Thumbs up for eco bulbs

BRIGHT IDEA: The Electricity Commission says the results of an experiment prove the worth of energy efficient bulbs.

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The results of an experiment comparing the quality of energy efficient light bulbs with traditional light bulbs has dispelled any myths about the quality of eco-friendly bulbs, says the Electricity Commission.

More than two-thirds of the 850 people surveyed were not able to tell the difference between eco-friendly bulbs and traditional light bulbs in the Electricity Commission's "RightLight Challenge".

Shoppers in Auckland and Christchurch took part in the experiment in which were they were shown two identical booths lit by the two types of light bulbs on July 17 and July 24.

Despite most of the shoppers being confident they could pick the eco-bulb before the experiment, 68 percent either incorrectly identified which room was lit by the efficient bulb or said they could not spot any difference.

The experiment showed that the light emitted by eco-friendly bulbs was indistinguishable from traditional bulbs, Electricity Commission efficient lighting programme manager Stuart Ross said.

Many people still believed that energy efficient bulbs did not emit as much light as traditional bulbs and were ugly, Mr Ross said.

"However in a covered fitting, the shape of the bulb is immaterial and the experiment clearly showed that the light output of a quality compact fluorescent lamps (CFL) is now indistinguishable from an inefficient bulb," he said.

Despite the rapid uptake of the new bulbs nearly 90 percent of New Zealand homes still had traditional bulbs in over half their sockets, and according to estimates this was costing households at least $129 million a year, Mr Ross said.

"The cost savings from using energy efficient lighting are significant - for some technologies more than $100 over the lifetime of a single bulb," he said.

In other findings, 49 percent of those surveyed said they preferred the light in the room lit by the energy efficient light bulb while 18 percent had no preference for one light over the other.

- NZPA