At the moment I have a stainless rail with 4x small halogen spotlights on it. It wasn't originally my choice and uses 4x 40w bulbs which is more than the entire rest of the house's lighting put together (energy saving bulbs in every room)!

Excluding striplights, what other options are there for energy efficient lighting in the kitchen? Obviously I can't use a conventional single rose bulb/shade but all other options i've seen have non energy efficient spotlights of some sort.

The only different bulbs I've seen are the new round/spiral type energy efficient bulbs.

Suggestions appreciated.

cheers,

Ned.

Philips do a range of lower wattage, high lighting output lamps that should fit your fittings. I can't remember what they're called, but 'Masterline' rings a bell. They're not cheap though...

LED replacment lamps depending on light fitting type.

http://www.reuk.co.uk/buy-240V-LED-SPOTLIGHT-BULB.htm

However don't forget that the heat halogen lamps provides fairly useful space heating, so the total energy savings aren't as great as they first appear.

[Edited on 17/8/07 by britishtrident]

Yes, but often kitchens are fairly toasty places due to the heat being emitted by toasters, kettles, ovens, hobs, fridges, freezers etc etc.... LED lighting has big advantages because it doesn't wack out heat.

Did anyone see the Grand Designs a few weeks back where they had bling LED lights everywhere. Looked good and used up 200W for the entire house!!!

Forget about LED plug in replacements for low voltage lamps they do not give enough light for a kitchen. I have a linear fluorescent on top of the kitchen cabinets bouncing off the ceiling and a low voltage strip under the units. I like it !

Caber (a lighting designer in real life!)

When I said halogen spotlights I may have misdirected a little, they are the micro capsule (G9) 40w bulbs, like this and are seated in small frost glass cylindrical shades on a single straight stainless rail like this

Ned.

ps I do have the daisy chain style baby strip lights providing under cabinet lighting which I tend to use rather than the main light when I can.

[Edited on 17/8/07 by ned]

So, let me see. You have a 3KW kettle, an electric oven on a 45A circuit, a 700W microwave, a fridge/freezer, plus maybe a dishwasher etc etc.

Now think about how much time do you run the lights in the kitchen? Is changing the current kitchen lights going to make a big change to your electricity usage / carbon footprint?

I have the same problem with a chandelier in my stairwell. It has 100W of low-voltage haolgens in it. But I don't run it for hours at a time, and it looks pretty. So I'm keeping it

Cheers
Richard

You are currently only running 160W.

Your only option is to reduce your Wattage by replacing the lamps with 25W (total consumtion 100W).... CLICKY

HTH

Guys, have a look at www.savethebulb.org ETDWM!

Are you after saving the planet or saving a few quid on your leccy bill? Are you interested in the quality of light or the quantity?

I am afraid none of this is easy and there certtainly is never a single answer that deals with all the issues, in the end you have to make a lot of judgements for yourself, or pay someone like me to make judgements for you Really it is interesting and worth reading as much as you can bare to so you can make a decision for yourself.

Good luck and feel free to contribute your opinions to the savethebulb campaign!

CABER

Dim lighting is a bonus in our kitchen.

You can tell when stuff is cooked by the fire alarm.



Paul G