Saving Tips to Ponder: 5 Simple Lighting Ideas to Save Energy at Home
Lighting your home can account for about 25 percent of your electric bills. It’s considered as one of your home’s biggest energy users behind heating and cooling systems. However, it’s also one of the areas you can save in easily by doing simple upgrades. You can utilize cost-effective lighting upgrades and save money on your energy costs.
Energy-efficient bulbs are an excellent option to help reduce your home’s energy use. They are one of today’s latest innovations that can last longer, shine brighter, and help reduce the amount of energy required to power them. Hence, they are more convenient lighting options to help improve your home’s energy efficiency.
By utilizing these few simple lighting upgrades, you can save energy by reducing your costs and get light bulbs that can last longer. Aside from that, you can also opt for other ways to reduce your electricity bill. As such, here are a few lighting ideas to help save energy in your home.
Turn Your Lights Out
One of the best ways to conserve energy in your home is to turn the lights out when you leave the area. Doing so is an excellent way to save money on your home lighting bill and reduce your energy costs. Hence, the habit of turning off your lights when you’re not using them would be worth it at the end of the day.
It’s more cost effective to turn off your lights when you leave the room to help the bulb last longer. Turning off the lights during the summer will also help keep your area cooler and allows you to save money on your air conditioning system.
However, the cost-effectiveness of turning off your lights might depend on the types of lightbulbs you’re using. When you use incandescent lamps, you need to turn them off when they’re not needed since they’re the least energy efficient type of lighting. Turning them off can also help keep your room cooler especially during the summer.
Upgrade Your Light Fixtures
Make the light fixtures in your home cost-effective and eco-friendly by upgrading them into more energy efficient ones. They can provide significant improvements in your home’s energy efficiency. They can also help enhance your home’s ambiance and reduce your energy consumption.
You can look for energy efficient light fixtures that can illuminate your area more efficiently. You can also opt for products that can provide excellent features such as dimmers or automatic shut-off that would only consume about 70 to 90 percent less energy compared to regular fixtures.
You can also replace your old lighting fixtures such as recessed lights with energy star-labeled bulbs. These bulbs will help make your lights cooler which allows them to last longer. Apart from the correct way on how to install recessed lighting, utilizing the energy efficient bulbs is also necessary to save energy and money on your utility bills.
On the other hand, you can also place energy-efficient under cabinet light fixtures in your kitchen. It doesn’t require much power so you can save money on your energy bills. Make sure to hire a professional who knows how to install under cabinet lighting correctly to get the best results.
Automate Your Home’s Lighting
Automation is one of today’s more exciting and practical innovations. Automating the appliances in your home can provide you with convenience and luxury with the help of the right equipment and integration. It’s also an eco-friendly way to help save money and conserve energy in your home cost-effectively.
Home automation system helps you control and manage your home’s devices more conveniently. It also allows you to dim your lights to quickly set the mood and wirelessly turn them off when you leave the area. The system also allows you to arrange the lights and turn them on when its sensors detect occupants .
Utilizing home automation is an ideal way to personalize lights. In that way, you can get the lighting you need and want for your home without wasting excess energy. You can also obtain maximum savings on your decorative lighting such as an accent lamp or buffet lamp, or wall sconce, with the help of home automation. And by all means don’t forget the outdoor lights.
Get the Right Outdoor Lighting
Since your outdoor lights are left on all night, choosing LEDs and CFLs are excellent lighting options to illuminate your outdoor space. You can get the weather-resistant LED and CFL lights in the market and ensure that they can last longer compared to other brands which allow you to save money.
You can also look for other great options such as motion sensors and automatic daylight shut off and get maximum energy savings. If you like to choose decorative light bulbs and fixtures, you can buy attractive CFL and LED light bulbs and help improve your home’s ambiance while reducing your energy use.
Consider Dimmer Switches
As a homeowner, you can manage your light bulb’s electrical consumption more effectively by lowering their wattage using a dimmer switch. Dimmers may come with a slide bar or a dial that enables you to adjust the wattage and the amount of illumination more efficiently.
However, the amount that the dimmer switches can save depends on a lot of factors. It includes the type of light bulbs in your fixture and how long you dim the lights in your home. Moreover, dimmers can save the most energy and money in your rooms where wattage is high such as dining room, kitchen, and bathroom.
Takeaway
Upgrading your home using energy saving lighting options is an ideal way to save energy. You can make a few simple upgrades with the help of those lighting ideas mentioned above and make your home more energy efficient. Hence, the use of these lighting options can help you save money on your utility bills and enhance your home’s aesthetic appeal.
Author Bio:
Sofia Larosa is a freelance blogger and writer. She likes to write anything about energy conservation. Just like Astral Energy and other reliable and clean energy providers, Sofia also supports eco-friendly practices which intend to preserve the Earth.
Don’t forget to comment below…
Leave a Reply