From the end of this month halogen lightbulbs are to be removed from the market across Europe, with households expected to switch to LED lights – an electric light that produces light using light-emitting diode (LED) which cost more but last far longer and use much less electricity than energy-hungry halogens.
● What is the ban?
Old-fashioned incandescent bulbs were the first to go, in 2009, and in 2016 the phased removal of halogens began in an EU-wide effort to improve energy efficiency and cut carbon emissions. Halogens are hugely wasteful of energy – the Energy Saving Trust estimates that the typical halogen uses 11 pounds of electricity a year while a replacement LED would use only 2 pound’s (NT$ 81) worth. What’s more, halogen bulbs typically fail after about two years, while LEDs should last for around 15 to 20 years on the same usage.
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
照片:維基共享資源
● How do I know which LEDs to buy?
A generation brought up on bulb brightness expressed in terms such as 100w or 60w has to learn the new vocabulary of “lumens”. Wattage measures power or energy, while lumens measure light output. Broadly speaking, a 60w bulb gave off around 700 lumens, while a 100w one is equivalent to more than 1,300 lumens. But stores such as John Lewis still label LED lights primarily with watts; it says its 8.5w “classic” LED bulb is equivalent to a 75w incandescent bulb, while a 13.5w LED is equal to a 100w old-style bulb.
● How much do they cost?
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
照片:維基共享資源
More than incandescent bulbs. At B&Q, “Diall” LED bulbs offer 1,520 lumens (it says that is equal to the old 100w bulb) and cost 8 pounds. But remember how much less electricity they use and how long they last. If households replaced 10 halogens with 10 LEDs, the long term savings are equal to about 112 pounds a year, says Philips.
(The Guardian)
自本月底起,鹵素燈泡將從歐洲市場上淘汰,預期家用照明會改用LED燈──以發光二極體(LED)製造的電燈,這種燈的價錢較高,但使用年限長很多,且用電量遠低於耗能的鹵素燈。
● 此禁令的內容為何?
歐盟在二○○九年,首先淘汰老式的白熾燈泡,並自二○一六年始,分階段淘汰鹵素燈,以提高能源效率和減少碳排放。鹵素燈非常浪費能源──據節能信託基金會估計,一枚典型的鹵素燈泡每年耗費 的電力值十一英鎊(約新台幣四百四十四元),但若使用LED燈泡,只需花費兩英鎊(約新台幣八十一元)。更重要的是,鹵素燈大約使用兩年後就會壞,而LED燈在相同的情況下可使用十五至二十年。
● 應選購何種LED燈泡?
習慣用瓦數,例如「一百瓦」或「六十瓦」來表示燈泡亮度的老一輩人,必須學習新的燈泡亮度詞彙──「流明」。「瓦」是功率或能量的單位,而「流明」是光通量的單位,表示輸出的亮度。大致來說,一個六十瓦的燈泡會發出約七百流明的亮光,而一百瓦的燈泡的亮度則相當於一千三百流明以上。但英國約翰路易斯百貨等商家主要仍用瓦數來標記LED燈,說他們的八‧五瓦經典型LED燈泡相當於七十五瓦的白熾燈泡,而十三‧五瓦LED燈泡則相當於一百瓦的傳統燈泡。
● LED燈泡要花多少錢?
比白熾燈泡貴。B&Q特力屋的Diall牌一五二○流明LED燈泡 (相當於舊制一百瓦燈泡),售價是八英鎊(約新台幣三百二十三元)。但請留意,這燈泡可以少用多少電,以及增加了多長的壽命。飛利浦公司表示,若在家中把十個鹵素燈換成十個LED燈,那麼長期下來,每年約可節省一百一十二英鎊(約新台幣四千五百二十三元)。
(台北時報林俐凱編譯)
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