Posted by Nancy Sabatelli on Apr.22, 2010

ⓒ iStockPhoto - BlackJack3D

According to the website, Planet Green, 19 percent of electricity generated worldwide goes towards lighting (2). We want to decrease our energy use and lower our utility bills to help our planet and our wallet. But, we don’t want to sit around in the dark. (Hasn’t your mother always nagged you to turn on the light when you’re reading or doing some other task?!) We want our homes to be well-lit, bright and happy. Fortunately, these bright ideas can help you light up your home effectively while cutting energy use and costs.

Let in Sunlight from Windows and Skylights.

Take advantage of that big bright ball up in the sky, (a.k.a. the sun). It provides free, natural light. Leave your curtains, blinds and shades open to allow maximum sunlight in. South-facing windows are the best for people in the Northern hemisphere (1, 2). However, north-facing windows are preferred for those who live in the Southern hemisphere. Letting in natural sunlight both brightens and warms up a room, which is great during cold winter weather because it lowers your heating bills (1). If you’re moving into an existing home, you can’t easily move or change window placement. But here’s a tip to keep in mind if you’re building and designing a new home: windows that are placed higher up on your walls will allow sunlight to penetrate more deeply into a room, according to HomeTips.com (3). So, design bigger windows higher up on the walls to get the most sunlight possible into a room.

Install Motion Sensors or Programmable Timers for Your Lights.

These handy gizmos are great because they’ll only let your lights come on when you need them. This way, your lights aren’t left on when they’re not in use, so you won’t be wasting energy or running up your electric bill (1, 4).

Motion sensors respond to movement and turn on the light when they sense a person enter a room. Then, after the person leaves and no more motion is detected, the light will turn off. On PlanetGreen.com, Josh Peterson writes that they’re best for rooms that aren’t used a lot, (like the garage or basement). He also notes that they’re great if you’re going out for a few hours and won’t be back home until after dark. This way, you won’t have to turn on your lights before you depart, and they won’t be blazing away for hours. The motion detector will turn the lights on for you when it senses you come home (4).

Similarly, with a programmable timer, you can set your lights to go on and off at a certain time, so they’ll only be on when you need them. For example, you can program your lights to go on after sunset or when you get home from work, and program them to go off when you go to bed.

Opt for Dimmer Switches or Three Way Bulbs.

Forget the “all or nothing” mentality. Try putting your overhead light on a dimmer switch that you can turn and adjust rather than a switch you just flick on or off (1, 2). That way, you can control just how bright your light will be. Dimmer switches are great in the dining room: sometimes, you need the bright light to see what you’re doing or if you’re working on a project at the table, but dimming the lights can create a soft, romantic atmosphere for a nice dinner.

Likewise, a three way bulb makes your lamp successively brighter each time you turn the knob on. If it’s not quite dark yet and you just need a little light, turn it on one click. If it’s darker, or you need extra light for a special project, turn it up again.

Change from Standard Incandescent Bulbs to Compact Fluorescent Bulbs (CFLs).

Experts praise CFLs, the bulbs of the future. Compared with your standard incandescent bulbs, “CFLs use only one-fourth the energy and last up to 10 times longer,” which can slash your lighting cost by half, according to the U.S. Department of Energy (1). Another bonus: CFLs don’t get as hot or create as much heat as standard incandescent bulbs, so they can help you save on your cooling costs during the summer (2). However, when a CFL bulb dies, you can’t just throw it away: because it contains mercury, it must be disposed of properly, and different cities have different rules. Contact your local authorities to find out what the rules are where you live.

Try Smaller Lamps for Task Lighting Rather Than Larger Overhead Lights.

You wouldn’t use a huge bath towel to mop up a couple tiny spilled drops, would you? It doesn’t make sense to use a strong, bright, high-wattage overhead light if a smaller light will suffice for your needs. For example, why turn on a big overhead light for the whole room if you’re only working at a desk in the corner? Try turning on a small desk light to light up just what you need instead (1).

Keep Your Lights Clean.

As with almost every other surface in our home, dust can build up on light bulbs and lamp shades. This reduces the light’s brightness. You may find that the amount of light in your room is no longer enough, even though it used to be just fine for your needs. So, be sure to carefully wipe and clean your light bulbs (when they’re off and cool to the touch!) and lampshades with a soft, clean cloth. This will help remove the dust that can prevent your lights from reaching their full brightness (5).

Turn Off Your Lights When You Leave the Room!

This is one of the simplest things you can do to lower the energy you use and cut your utility costs. Just flick off the switch when you leave the room! Some people are just too lazy. You might think to yourself, “But I’m coming right back! I’ll only be gone a couple minutes.” Still, a couple minutes here and a couple minutes there adds up, burning energy and costing you money. Contrary to popular belief, turning the light off and then back on again does NOT create another start-up power surge, and it does NOT use more energy than simply leaving a light on, Lori Bongiorno tells Yahoo! Green (6).

And no, turning your light off and on won’t shorten the life of a standard incandescent light bulb or make it burn out sooner. However, CFLs and fluorescent lights are a slightly different case. If you’re constantly turning these on and off, their lifespan may indeed decrease. So, “Turn off CFLs when you are leaving the room for 15 minutes or longer,” Bongiorno writes (6).

Thanks to these simple lighting tricks, you can still get all the light you need in your home while lowering your energy output and your electric bill.

Sources:

1. Lighting & Daylighting. (n.d.). U.S. Department of Energy. Retrieved April 12, 2010 from http://www.energy.gov/lightingdaylighting.htm

2. Gordon, Jacob. How to Go Green: Lighting. (2010). Planet Green. Retrieved April 12, 2010 from http://planetgreen.discovery.com/go-green/green-lighting/green-lighting-basics.html

3. “Daylighting”: Using Natural Light to Save Energy. (2010). HomeTips, LLC. Retrieved April 12, 2010 from http://www.hometips.com/diy-how-to/daylighting-home.html

4. Peterson, Josh. Save Energy With Motion Sensors. (January 30, 2009). Planet Green. Retrieved April 12, 2010 from http://planetgreen.discovery.com/home-garden/save-energy-motion-lights.html

5. Peterson, Josh. Clean Your Light Bulbs for 20% More Light. (June 3, 2009). Planet Green. Retrieved April 12, 2010 from http://planetgreen.discovery.com/home-garden/clean-light-bulbs.html

6. Bongiorno, Lori. When To Switch Off Your Lights. (April 2, 2009). Yahoo! Green. Retrieved April 12, 2010 from http://green.yahoo.com/blog/the_conscious_consumer/61/when-to-switch-off-your-lights.html

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Posted under Alternative Energy and Energy Efficiency, Living.