It’s a little bit trendy at the moment to have LED lighting in your home, but is there any real benefit to doing this?
The short answer is yes. The longer answer is that there are multiple benefits!
The LED effect
Firstly, let’s talk about the LED fittings themselves. Compared to a standard incandescent or halogen light fitting, an LED fitting uses a fraction of the energy to provide the same amount of lighting.
Some key figures for LEDs:
- An LED uses as little as 10W of power compared to 100W for a normal light
- Replacing four key lights with LEDs could save you up to $20 per month in electricity alone
- LEDs last significantly longer, up to 60,000 hours
- Over the lifetime of a single LED fitting, you could save up to $12,000 on power and replacement bulbs
- LED fittings are much safer as well, with significantly less heat created
Additionally, the fittings sit flush to the ceiling, look modern and provide a great lighting effect to highlight your home.
Adding to a draught-free home
Secondly, many old recessed light fittings are not sealed units. This means they have an open fitting around the bulb.
“Why is that bad?” you might ask. Well, every one of these light fittings is going to act as a chimney for all that lovely warmth you have created (and paid for) in your living space. As warm air rises, it will take the path of least resistance and be sucked out through the gaps around your old light fittings. This makes it more difficult and expensive to heat your home.
Do you want your ceiling insulation to be like Swiss cheese?
Thirdly, as we mentioned earlier, modern LED fittings are also safer.
To reduce the risk of fire, old downlights require a safety clearance of 100mm from any insulation. This results in large areas of your ceiling having no insulation. This makes an even larger escape route for heat. The effect is kind of like Swiss cheese, holes everywhere!
Additionally, as a result of less heat being generated by the light, insulation can be installed over the top of many LED fittings. The Enstall team can help you have the right LED fittings with the right safety ratings installed.
Once the right LED fittings are installed, a new layer of high-performance insulation can be installed throughout your ceiling – no more Swiss cheese!
The environmental benefits
Finally, let’s talk about the environment.
New Zealand and the world are working towards reducing carbon and energy use in buildings. Replacing older style lights with LEDs and upgrading your insulation are some very simple ways you can help.
LED fittings will save energy for you and the planet in multiple ways;
- reduce the power you use for lighting,
- reduce the energy lost through draughts,
- close the thermal envelope.
On top of the personal benefits and savings to you, you can rest easy knowing you have played your part in the battle against climate change.
Our offer
Enstall has a team of professional assessors who can help identify whether you could benefit from new LED light fittings and an additional layer of insulation. Our assessments are free.
Once you accept our quote, our professional team of installers will ensure a quality outcome with lighting and insulation.
So get in touch with us today, we can’t wait to hear from you!
Nathan L.
(Who is Nathan? With a technical background in biologic sciences, and joining the energy efficiency sector in 2018, visited over 1000 homes throughout New Zealand. Passionate about the environment and helping Kiwis improve our little slice of paradise.)