Are your energy bills eating into your monthly income? Are they looking bigger every month? Are you seriously considering options for energy savings? Would you like to reduce your energy bills every single month?
If you answered in the affirmative to any of these questions, then you need some energy-saving tips. Saving energy should be one of your major priorities. True, you have a busy life, but the world, in general, would be a better place for it.
Most people don’t know this, but incandescent bulbs use up way too much energy. 90% of that energy is given off as heat while the remaining 10% produces brightness. The interesting thing about that is that we still pay for the wasted 90%. Do the smart thing today and start saving on your energy. Here are a few lighting and energy-saving changes that you can make starting now.
Use Energy-Saving Incandescent Bulbs
Here’s an interesting fact about energy-saving incandescent bulbs: they result in 25% savings. These incandescent bulbs are also known as halogen bulbs or lamps. These bulbs are longer-lasting, come in different shades, sizes, and colors, and make for good lighting that will help improve the interior décor.
You can also use them with dimmers at home. By the way, instead of just throwing your dead fluorescent bulbs away, please make sure to recycle them as they contain some mercury, which automatically makes them dangerous to the soil.
Try Compact Fluorescent Lamps
If you have a fluorescent light already, then you’re familiar with how much savings it gets you. The compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) are typically the curly versions of the standard fluorescent lamps. Their major advantage lies in the fact that using them results in about 75% more energy and money savings.
If you adopt compact fluorescent lamps in your home, they’ll pay for themselves in nine months or less. The typical ENERGY-STAR compact fluorescent bulb will last far longer –research has it at 10 times longer than the average incandescent bulb with the same light intensity and brightness.
And you can choose from the wide range of colors available in the market. These can also work with dimmers in the house. If that’s what you’re looking for, ask the attendant in your hardware store for dimmable CFL bulbs.
Use Light-Emitting Diode Bulbs
Also known as LEDs, these bulbs can result in about 80% more savings than your average incandescent bulb. LED bulbs are known to be very energy efficient and incredibly long-lasting –studies have shown that their lifespan is at least twenty times that of the standard incandescent bulbs. In case you didn’t know, LED bulbs are used in indicators and traffic lights. And they also come in varying wattages. So, you can choose based on your needs in the home. Although not as cheap or popular as the CFLs or the Energy Savers, LEDs are gradually becoming more popular.
Take Notice
Apart from installing one or more of these bulbs, turn off your lights when you’re not using them during the day.