Bright ideas for lighting your home efficiently
The right lighting can enhance your home's appearance and can also contribute to your safety. Lighting does not typically use a lot of energy in most homes but it is still bright to be energy efficient whenever you can. Here are two simple steps to reduce lighting costs:
- Pick the right bulb
- Control your usage
Pick the right bulb
Here are two things to consider before you shop:
- Cost of Operation - The more time the light is on, the more efficient the bulb should be.
- Wattage - Look for a sticker on your fixture that indicates the maximum wattage allowable and never put in a bulb that exceeds this wattage.
Control your usage
To manage your lighting use and safety, we recommend that you use automatic devices such as:
- Pre-set timers - Automatically turn your lights on and off.
- Light-sensitive photocells - Switch lights on at night and off during the day.
- Motion detectors - Sense the motion of someone walking up or driving within range of a sensor, which switches the light to come on. This security measure does not waste energy.