Those nice looking halogen downlighters in your home could be costing you hundreds of euros a year in elecricity. You could reduce your electricity usage by replacing the halogen bulbs with low energy LED bulbs.

The most common fitting for those spotlight type recessed downlights are GU10 fittings. Most halogen Gu10 bulbs are 50 watt bulbs – so a house with 20 of these lights would be using 1000 watts when they are all switched on.

If you had all these lights on for just 5 hours every day they would add €270 a year to your  electricity bill each year according to the ESB.*

You can buy these replacement  LED GU10 bulbs and 20 of those in use for 5 hours a day would use  just €22 worth of electricity a year.  That is a massive saving of 90%. A house with 20 of these halogen 50w Gu10 bulbs could cut their electricity bills by  €248 a year by switching to low energy 4  Watt LED bulbs.

That  is the equivalent (according to ESB) of using a vented tumble dryer 12 times every week (5kg load) all year.

The LED lightbulbs do cost   more than the halogen bulbs -  but in  less than a year you will start seeing a payback.
These LED bulbs last 10 to 15 times longer than ordinary halogen bulbs – so in the long term you will be even better off.
After 2016  Halogen bulbs will not be allowed at all under EU regulations.

You can buy these  LED GU10 bulbs online from Amazon with free delivery to Ireland – they fit straight into existing GU10 sockets and are exactly the same size. They are CE approved too.

These LED Gu10 Bulbs get good reviews too

* (Calculations as per the ESB online energy usage  calculator  based on  rates of 16.00c per Unit (including VAT) )

Where to buy Dyson Spare Parts in Ireland

You can find all the Dyson spares you will ever need online at Currys Partmaster - with delivery to Ireland.
They stock all the Dyson parts and accessories – such as  Dyson Filters ,  Dyson Motors, Dyson Brushes, Dyson  Belts, Dyson Hoses , switches, catches, lids, buckets , wheels, cables, fastners, bins  and much more.
Parts for the DC01, DC02, DC03, DC04 , DC05 , DC07 , DC08, DC11 , DC14, DC15, DC16, DC18 DC19, DC20, DC21 , DC,22, DC23 AND MORE

Delivery charges are £6.99  to Ireland (no matter how many items you order) . Delivery to the UK starts at £2.98
Find the spare parts you need – at Currys Partmaster

With Saorview on the way in 2012 – all the analogue TV channels will eventually be switched off.
If you currently only have a TV ariel – you will not be able to see any TV channels in 2012 unless you buy a  Saorview box or a Saorview TV.

Now might be a good time to consider getting Sky TV.
You could ring one of the many installers listed in the local papers  – or you could ring Sky direct and hang on the telephone for ages – Or you can do the easy option and  sign up online before April 27th 2011 and get a free Sky Plus Box and  free installation.

Visit Sky Ireland Here

Once you have joined Sky Ireland and subscribed for 12 months – the Sky Plus box and dish are yours to keep.  If you cancel your subscription after 12 months – you can still get loads of free to air channels for free such as BBC1, BBC2, ITV , BBC3 ,BBC4 ,ITV2, ITV3, ITV4 ,Cbeebies, CBBC CITV ,More4 ,Film4, See here about setting up Other Channels on Sky

The minimum subscription charge on Sky is around €23 a month – so after a year you will have paid €276 .  A Saorview box is going to cost about €100 – and you will only get a handful of channels with that.
So for an extra €176 – you get a Satellite dish , a Sky+ Box and it’s yours to keep after 12 months.
Visit Sky Ireland Here

We had LCD and Plasma screens – now we can buy LED Televisions.
Televisions are now an essential item in all homes – and the picture quality and screen sizes available are getting bigger and better all the time.

LEDs or Light Emitting Diodes – convert electric energy directly into light, producing a dramatic improvement in contrast and colour rendering. LED has a narrower spectrum of light with fewer unwanted colours.
LED backlight technology allows for greater contrast levels, so bright images become brighter and dark images become darker.

You can buy LED Tvs online with delivery to Ireland at Pixmania.
Pixmania is the online retail arm of the group that owns Dixons, Currys and PC World – so you are dealing with an established retailer.
Visit Pixmania and if you buy something don’t forget to use these Pixmania Discount Codes

These days – with many more people out of work – more homeowners are doing the little jobs around the house themselves. If you know what you are doing – and use good tools – DIY can save you hundreds of Euro as well as keeping you busy.
To get good priced tools and DIY equipment – you can shop online and get them delivered. For good prices try these UK online shops that all deliver to Ireland.

Amazon sell a big range of tools, hand tools, power tools and other DIY materials. Free delivery to Ireland available on orders over £25. You can also buy some great books and guides on DIY.

Tooled Up also sell tools for all jobs – from drills to saws , sanders and sockets, spanners and spades. Delivery charges  to Ireland depend on the order weight – but range from about £10 to £25

Anglia Tool  Centre do free delivery to Ireland and the UK on orders over £100. (£5 on orders under £100) . They specialise in power tools and also sell other  items for your home such as Mira showers, Karcher Pressure washers. House alarms etc.

Maplin also sell a range of tools – power and hand tools , soldering tools, tool boxes etc. Delivery to Ireland is just £8.78 per order.