One of the fastest ways to save energy is to update your lighting with energy saving light bulbs. The average household currently spends 11% of its energy budget on lighting.
By utilizing new lighting technologies, which include energy saving light bulbs, you can reduce the energy use your in home by 50% to 75%. You can obtain additional savings by using lighting controls to shut off lights when they are not in use.
Energy saving light bulbs such as compact fluorescent bulbs are four times more energy efficient than incandescent bulbs and provide the same levels of light.
Fluorescent light bulbs last up to 10 times longer than the traditional incandescent bulbs and provide higher quality and higher efficiency lighting.
Energy saving light bulbs, such as the fluorescent and compact fluorescent lamps cost a little bit more than the incandescent bulbs, they pay for themselves by saving energy over their lifetime. When you are purchasing your energy saving light bulbs, look for the Energy Star label.
Energy Saving Indoor Lighting Tips:
- Turn off the lights in any room you are not using or install timers to shut them off.
- Use task lighting instead of brightly lighting an entire room. You can install under the cabinet lighting in the kitchen.
- Use three-way energy saving light bulbs. You can keep lighting levels low when brighter light is not necessary.
- Use 4-foot fluorescent fixtures with reflective backing and electronic ballasts for your workroom, garage and laundry areas.
- Use energy saving light bulbs in all your portable table and floor lamps.
- Use light colored, loose weave curtains to allow the sunlight to enter the room and still maintain your privacy. Also, decorate with lighter colors that reflect daylight.
Energy Saving Outdoor Lighting Tips:
- Use small photovoltaic modules, which convert sunlight directly into electricity, for your pathway lighting and motion detector flood lights.
- Use outdoor lights that have a motion sensor. This will increase your energy savings.
- Turn off decorative outdoor natural gas lamps; just eight such lamps burning year round use as much natural gas as it takes to heat an average size home during an entire winter.
- Exterior lighting is one of the best places to install energy saving light bulbs like compact fluorescent lamps because of their long life.
Installing energy saving light bulbs both indoors and outdoors will save on your overall energy costs.