With the cost of living at an all-time high, new research has revealed that 78% of Brits are worried about this and their own financial predicament. This study into the public’s attitudes shows that the rising cost of energy is a clear national concern causing us (81%) to worry about ourselves, older loved ones who may have to restrict their energy usage at home (83%), as well as causing arguments within the family at home about issues such as leaving our lights on (56%). The cost of living has soared at the fastest pace for two decades this year and this is tightening the squeeze on cash-strapped families.

This September sees the UK ‘phase out’ of 60W incandescent - standard - bulbs, to be replaced by their energy saving counterparts, as they become outlawed by the European Union and production ceases. The public will be, ultimately, forced to embrace energy saving bulbs – yet over a quarter of us (27%) still aren’t aware of the phase out and a third (33%) are unaware of why this is even being carried out. Recent news suggests homeowners could save £960m if they reduce their carbon footprint and are more energy savvy and with up to 15% of all electricity costs lighting related there is a lot Brits can do, while a staggering £1bn could be saved by making public sector buildings such as hospitals and schools energy efficient.

Many of us associate energy saving bulbs with being environmentally friendly but – rightly or wrongly – 71% are more concerned about saving money in this tough financial climate than they are about their carbon footprint. With this in mind, we as a nation are missing an opportunity to save substantial amounts of money considering over a third of us don’t even recognise the money saving properties of energy saving bulbs, and 1 in 10 of us still don’t use them at home, which trebles in the work place (3 in 10 don’t use energy saving bulbs at work). Doubts still surround the quality and choice available with such bulbs, with 70% suggesting they would be happy to use them if they provided the same light quality and could be used throughout the home in the same way traditional (incandescent) bulbs can be, but people still perceive them as too big/ugly for fitting (36%) and believe they take too long to turn on (40%), and nearly a half of us (49%) think the light is not as good as the traditional incandescent bulb.