£1,000 was up for grabs in WREN’s LED bulb free prize draw, funded by the Hawkey family from their solar PV installation at The Olde House in Chapel Amble, and there was a fantastic response from individuals and businesses entering.

The winners were drawn at WREN’s Energy Shop in Wadebridge by Adrian Jones, Chair of the Wadebridge Chamber of Commerce. Katy Luxton and Mark Hollamby each won up to £250 to kit out their homes with long-lasting, energy-saving LED bulbs. In the business category, the lucky winner of a £500 lighting makeover was Allium on Molesworth Street, Wadebridge.

Following the draw, WREN operations assistant Sam Angwin carried out lighting audits and obtained the correct set of bulbs for each winner. Katy Luxton tweeted “I won!! LED lightbulbs for my house thank you @WRENuk #wadebridge.”

Nathalie Kowalski, owner of Allium, said that she was delighted to win the competition. “We have slowly been changing over to LED bulbs because they are more efficient and now we can change all the rest at once. The biggest impact is in replacing 50W halogen spotlights. It’s good for the shop and business. We source local plants and Fairtrade goods for sale, and saving energy fits right in with that.”

Jaime Hawkey, representing The Olde House, said “We have a programme of replacing ordinary bulbs with LEDs in our own holiday properties. The initial price can put people off, but they are cheaper in the end. We’re very glad to sponsor this competition.”

LED bulbs use as little as 10% of the electricity of incandescent or halogen bulbs, and half as much as compact fluorescents. LEDs should last much longer too. Sam Angwin said, “WREN estimates that the lifetime savings on electricity bills from the LED bulbs given to the three winners will total £9,000.”

6th May 2015