In article m,
Adam Aglionby writes:
On Aug 2, 9:52 am, ian wrote:
I'm planning a new kitchen and bathroom, and intended embedding mini
spotlights in the ceilings. However, someone pointed out that we will

If this is an extension subject to building regs, Part L will
almost certainly require you use lighting of = 40lm/W, which
rules out halogens anyway. (Another option if your BCO allows
is to fit high efficiency lighting in another commonly used
room instead, as it's only required in a proportion of the
commonly used rooms.)

all be forced to go green in a couple of years, and will only be able to
buy energy- efficient bulbs from then on. I doubt you will find
energy-efficient mini spots (even if they exist, they will be too big to
fit in the fitting), so what happens then?

LV halogen is pretty darn efficient, totally different from your 60W
GLS that really has reached end of useful life.

They are better, but don't come close to CFLs.

CFL and CCFL may be energy efficient in consumption but really do
question embodied energy and end of life energy costs.

Quite insignificant compared with filament lamp consumption.

You do get them
in MR16 size but output is less than overwhelming.

It's a mismatch of technologies. Fluorescent lamps make poor
compact light sources.

LED is catching up fast but next years will be twice as bright and
half the cost.

LED technology has always claimed to be "just around the corner",
but has consistently failed to produce any usable technology for
a decade (other than a few specialised applications). For those who
want to stick with minature high intensity sources, metal halide
has already taken over from halogens commercially, and this trend
will continue into domestic market as the initial purchase price
drops.

Halogen may well make a come-back too with a significant rise in
efficiency. A number of lamp manufacturers are working on halogen
(and other) filaments with micro pattening on the surface which
prevents emission of longer wavelengths (Infra-red), enabling the
filament to operate at the same temperature at significantly lower
power input.

--
Andrew Gabriel
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