#2 Cut Your Electricity Usage And Utilities Bills One Bulb At A Time

Welcome to the second article in our series on how to save on electricity bills. In the last article we established that the rising cost of electricity is a strong motivator to spring into action and cut back on energy consumption. And to show you that not everything has to be costly and complicated, we’re starting with a closer look at whether it’s worth changing your lightbulbs.

Running costs of light bulbs

We estimate that over the same period of time, at the same tariff, and providing similar amounts of light, the three different light fittings cost the following:

Even when the cost of buying the replacement bulbs is taken into account, the annual savings are impressive. The estimated annual savings by using CFL and LEDs compared to incandescent bulbs, including the cost of new bulbs are:

For our calculations and more on LED lightbulbs, refer to the guide. If you have downlighters in your home, replacing halogen fittings with LEDs can save you R136.66 in electricity a year, or R67.66 if the cost of the replacement bulb is taken into account.

Do LED light bulbs really reduce electricity costs?

Changing all the light bulbs in your home to LED is an excellent place to start lowering your electricity bill each month. LED bulbs are widely available at home and building supplies stores and all types of light bulbs are now available. We admit we started with the easy stuff. Do you know that heating water accounts for 40% of the energy consumption in an average home? Sounds like the perfect place to make big cuts. Find out how in the third article in this series.

Ready to invest in a power or water saving solution for your home? If you’re an SA Home Loans client, we'll help you finance it through your home loan.