Why Choose LED Lamps and Lightbulbs?

Would you like to save money and improve the environment?

If the answer is yes, then switching to LED is a simple choice to make. LED lamps and lightbulbs are designed to be compatible with your existing fittings allowing you to begin saving immediately.

Did You Know?

💡LEDs are highly energy efficient, creating more light and less heat at a lower cost compared with older lighting technologies.

💡On average an LED lightbulb uses 85% less electricity compared to incandescent lighting and around 18% less electricity compared to compact fluorescent (CFL) for the same level of light output.

💡Worldwide, around 20% of electricity is consumed in lighting.

💡The average EU household has 24 fittings for lightbulbs and there is an LED alternative for nearly all the different bulb shapes and base types.

Energy Savings

Switching to LED can make a big impact on your personal energy use and if more households, councils, companies and corporations get involved on energy use globally too. Where lights are left on for longer periods, like in offices or security settings, savings begin to add up quickly whilst businesses can make huge savings whilst being more green.

The biggest savings are seen when LED replaces Halogen or conventional tungsten and incandescent lighting.

Gone are the days when a room was lit with just a single 60W lamp. In many living rooms, bedrooms and kitchens they have been replaced with 8 or more spotlights. Each spotlight could be 35W or 50W (Halogen) - leading to power usage of up to 400W. With LED lamps, the energy used is lowered to just 52W (6.5W per lamp) for the same amount of light. With energy prices only going up it makes sense to switch to LED.

If we take the above example of replacing eight 50W GU10 Halogen spotlights in a kitchen, GU10 LED lamps can be installed in a matter of minutes saving money in moments.

The switch will save you money in two ways:

• Each lamp uses less energy to run, reducing your electricity bill
• LED lamps have a much longer lifespan than older lighting technologies, meaning you spend less on replacements

The comparison table below shows the electricity savings when switching to 6.5W LED from 50W Halogen.

Estimated savings, based on 0.14p/kWh - LED lamps like all types of lamps will slowly fade over a long period. LED lamp lifetime could be as much as 22.8 years based on 3hrs/day usage.

Longevity

Typically LED lamps have a lifetime of 25,000 hours, over 22 years if used for 3 hours per day. Plus, with no filament, LED lamps are more robust. This will result in you saving money on replacement lamps and building maintenance. Conventional bulbs last around 1,000-2,000 hours (1-2 years) and CFL around 6,000 -15,000 hours (6 to 13 years). The cost of LED has dropped over the last few years leading to substantial a reduction of the payback period to just a few months for most lamps.

Great for Business

For business and commercial use switching to LED makes great financial sense.

• Lower Energy Costs - We have helped businesses save thousands of pounds per year - every year. With the cost of LED falling, payback is from a few months for lamps to around 12-36 months for LED panels.
• Lower Maintenance - No lamp or tube changes - items like LED panels are much easier to clean when compared with fluorescent tube panels. For high ceilings, the need for specialist machinery like cherry pickers is reduced.
• More sales? - When upgrading poorly lit areas with LED, we have had feedback from customers who have reported a better atmosphere for staff in offices. Also, reports from wholesalers and retailers have included better sales figures as products are lit better and customers are spending more time in store.
• A great return - LED gives a great return. For example, an LED GU10 costing around £3.50 will save over £6.00 per year in energy costs (a 6-month payback and a 195% return based on 3hrs per day and 14p KW/h). A 600x600 LED panel retailing at around £80 will save £28.00 per year in energy with a return of 36% (12hrs per day and 14p KW/h)

The PROS of LED

💡 LED is instant ON 💡

LED lamps switch ON and OFF instantly and are flicker free. There is no warm up time unlike many CFLs.

💡 LED lighting is Mercury free 💡

A small amount of Mercury is used in CFL bulbs. Mercury is highly toxic and any reduction in its use will hugely benefit the environment.

💡 LED lamps look the same as "traditional" lightbulbs 💡

You may have seen early "Generation 1" LED lamps that looked more like an alien spaceship than a lightbulb, however, there have been massive advances in LED design so that now LED lamps look nearly identical to the filament and halogen bulbs that you want to replace. Integral LED have a range of lamps that closely match existing shapes and light outputs.

💡 More light with much less energy 💡

Over the lifetime of an LED product, less electricity and replacement products are used; saving even more energy in transportation, packaging and maintenance when compared to conventional lamps. All this adds up to lower CO2 emissions, a win-win for you and the environment. As LED lamps are very efficient, they are the perfect product to compliment renewable energy sources such as solar panels or wind power.

💡 LEDs are safer 💡

LED lamps run much cooler than traditional halogen lamps and can be less of a hazard (please consult a qualified electrician for fire safety regulations in your area). Halogen lamps are an inefficient way to heat a space. Using LED will allow a heating or air-conditioning system to run more effectively. When lamps run cooler they minimise the deterioration to light fittings, shades and decoration which can occur with hot lamps - so your light fittings will last longer.

💡 LED lighting attracts less insects 💡

There is good evidence to suggest that LED products attract fewer insects, meaning less maintenance and cleaning.

💡 LEDs are fun 💡

The range of LED products is increasing and products like LED strips that can change colour and brightness make it easier to produce light effects almost anywhere.

💡 LED is the future 💡

Millions of dollars are being spent on research and development to make LED products even more efficient for the future. The low power and weight features of LED products make it ideal for new types of lighting such as LED strips, downlights and luminaires that are available now. LED products are also being integrated into control systems that can be remotely controlled by smartphones and tablets.

With falling prices of LED products, long-term increases in energy costs tied with improving efficiency of LED, with more light for each unit of energy the argument to switch to LED now is very compelling as payback periods become shorter. 

Integral is committed to working with new technology to bring you the latest products as soon as they are available.