Advice from Electricians

Many customers ask our electricians at Fixzit if it’s worthwhile to upgrade to LED lights in their home to save on electricity bills. Since home lighting accounts for around 25 per cent of the home energy use, looking to save on energy costs through optimising home lighting makes good sense. There are however many reasons why getting advice from a licensed electrician is a must do before you take the plunge into buying LED lighting that may not be compatible for your home which our Brisbane electricians explain below.

Problems with LED lamps and poor installations

Firstly it’s important to buy quality and know what to look for. Some LED lamps bought online through eBay or non-reputable manufacturers may flicker or have other reliability issues. There are also many issues customers can face when trying to buy and install their own LED lighting which can include:

• Flickering – can be caused by electronic load imbalance causing the transformer to restart itself constantly. Overtime this can degrade the transformer and the LED light.
• Wrong lamp purchased for the transformer type. Older electronic may not work properly
• Compatibility problems where the wrong lamp doesn’t fit in the housing or ceiling cut out hole
• Low quality brand or manufacturer meaning a unattractive light output colour or the poor dispersion of light in the room. I.e. light will be bright directly under the LED but remain limited in other areas of the room.

How much will they cost?

The costs of retrofitting existing halogen lights to LED lights are labour costs, the costs of the LED lamps and other cabling and material costs if neeeded. Choosing to hardwire cabling can involve extra power cable costs, connectors and electrical labour costs. Good quality LED lights can be costly upfront but will eventually pay for themselves.

However don’t be put off getting LED lights on these factors alone. With the right lamp and the right installation, the benefits however of LED lights are many and include:

• Operate at a safe temperature compared to halogen lights reducing the risk of house fires.
• Use much less power and will last at least 10 years when left on continuously or about 25 years with standard intermittent use.
• 80-90 per cent more energy efficient than traditional lighting.
• Provide the best light for task specific lighting for kitchens or work areas.
• Recommended when the home is using older compact fluorescent lamps or during extensive renovations.

Before going out to buy LED lighting, we urge you to seek the advice of our electricians to ensure that the quality of the light output is sound – many find the colour saturation of some brands to white or blue. We also suggest using the expertise of an electrician to ensure that lights are installed in the safest way possible.

To find out more about upgrading your home lighting to more energy efficient options call Fixzit Electrical today on 1300 726 806.