Colin wrote:

My calculation is:

15 lights
50W per light
7p/Kw
Lights on 15 hours per day

15 * 50/1000 * 0.07 * 15 * 365 = approx £300 per year running cost.
Any
additional under-cupboard lights are extra on top of this, as are
replacement bulbs, etc.


Well lets add in bulb costs. 15 lights 15 hrs a day = 225 bulb hours
/day = 0.1125 bulb life per day if using 2000 hr bulbs. So you will be
replacing bulbs at the rate of 1 per 9 days - on average.

At say £2 a bulb (you can ignore delivery since youll be buying in
bulk) that's
365 x 0.1125 = 41 bulbs per annum, or £82 pa, and some exercise

So its nearer £400 a year. For 1 room.


I assume that low voltage downlighters cost the same to run as mains
voltage(?)

no. mains halogen cost more, mains cfl cost less, traditional mains
filament cost more.

Seems a bit steep to light just one room in the house!

How many rooms have you got...


[At the moment I have a 60w strip light and a 20W low voltage pendant
which
gives adequate (but not sexy) lighting and only a tenth of the
running
costs.]

Fls are very efficient, and routinely badly installed and poorly used.
They can be made to look fine, but few people seem to have any idea
how to do that. I've been in places lit almost entirely by fls, and
they looked good. Unfortunately widespread bad practice gives them a
bad name.


Should I be considering something other than downligters?

consider

a) avoiding downlighters which are energy inefficient for 2 reasons
- theyre halogen not cfl
- they light up the floor which wastes a lot of light
b) using cfl not halogen
c) not leaving lights on all day long
d) using a more sensible level of lighting than 750w
e) having the lights on a bank of switches so you can put on what
youre comfortable with at the time
f) using small lights where theyre needed
g) training your family to be responsible

and if you want to take things to extremes, use an external reflector
to get more sun and skylight in through the window. It works well.

Is this the cost of a modern-looking kitchen?

no, its the cost of what you propose to do. There are plenty of other
ways to have a modern looking kitchen. There are even ways to have
downlighters without the cost you are looking at here.


Would a dimmer switch save electricity?

no it increases it. I can explain if needed.


Grunff wrote:
Why anyone would need or want 750W to light their kitchen is beyond
me.
I totally do not understand it.

I think they just dont know what theyre doing. Anyone who imagines
having a 500w halogen floodlight in the room, and then adding some
more, will realise its not a bright idea.


I also wouldnt go for PIR, they simply dont make good choices, and are
anoying and wasteful.

Want some new ideas?


Regards, NT