Watt Are The Odds On That?

Watford is the most energy conscious area in England when it comes to buying LED energy saving light bulbs.

According to independent research by Lightbulbs Direct, over 75% of lightbulb purchases in Watford over the last 12 months, have been of the LED variety.

Seven of the bottom ten places in England are occupied by parts of London (East Central London, Romford, Southall, West Central London, Enfield and Ilford); with Birmingham, Liverpool and Manchester also buying far less LED lights than most of the rest of the country.

LED lights are far more energy efficient than other bulbs, and the lower temperature means that they are also far safer to operate.

The statistics show that if more people purchased LED lighting, then the environment would benefit.

Speaking exclusively to Lightbulbs Direct, nature and climate journalist Lucy Siegle said:

Well I think LED lighting has been a game changer in terms of reducing energy demand from lighting. We have to remember that during the big switch when people switched from filament bulbs to LED in a major way, the average amount of electricity needed annually to light a UK home fell by 30%. So in some ways, you could say that LEDs set us on the road to Net Zero and major decarbonising. What it is easy to forget is how much push back there was including whole counter campaigns trying to establish the incandescent bulb as a quasi-religious freedom. But in the end, the savings for consumers and the fact that LEDs are widely available and have improved in function, means that the pushback quickly looked ridiculous.

In 1962, Nick Holonyak, Jr. invented the first LED that could produce visible red light, and the range has developed and grown across the world ever since.

Speaking after the findings the Mayor of Watford Peter Taylor said that he too was delighted his town was making such a positive impact on the environment.

We have put a lot of work into making Watford a more sustainable town over recent years, and, I am proud of how far we have come, including supporting local businesses to cut down on their carbon emissions and offering sustainable transport options in the town.

The average energy saving by switching to LED lighting, could be as much as 80-90% over traditional filament lighting – with a typical LED light bulb consuming only 5W of power compared to 50W consumed by a traditional filament light bulb of equivalent brightness.

The appeal to shoppers is that this also equates to a big saving on energy bills, which, when combined to LEDs vastly longer lifespan, means that LED lighting offers the most cost-effective form of lighting.

Percentage of LED v Non-LED Lighting Bought by Town

Town	% LED Lighting Purchased	% Non-LED Lighting Purchased
Watford	76.2%	23.8%
Kirkwall	75.9%	24.1%
Torquay	75.6%	24.4%
Taunton	73.1%	26.9%
Sunderland	73.0%	27.0%
Dundee	72.6%	27.4%
Stockport	72.4%	27.6%
Lancaster	71.5%	28.5%
Preston	71.5%	28.5%
Shrewsbury	71.4%	28.6%
Swansea	71.0%	29.0%
Huddersfield	70.1%	29.9%
Worcester	70.1%	29.9%
Redhill	69.7%	30.3%
Lerwick	69.4%	30.6%
Inverness	69.3%	30.7%
Hereford	69.1%	30.9%
Canterbury	68.2%	31.8%
Reading	68.1%	31.9%
Crewe	68.0%	32.0%
Exeter	67.8%	32.2%
Hull	67.8%	32.2%
Llandudno	67.5%	32.5%
Kilmarnock	67.2%	32.8%
Falkirk	67.2%	32.8%
Blackburn	67.2%	32.8%
Cardiff	67.1%	32.9%
Blackpool	67.0%	33.0%
Cambridge	67.0%	33.0%
Darlington	66.9%	33.1%
Sutton	66.4%	33.6%
Slough	66.4%	33.6%
Harrogate	65.8%	34.2%
Walsall	65.8%	34.2%
Peterborough	65.8%	34.2%
Stoke-on-Trent	65.7%	34.3%
Tunbridge Wells	65.5%	34.5%
Oxford	65.4%	34.6%
Bolton	65.4%	34.6%
Carlisle	65.2%	34.8%
Colchester	65.2%	34.8%
Norwich	65.2%	34.8%
Swindon	65.1%	34.9%
Dumfries	64.8%	35.2%
St Albans	64.7%	35.3%
York	64.7%	35.3%
Warrington	64.6%	35.4%
Hemel Hempstead	64.4%	35.6%
Gloucester	64.4%	35.6%
Plymouth	64.3%	35.7%
Chester	64.3%	35.7%
Leeds	64.0%	36.0%
Motherwell	63.9%	36.1%
Milton Keynes	63.8%	36.2%
Perth	63.6%	36.4%
Kingston upon Thames	63.5%	36.5%
Bristol	63.1%	36.9%
Sheffield	63.1%	36.9%
Bromley	63.0%	37.0%
Chelmsford	62.9%	37.1%
Teesside	62.8%	37.2%
Doncaster	62.7%	37.3%
Guildford	62.3%	37.7%
Durham	62.0%	38.0%
Croydon	61.9%	38.1%
North London	61.8%	38.2%
Tweeddale	61.7%	38.3%
Truro	61.5%	38.5%
Southend-on-Sea	61.4%	38.6%
Llandrindod Wells	61.4%	38.6%
Brighton	61.3%	38.7%
Bath	61.1%	38.9%
Harrow	61.0%	39.0%
Nottingham	60.9%	39.1%
Bradford	60.9%	39.1%
Wakefield	60.8%	39.2%
Newport	60.8%	39.2%
Coventry	60.8%	39.2%
Aberdeen	60.7%	39.3%
Derby	60.6%	39.4%
Glasgow	60.5%	39.5%
Halifax	60.2%	39.8%
Southampton	59.7%	40.3%
Lincoln	59.6%	40.4%
Leicester	59.5%	40.5%
Twickenham	59.4%	40.6%
South East London	59.4%	40.6%
Medway	59.3%	40.7%
Stevenage	59.2%	40.8%
Northampton	58.5%	41.5%
Dartford	58.0%	42.0%
Dudley	58.0%	42.0%
Bournemouth	57.9%	42.1%
Wolverhampton	57.8%	42.2%
Edinburgh	57.5%	42.5%
Oldham	57.4%	42.6%
Dorchester	57.0%	43.0%
Telford	56.3%	43.7%
Newcastle upon Tyne	56.0%	44.0%
Salisbury	55.7%	44.3%
South West London	54.7%	45.3%
Wigan	54.6%	45.4%
Paisley	54.0%	46.0%
West London	53.9%	46.1%
Ipswich	53.9%	46.1%
Portsmouth	52.7%	47.3%
North West London	52.3%	47.7%
Luton	51.6%	48.4%
Ilford	51.6%	48.4%
Manchester	51.1%	48.9%
Enfield	50.0%	50.0%
Liverpool	49.7%	50.3%
Birmingham	49.5%	50.5%
East London	44.8%	55.2%
West Central London	43.7%	56.3%
Southall	41.8%	58.2%
Romford	38.0%	62.0%
East Central London	37.9%	62.1%