by Allen Teal

Created on: July 03, 2007

If you want to save on your energy bill by reducing the cost of lighting, there are about 5 ways to go about it. In most homes, lights are not the big dog at the energy table, but you may be able to save a few cents per day. This amount is only worthwhile when considered as part of an overall effort to reduce the cost of energy in your home.

The easiest and most obvious savings comes from just remembering to turn off the lights when they are not being used. Every second they burn pulls more watts into your home. You do not want to get too ridiculous with this. All light bulbs require more energy to start them than to burn for a while. So, if you are going out of the room for 2 minutes, leave the lights on, and it will save you in the long run.

For incandescent bulbs, anything over 5 minutes will bring a savings to turn them off. Because of the ballasts, most fluorescent bulbs need to be off for several hours to be worthwhile. Turning them on and off several times per day can cost you much more than just leaving them on.

The new fluorescent bulbs that can replace an incandescent bulb in the same socket, are not quite the energy hogs that the ballasts are for the long tube type bulbs. You still do not want to be turning them on and off every few minutes. It will cost energy and shorten the bulb life.

Every place that it is practical, replace incandescent bulbs with fluorescent. They last much longer and burn cheaper. A 30 watt fluorescent tube only costs pennies per month to burn. The new smaller fluorescent bulbs are in the same cost category. With fluorescent bulbs, you have to adjust to the difference in the lighting pattern. Some of them do not reach full brightness until a 5 to 30 seconds has elapsed.

Put lights that need to be on at odd times on a timer. This will prevent you from needing to turn them on early and just leave them on for extended periods of time. Outdoor lighting should also be on timers when possible. These are often forgotten. When this happens, they can be left on all night or all day or more.

Replace all bulbs with the smallest watt bulb that will give adequate light to the space being lit. You can also put one less bulb in multiple bulb fixtures. You may need to experiment a little to find the best wattage for the room or place. Accent lights rarely need more than 40 watts. Avoid anything larger than 100 watts whenever possible.

Plan your day so that most of your life can be lived in natural lighting or burning someone else's light. Daylight savings time helps with this effort. Install shades and blinds that allow more outside light to enter your house. Keep your windows clean. Skylights can give a great deal of additional light to a dimly lit room.

The combination of all of these methods will result in the greatest possible savings on your light bills. Each individual has to work to find what is best for his or her home and family. Try not to live your life in darkness just to save a few extra cents over the period of a year.

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