elc3Lighting comes in many shapes and sizes, with central lighting, task lighting, mood lighting, uplighters, downlighters, spots and striplights, etc. An average of 16% of household electricity bills goes on lighting alone.

After the Green Party announced in the 2009 Budget that incandescent lightbulbs would be banned from sale in Ireland from January 2009, the EU responded with another proposal. The Greens decided not to go ahead with their plans, but to wait for the EU to carry out theirs. So now, the EU will phase out incandescent lightbulbs them 'between 2009 and 2012', beginning September 1st 2009.

You may, at first glance, think this may well be harmful to your pocket, but in fact the opposite is true. Not only are the alternatives about 10 times more efficient (thus saving electricity costs) but they can last 10 times longer, or even more (provided you buy a good make - cheap CFLs are of poor quality). They come in many shapes and sizes now, to suit many fittings and lamps, and their light quality has improved recently. Replacing your incandescent bulbs NOW is a good investment. The statement made by John Gormley...

This measure will deliver emissions savings of up to 700,000 tonnes per year from residential lighting alone when incandescent bulbs are fully replaced in all domestic light fittings. It could also save consumers an estimated 185 million Euros in electricity costs per annum.

Halogen bulbs will not be taken off the market until 2016.

It may amaze you to find that the latest fashion of halogen spotlights in the kitchen is probably the worst choice. There are usually several bulbs in one room, perhaps all on one switch, with a minimum of 40W each. Not only do they provide little spread of light, but most of this energy is given out as heat - not really what you need with all the other appliances in the room. They have been recently highlighted as also being a fire risk in your home. They are usually recessed in a ceiling, and if they catch light (on overheating) the smoke will penetrate through the holes, and through the wooden floor of your bedroom. You probably don't have a smoke detector there, so you won't get any warning - you will simply be overcome by smoke.

Equivalent, though more expensive to purchase initially, are LED bulbs. These require transformers, but an average 40W equivalent would use between 2W and 6W (depends on manufacturer). The kitchen is a frequently-used room, and often lights are left on for hours at a time. Changing half a dozen bulbs would probably cost less than a year's savings on your electricity bill. You can even get colour-changing ones for different mood creation.

Skylights and 'light-pipes' are basically ways of capturing daylight (currently free of charge!) so removing the need for light fittings during daylight hours. Suitable for inner areas of the home where it would be difficult to incorporate a window (e.g. landing, en-suite bathrooms).

Daylight is free, so place mirrors in dark corners to try to capture more of it, and paint walls pale colours wherever possible. This reflects light, and gives the illusion of a bigger space too. Internal doors may have glass panes to allow light to pass into other rooms. Even a glass panel above a door will allow light into bathrooms without reducing privacy.

When do you actually need outdoor lighting? When it's dark and you can't find the light switches. One solution is to fit motion activated lights, so they only come on when someone (or something) is moving within the range, and go out after a minute or two.

When you're sitting out in the garden in the evening, you could use a variety of solar-powered units, even for pond lighting.

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