This month I thought I'd lend some insight in to the emerging technology of LED lighting. This unfortunately is still a mine field and I hope I can help you make decisions about which bulbs and fittings to buy.

Firstly let me explain the advantages of LEDs. Conventional incandescent and halogen bulbs use 97% of their energy to create heat and 3% to create light. LEDs flip that sum on its head by using 97% of the energy consumed to create light and a mere 3% creates heat. This means they are incredibly efficient.

They are also very cool which has other advantages. Overheating light fittings can cause problems with cables which reduce the life of the cable as it is heated and cooled through continual use. It also means that LEDs will last an incredibly long time, more than 10 times the life of incandescent bulbs.

The problem with LEDs is that being a new product there are many that will not perform as you would hope. The key is not to buy the cheap ones and to bear in mind that a 3watt LED is better than 3 x 1 watt LEDs, the less LEDs the better as they are better quality.

LEDs are expensive to buy but will pay for themselves in reduced energy costs and savings from not buying any more bulbs.