At the bottom of this page, we provide the chapter summary for this portion of 'How to Live a Low-Carbon Life'. This provides some of the main conclusions from the material covered in the main text. In the rest of this page, we comment on new products, research findings and offer feedback from customers.
Dishonest advertising from Tesco
In a press release dated 23rd April, Tesco makes a claim that it is offering 'half price' energy saving light bulbs. (http://www.tescocorporate.com/page.aspx?pointerid=7023FF0EFB13447AB9531502A83AAF97 ).
As of 21.00 on 30th April, the cheapest energy efficient bulb on offer at Tesco's online site costs £1.09. The 11w bulb was equivalent to the 11w bulb sold on its online site on January 25th for 81p. (See the blog entry below). Therefore since January, Tesco's price for an 11w energy efficient bulb has increased from 81p to £1.09 or 35%. Tesco's claim to have reduced its prices by 50% is therefore dishonest.
The Tesco light bulb offer
Today's newspapers (January 25th) have a full page advertisement from Tesco saying its energy efficient light bulbs are now 'half price'. A quick look at the Tesco web site shows that the chain has currently got 52 types on sale in my local, very large, store. Only 9 are low energy - I may have missed one or two. I could only find one bulb greater than 11w (equivalent to a 60w traditional lamp. The lowest price was 81p, for an 11w bayonet bulb. Most other prices were around £1.50 per bulb. These are competitive prices, though the range is very limited.
Before buying from Tesco, look at John Lewis. All low energy bulbs are 99p both for 11w and 18w variants. The delivery charge is £3.95 - less than Tesco's.
Chapter Summary
Seventy per cent of UK households now have at least one energy-saving light bulb. These homes typically have about four of these compact fluorescent bulbs, often in locations where they are heavily used. The typical house still has 20 or more light fittings still using old-fashioned incandescent bulbs. Switching all of the remaining lights to compact fluorescent bulbs will reduce electricity needs for lighting by almost three-quarters.
