How to Make the Lighting in your Home More Energy Efficient |
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Money is tight now and our earth's ecosystem is suffering because of the way humans have abused our energy sources. This problem has grown out of control and we are already starting to see the effects it is having in the most north and south regions of the world. The over use of our current energy sources are polluting our atmosphere and are creating a warming trend that will soon devastate the coastal areas that many people live in. I believe that there is still something that we as individuals can do.
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Why Should we be Concerned About Light Energy Consumption?We use lighting every day and every night whether you are from the North Pole, Asia, America or anywhere else in the world, light in all forms is used for many reasons. People use light for safety, ambiance, performing tasks, driving at night, late night construction, looking in a drain pipe for that lost piece of jewelry or countless other things. Light sources come in many different forms from the kerosene lanterns used in rural villages in India to the high powered high pressure sodium highway street lights in Orlando, Florida Anyway we look at it, luminous light output is an energy source that we have the ability to control with simple changes. These simple changes start with one person and take very little effort at all. Take this educated statistic in for example: If every American home changed out just five high-use light fixtures or the bulbs in them with ones that have earned the ENERGY STAR Rating, each family would save about $60 every year in energy costs, and together we’d save about $6.5 billion each year in energy costs and prevent greenhouse gases equivalent to the emissions from more than 8 million cars. Said by Energy Star This has to start with us as an individual. Energy Star Light Technology is ChangingYears ago fluorescent lighting was thought of as that draining office light that took all the energy out of you. The problem is that the light sources were so efficient that that theory lasted as long as the lamps did. Most of these older fluorescent energy efficient lamps have a higher Kelvin temperature in the high 4000Ks resulting in a blue toned, harsh and bright light output. Most incandescent (most inefficient light source outside of fire) lamps have a warmer 2500K to 2800K producing a more intimate light output. Below is Kelvin temperature description:
Today fluorescent lamp technology is readily available in warmer tones matching the intimate incandescent light output color. As well fluorescent lamps are available with dimmable ballasts that allow the user to reduce and intensify the light output. What Lighting Changes can You make?By making a simple plan and a few simple lighting fixture changes you can help. Let me first give examples of different types of light sources which are also called lamps or bulbs. Annual energy cost is calculated at $.08 per kilowatt-hour.
The steps below will show you how a few simple changes can increase the energy efficiency in your home. First, identify the parts of your home where you use the most light. Typically the most light is used in the laundry room, kitchen and bathroom. Closets, home offices and breakfast areas use a lot of light but usually not for long periods of time. Second, make a list of the different types of light sources used and then the different types of sockets in the areas of the most light used. The two main types of incandescent lamp sockets are medium base and candelabra base. Third, if you do not want to change the existing light fixtures in these areas then most of the time you can just change out the regular incandescent lamps to a more energy efficient lamp (fluorescent or halogen lamp). And or you can combine energy efficient light sources with dimmable light sources. Light dimming is also an easy way to extend incandescent lamp life and increase energy efficiency. By extending the lamp life you reduce the amount of times you need to replace the lamp. This reduces the labor involved in relamping and also reduces the materials used to manufacture new lamps. Compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) are available with medium based sockets and candelabra based sockets. CFLs come in 3-way (low, medium and high light levels), dimmable and standard models. These CFLs are also now available in the 2700-3000 Kelvin temperatures to match the intimate color out put of the incandescent light sources. The cost of CFLs range from $ 6-14.00 and you can even purchase them at your local supermarket. These small changes in your home can make major impacts on our Earth’s future. Read more articles on Energy Star Lighting and Energy Efficient Lighting
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 Article created on Apr 27 by colby
in: Light Bulbs Energy Star Lighting
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Incandescent light source - average life is about 500 to 1500 hours or 6 months to a year - this is the least efficient light source other than fire. A 75watt lamp running for 2000 hours in a year would have an annual energy cost of about $ 18.00 and you would have already had to change the lamp. Low initial cost. 
Halogen light source - average life is about 2000 to 5000 hours or 2 to 3 years - Halogen lamps are about 10-15% more energy efficient than incandescent light sources. Medium to high initial cost.
Fluorescent or compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) – average life is about 6000 to 10000 hours or about 3.5 to 7 years. Energy Star rated light fixtures and sources must last up to 10000 hours or 7 years. Fluorescent light sources are up to five times more energy efficient than incandescent. Medium to high initial cost.
