Are you dim enough?

Not sold on those those expensive and poorly developed "Energy Saving" bulbs, except in continuous duty outdoor passage situations for which they are well suited?

The traditional incandescent bulb with its tungsten filament is a masterpiece of well developed design using the minimal of materials, all of which are recyclable and none containing highly toxic mercury compounds found in "Energy Saving" bulbs.

One energy saving suggestion is to retain your incandescent bulbs but have them on dimmer switches. The lower the dimmer is set, the less energy used, although some would argue that energy is still lost through the dimmer switch.

The dimmer switch should work by switching the electricity off for an imperceptible time i.e chopping it up and not using standby current. Very often you do not need your light on full but it is nice to be able to get a good strong light instantly for reading etc. The biggest bonus is possibly that the bulbs should last much longer, especially if you never run them quite flat out.

Another factor is that the tungsten filament 'bounces' when having 240V applied to it. This often results in the incandescent bulbs blowing when switched on. However, with a dimmer switch you could gently introduce the power to avoid the initial jolt.

Dimmer switches can be cheaper than a single energy saving bulb if you shop around and you can easily replace the normal wall switch. However, do not attempt it if you're not competent with electrics and check that the electrical rating is correct for each application.

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