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Homeowners can slice their electric bill without being left in the dark. Today, lighting technology permits you to enjoy a comfortable, pleasing and elegant lifestyle without wasting precious natural resources.
Energy conservation is not simply a pocketbook issue. It's socially responsible to not use more than your share.
Lights account for 25% of a homeowner's electric bill. There are a lot of other energy guzzlers in the house besides lighting. But everyone thinks of lighting first because that what you see.
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In addition to trimming your lighting bill, we suggest checking the energy efficiency of other appliances as well. Put your electric water heater on timer. Look at your washer and dryer, freezer, refrigerator, heat pump. All these compressor-driven devices push the electric bill up.
Your home itself can also run up the bill. Older homes built prior to 1990 are not near as energy efficient as newer models.
CONSIDER FLUORESCENTS.
Consumers can cut costs quickly by switching from incandescent bulbs or fixtures to compact fluorescents.
This is a good idea for lights in closets, workrooms, home offices, kid's rooms, security area, kitchens. Plus it's very easy to replace a bulb or even a fixture that is not fluorescent compatible - it doesn't require electrical rework of wires.
While incandescent bulbs are inexpensive to buy, they consume more energy than any other type of bulb and have a relatively short life, making operating costs high. Fluorescent lighting is now available in over 200 colors, ranging from the warm white tones of incandescent light to cool white tones similar to daylight.
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Energy-efficient fluorescents use one-fifth to one-third the electricity of a comparably bright incandescent bulb and last 10-20 times longer.
The dollar saved amount depends on how long a light operates. If you operate a security light from dusk to dawn or 4,000 hours/year and replace the 100 watt incandescent light bulb with a 32 watt compact fluorescent lamp the savings is about $26/year per fixture.
If you operate a 100 watt incandescent bulb 12 hours/day, on average, that bulb will have to be replaced six times/year. Fluorescents usually last 2.5 years, so you also save time and inconvenience of not having to change bulbs, particularly if they are in hard-to-reach places.
Time is money, too. Consider what it "costs" to change those bulbs. You have to buy them, go outside, get a ladder, put them in the fixture. I was changing incandescent bulbs four times a year.
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