CONSERVING WITH LIGHTING
| FIRST WE SAVE, THEN WE PAY |
"THE HOME IS THE FASTEST AND BEST PLACE TO CONSERVE IN YOUR DAILY LIFE, IT TAKES ONE PERSON TO SCREW IN A LIGHT BULB…" SAVINGS -
Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs: (CFLs) use up 75% less electricity than incandescent light bulbs. They are also a little more expense, for example, they can be found for just under $2 at home improvement stores, or a little over $1 at most warehouse stores but they also last 10 times longer. Talk about a great savings, if you buy four packs (8 per box) from a warehouse store at a price of under $50 and replace all your incandescent light bulbs through out your house, you will save about $10 per month which would pay back all bulb cost in 5 months. Saving you another $10 per month the rest of the life of the bulb (approx 5 years). EXAMPLE: (32 Bulbs (x) (47W(savings) = 60W(old bulb) - 13W(new bulb)) (x) 4 hrs/day) = 6016Wh/day = 6kwh/day (x) 30 days = 180.5kwh (x) .08 per kWh = $14.40 savings per month. Bulbs cost: (Sam's Club - $2.75 for 8. 32 Bulbs/8 - 4 Packs * 2.75 = $11, savings made back in one month. Turn lights off when you leave the room: Opponents say that these bulbs (CFLs) waste more electricity to turn them on and off. MythBusters and the Discover Channel has proven this a myth saying that these lights only take .015 seconds to warm up to full capacity while incandescent take .36 seconds and regular fluorescents take 23 seconds to hit their peak. Either way, if you leave a room for .015 seconds then come back to it you may be wasting electricity by turning it off. Otherwise turn off all you lights when you leave your rooms. Match the wattage needed in certain areas: When you place a higher wattage light bulb in area that don’t need it you waste electricity where it is not needed. For example: you do not need a high voltage light bulb in a hall light fixture. Using CFLalso help this problem since their wattage is 75% less than incandescent though resonating a great deal more light. Lighting Timers and Sensors can help: If you know want a light to turn on a certain time and set a time to turn it on, you are only wasting electricity. Instead turn on a light fixture when you need it. If you use timers for secure, these can be a great benefit, simply be sure you exchange all of your timed light fixtures with low energy emitting light bulbs such as CFLs. Also use timers and sensors if you forget to turn off light bulbs or have exterior light bulbs that are set up for security. Use exterior lights that have sensors and timers installed in the fixture so they are on during certain times of the day and only when people walk past them. Using directional lighting in well lit areas: Directional lighting includes lamps and lights that are focused on certain areas of a room. Why switch on the lights for the whole room (5-6 bulbs) when you need only one to read with. In this case use a lamp next to your couch and use only what you need. Keep you fixtures clean and maintained, use reflection to your benefit: By keeping dust off your fixtures you can save 20%. Even better is to make your fixture air tight from the from the dust of the house. Using melon lights and other enclosed fixtures is the best way to proceed. Even better is when you have reflectors in those light fixtures that reflect light that would shine on other areas of the house that are not used, such as the ceiling or corners. Another simple tip is to use light colored walls as reflectors of extra light. Dark walls absorb light and you may need more lights in the room to keep it lit. CONCLUSION - If lighting produces 15% of your home energy bill and these items can save you around $10-$17 dollars; your complete electrical savings could be around $60.00 or more. |
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CONSERVATION IN YOUR OWN NEIGHBORHOOD
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