Energy Efficient Lighting for Households(Victoria)

The discounted energy-efficient lighting for households in Victoria is helpful to reduce their energy consumption. It is done with the replacement of old inefficient halogen lights with new energy-efficient LED lights. The cost of buying LEDS and getting them installed by professionals is subsidised in this scheme. The incentives for household LED upgrades are available under the Victorian Government Energy Saving Scheme (ESS).

It helps in reducing electricity and gas usage by offering financial incentives to homeowners, including incentives that are eligible for replacing old lights with new LED lights. How does discounted energy-efficient lighting scheme work? The discounted energy-efficient lighting scheme works by switching to LEDs for reducing energy consumption. With this, you can expect long-term cost savings in energy bills. For instance, if you replace 20 halogen downlights with new LED downlights, you are likely to save around $210 per year on your energy bills. Another advantage of this scheme is that it reduces maintenance costs, as LEDs last longer compared to other lights. They also help in lowering the environmental impact. However, to access the incentives, you need to check your eligibility criteria as per your approved supplier of the region.

6 reasons why you should upgrade your households lights to LED

Here are the six important reasons to consider for upgrading your old household lights to LED.

1.Reduce your energy use by 80-90%

Do you know that the maximum energy that goes in your incandescent bulbs is spent on its heating filament? If you have old and outdated lights in your house you may be spending around 80-90% of your energy costs on heating a bulb and just 5% on its illumination. This is such a waste of energy. Since LEDs are much cooler to operate and don’t need heating like old lighting sources, they can help you reduce energy usage to a great extent.

2. Decrease maintenance cost

LEDs are capable of lasting longer compared to old-style bulbs. They are likely to last for around 10 years or more with no maintenance. This means there’s less downtime to replace old lights. And, even if you have a high-ceiling building, you won’t require expensive scissor lifts for the maintenance of LEDs on high ceilings.

3.Lesser carbon footprint

By upgrading to LED lights, you can decrease the household lighting energy by around 80-90%. And by reducing energy consumption, your carbon footprint is also reduced. It means you’ll be doing your bit for the environment.

4. Decrease air conditioning cost

Inefficient household lights need the most energy to generate heat rather than light. The halogen lighting sources can reach up to 300 degrees of temperature. So, they can increase a room’s temperature as well. In the summer season, it means you will crank up the air conditioner to reduce the added heat from light sources. But when you switch to LEDs, you can reduce air conditioning costs and lighting costs at the same time.

5.LEDs are flexible with light direction

Incandescent bulbs can throw light in all directions, so directing light is challenging in that case. Since LED lighting is

flexible with direction, you can better focus light in any direction where you need it the most.

6. Better lighting

With LEDs, you get rid of those flickering fluorescent lights. It means that you get better quality light that is stable for your

family members and guests.

Installation process and eligibility criteria

Eligibility - Every household with halogen, incandescent, or CFL bulbs is eligible to upgrade to discounted energy-efficient LED lights in Victoria.

Installation process -

The installation work is usually done by A-grade licensed electricians in your region. They replace your old lights - except

fluorescent tubes or fluoro tubes, as these are not covered under the VEU program. However, you can replace halogen

downlights, light globes, reflectors, and CFLs with LED lights in your Victorian home.

During the installation, you can ask the installers for their license before beginning. When planning for energy upgrade,

electricians often consider:

 Energy usage

 Function and look of the space

 Suitability of new LED products

You can benefit from a free LED replacement program under the VEU scheme and -

 Decrease your bills by 80-90%

 Bid goodbye to old CFLs, light globes, and halogen downlights

 Decrease the risk of household fires

Original source: glowgreen