I suspect it’s a question of efficiency."

We agree with Chris on this one, but it would be interesting to get any numbers on that.  If you’ve got any ideas on this then do let us know.

January 2008