blog.castlegatelights.co.uk

Category: Eco lighting

  • 5 perfect upcycling ideas for your old light bulbs.

    5 perfect upcycling ideas for your old light bulbs.

    Replacing light bulbs can be infuriating, just when you have every bulb in the house working; one always seems to break. But do you ever feel wasteful throwing them out? Here at Castlegate Lights we have the perfect blog that will show you how to reuse your cast off bulbs in the garden.

    Being able to reuse your light bulbs is the perfect way to save yourself some money, if you’re prepared to get down with some DIY then these may be some ideal solutions for you. The best part is that none of them require hours of fiddly and unachievable renovations and so they should be the perfect method to upcycle! We have a great selection of weird and wonderful upcycling solutions to ensure your home stands that little bit further out from the crowd.  

    Create a plant terrarium with your old light bulbs

    Creating a plant terrarium is the perfect way to reuse your old bulbs. Creating a haven for succulents, upcycling your disused bulbs is guaranteed to add style to your indoor or outdoor space. Terrariums don’t require much responsibility, and therefore using disused light bulbs which can, at times, be tricky to access is a great way to ensure they aren’t just sat gathering dust.

    Put your old light bulbs away for Christmas

    Christmas, the time of twinkly lights and multicoloured bulbs. So why keep your old and unusable ones for Christmas, we hear you ask? Broken light bulbs make exceptional Christmas decorations, from painting Santa’s face to creating mini snow globes, it’s a great way to keep yourself entertained when you’ve got hours of wrapping to complete. Ideal for Christmas crafts, keep your unusable light bulbs safe until the festive season arises and then decorate your tree with baubles that have been made with love.

    Embrace the broken bulbs

    Although your old bulbs may be useless inside of the house they nonetheless make an impressive asset to your outdoor space. Hanging the lightbulbs from branches or bunting is a great opportunity to enhance the natural lighting in your garden, allowing the transparency to illuminate your garden’s best features without the necessity of a working bulb. It’s a great hack for when your winter trees become bare and need accessorising!

    Spice things up(cycled) with your old bulbs

    An unusual but nonetheless ingenious idea for upcycling your old bulbs is to use them as spice jars. Fill up your disused light bulbs with salt, pepper, paprika and all of your spice essentials to create a practical yet aesthetically pleasing kitchen addition. Even if you’re not a spice lover, they make a great statement piece that is bound to inspire your guests. 

    Make a reusable vase out of your disused light bulbs

    A super simple and hassle free way to upcycle your old bulbs is to turn them into vases. An ideal windowsill accessory, the light bulb vase is perfect after picking some home grown sweet peas. Transforming your old light bulb into a vase is a great way to incorporate your garden and home, allowing you to enjoy the pleasures of your outdoor blooms in the comfort of your own home. So forget the artificial scents of your air freshener, let the aroma of the outdoors freshen up your living space.

    So there you have it, 5 perfect ways to upcycle your unused light bulbs! Why not have a  browse of our range of brand spanking new lightbulbs here at Castlegate Lights?


  • How Low Energy Lighting Can Save You Money

    How Low Energy Lighting Can Save You Money

    We’ve all become much more environmentally friendly in recent years. We separate our cans, we flatten our cardboard and we squeeze the air out of our plastic bottles, all to help the planet. Our green credentials need not stop there. We can take the battle to help save the world into our homes through low energy, high quality lighting, both inside and out.

    Energy efficient lighting has come a long way since the humble candle. These days, technology has given us some fantastically stylish ways that we can illuminate our homes, but also contribute to the greener world we’re trying to create.

    You don’t have to go too far back to a time when those incandescent lightbulbs were the only choice for electric lighting around your home. They may have served their purpose, but they were very inefficient and converted little of the power they used into light. Most of their energy was given off as heat, which shortened their lifespan enormously, not to mention they became a fire risk.

    Fast forward to today, we now have many more other options, including halogen, CFL (or Compact Fluorescent Lightbulbs) and, of course, LED (Light Emitting Diodes); the last two being the most energy efficient. In the typical household, lighting accounts for about 18% of our electricity bill, so anyway we can reduce that will only help us save money, but stay illuminated.

    Here at Castlegate, we have taken to the ethos of low energy lighting to heart and the range we have is indicative of the variety of options you have available to you. You can go from inside to out, in a myriad of styles, all designed to look great, whilst shining a light on your green credentials.

    Mantra, for example, have an incredibly wide range of lighting that comes in polished chrome, anthracite, nickel or French gold, all with a black shade that will allow you to match styles throughout your home. They occupy that sweet spot between traditional and contemporary that means they’ll fit with almost every home’s decor. Their range also spans both extremes of that scale, so you’re sure to find something you love.

    If you want to enjoy your own green spaces whilst saving the planet, then Forum even do a low-energy, stainless steel external power that looks stunning and will allow you to enjoy your outdoor spaces for just that little but longer. Fantastic with summer fast approaching.

    Low energy lighting, whether that wall lights, table lamps, pendants or even garden lighting, now looks as good as any other type of light. We have really reached a point when you don’t have to compromise your style to save the planet. Take a look at what we have to offer and see how you can see the beauty around you for so much longer.

  • Facts About LED Lighting You Never Knew

    In an attempt to reduce our carbon footprint and make our home much greener, many have already made the transition to LED lighting; but what advantages does it really have? Is it worth switching your entire home to LED? To help you decide, here’s just a handful of interesting facts about LED and other low energy bulbs.

    If each household in the UK installed one energy saving bulb, the CO2 saved could fill the Royal Albert Hall 2,000 times over.

    1

    On average, lighting accounts for 20% of a household’s electricity bill.

    2

    £1.8 billion per year is spent on electricity to power UK households.

    3

    If you change all your bulbs to energy saving bulbs in your home, you’ll save around 100KG of CO2 per year.

    5

    Energy saving bulbs use around 80% less energy than traditional bulbs.

    4

    If every UK household installed a single energy saving bulb, the amount of CO2 saved would be equal to taking 100,000 cars off UK roads.

    6

    LED bulbs last around 10x longer than traditional bulbs.

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    Each LED bulb could save you around £390 over its lifespan.

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    Traditional incandescent bulbs are only 9-10% efficient.

    9

    LED bulbs attract less bugs than traditional, UV emitting bulbs.

    10

  • ‘Four tips to save money with your lighting choices.’

    It’s one of the most overlooked aspects of household budgeting, but studies have repeatedly shown that both switching to energy efficient lighting, and thinking carefully about how you use your lighting, results in a significant reduction in bills. When the changes are as simple as switching out a light bulb for a more efficient counterpart, what excuse have you got for not revolutionising your household lighting starting today? Read on as we here at Castlegate Lights, provide you with four ways you can help reduce your energy bills.

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    Low Energy Lighting solutions from Castlegate Lights

    If you’re looking to cut down on your energy outgoings as we head into the Autumn months, Castlegate Lights has an entire range of ‘Low Energy Lighting’ solutions, which will provide your home with the level of lighting you need whilst remaining optimised for low energy consumption, helping the green planet and your wallet in the long run.As we all know, it’s the little things that end up becoming absolutely paramount in the final tally. We’re also committed to never sacrificing versatility or sophistication, whatever the lighting type; and that’s why every item in our low energy lighting range looks the part, exhibiting one of several contemporary finishes.

    Make the switch

    As we’ve already touched on, making use of energy saving light bulbs is the way to go if you want to cut those bills. Key studies from energy watchdogs put the ‘amount saved’ figure at around £50 per lifetime of an energy efficient bulb. As an added bonus, the bulb will also last somewhere between 10-12 years longer depending on usage.

    LED lights the way

    This is most definitely one of those ‘in the long run’ switches, but the trend towards making use of LED lightbulbs is a result of their outstanding ability to transfer as much electricity into light energy as possible, and as little as possible outputting as heat energy. Unfortunately, if you’re a poor student, LED lightbulbs won’t be much help in heating your bedroom after the student loan runs out.

    Make use of natural light

    We all know how the old adage goes:

    “early to bed, early to rise – makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise.”

    All three are true when it comes to making the most of those sunlight hours, rather than waking up late and staying up until the early hours, long after darkness has swooped in; adapt your body clock to the daylight hours.

    On or off?

    Countless contradictory studies have been released discussing the merits of whether or not you should turn light bulbs off as you leave a room; taking into consideration variables such as the cost of replacement bulbs and energy expenditure of switching on a bulb. It’s all a bit dull, but the long and short of it is that even if you’re replacing your bulbs regularly, the cheap price of energy efficient bulbs means that you should be switching lights off as you potter around the house.

    Do you have any energy saving tips of your own?

    There exist a litany of energy saving tactics, strategies and gadgets; and different households will swear by different approaches. Whether it’s utilising a certain type of light bulb, avoiding switching the same lights on and off as you walk through rooms, or just changing your waking hours to make the most of the ultimate ceiling light, the sun. Leave your favourite tips below in the comment section so that others can benefit from your wisdom; or, who knows, you could learn an invaluable tip from somebody else!

    We’ll make sure that the best ones  are shared across social media, speaking of which, make sure to follow Castlegate Lights on Facebook and @castlegatelight

  • Should I Switch to LED Lighting?

    There is a lot of discussion at the moment about the benefits of switching to LED lighting. Although many people are still wary about making the move to this new technology, the amount of people who are making the leap shows that it is definitely becoming a popular choice. If you are thinking of adding LED lights to your home, here are the things you need to know.

     

    • LED stands for light-emitting diode and is one of the most energy efficient lighting forms.

     

    • Residential LED bulbs use at least 75% less energy than incandescent lighting

     

    • They also last 25 times longer!

     

    • LED Lights are cooler than normal incandescent lights, reducing the risk of burnt fingers when you change the bulb!

     

    • LED lights are used in a variety of applications from residential homes to traffic lights.

     

    • LED’s contain no mercury therefore have a smaller environmental impact that their incandescent rivals

     

    • In 2012 49 million LED lights were installed in the US, saving around $675 million in energy costs per year.

     

    If you are thinking of adding LED lighting to your home, make sure you take a look at the full range available at Castlegate Lights. Are you already a fan? Get in touch via our Facebook or Twitter page to let us know why you made the switch.

  • Vampire Appliances – Castlegate Lights Infographic

    It may be ‘oh so quiet’ when you finally decide to turn in for the night, but many people do not realise that once the lights are turned off – the vampires of your home make themselves known. These vampires are not a job for Buffy, instead they come in the form of your household appliances. Lying in wait, ready to drain your finances!

    Here at Castlegate Lights we know how important it is to tighten the purse strings, especially after Christmas – this is why we have put together a handy guide to the appliances around your home that will eat up the power, even on standby. Taking the time to carry out a quick sweep of your home to turn off your appliances could make a real difference to your energy bills. So what are you waiting for? It’s time to slay those house demons and take control of your home.

     

    Castlegate Lights - Infographic