One of the decisions you will need to make when you are building your new home is the type of electric lighting you will install. There are various types of electric lighting systems available for you to choose from, but first you need to understand what they are and how they work. Here is a run-through of the most common electric lighting systems used in most Australian homes today.

Incandescent lighting

Out of the electric lighting systems available, incandescent lighting is the least durable and most energy-inefficient. This is because only a small fraction of the energy that is used up by the system is converted into visible light; the rest is expelled as heat. In cold winter weather, incandescent lighting helps to provide much-needed electric heat, but it does that in a very costly way. During hot summer days, electric lighting generates extra heat, which makes the AC system work harder than it should so as to maintain comfortable indoor temperatures. 

Another downside of incandescent lighting is that the bulbs usually become too hot to touch, and this poses a serious safety hazard to the occupants of the building. In addition, incandescent bulbs have also been associated with emitting a small amount of short-wave UV radiation, which can be harmful to the human health over the long term. 

Fluorescent lighting

Fluorescent lighting is much better than incandescent lighting in so many important aspects. Fluorescent light bulbs produce a brighter light using the same amount of energy, generate less heat and last longer than their incandescent counterparts. However, fluorescent light bulbs are associated with one major concern – their mercury content. Even though it is in very small amounts, the mercury vapour contained in these bulbs poses safety and environmental hazards if it is inhaled or not disposed of properly. Therefore, users of fluorescent lamps should be careful not to break fluorescent light bulbs, and if they do break them, they should avoid hanging around the area. 

Like incandescent light bulbs, fluorescent bulbs also release a small amount of short-wave UV radiation that can have health-deteriorating effects on human beings. 

LED lighting

Light emitting diode (LED) lighting systems are the newest, safest and most energy-efficient lighting systems available. LED light bulbs use less energy than both incandescent and fluorescent bulbs, generate the least amounts of heat, give the best quality of lighting and last the longest. Plus, LED doesn't emit any of the UV light that may escape from incandescent and fluorescent bulbs. 

In short, you should install LED lighting if you want to get the best out of the best available on the residential electric lighting market. Talk to an electrical contractor for more information.