LED LIGHTING FOR YOUR KITCHEN
The EU is hell-bent to save energy and cut greenhouse gas emissions and part of this initiative is a blitz on lighting. The old style incandescent bulbs are already a thing of the past and now halogens are heading down the same route. By September 2018 all light bulbs, to be eligible for sale within the EU, must be rated at least energy-efficiency class B. This knocks halogens on the head and leaves only LED bulbs as the only option for your kitchen (or elsewhere for that matter).
This is going to bring in some big benefits for us all, as well as for the environment. The good old halogen bulbs kick out a huge amount of wasted energy and are pretty costly to run, so with electricity prices in Portugal as they are, the introduction of LEDs will help the monthly bills. While the initial outlay for an LED fitting is undoubtedly higher than halogen, the longer term savings will more than make up for that initial difference. Some experts predict that the lower wattage of LED lighting will see our energy consumption drop by up to and even above 90%, and that's going to mean a big impact on electricity bills. And, as an added bonus, LEDs do not over-heat and they don't give off UV or IR rays.
The life span of an average bulb is reckoned to be 12.5 years - but hey, even if it's only ten years or eight years, that's still a very long time! A halogen bulb will last on average only 18 months.
LEDs are now on sale in a range of different 'colour temperatures' including natural white (daylight), cool white and warm white and the fittings are many and varied with new technology bringing innovative kit to the market place all the time. I am told that you can even light up your kitchen (and presumably, your entire home) using your smartphone via Bluetooth technology. If only I understood it all . . . .