This Earth Day, take a few minutes to learn how you can save energy and money on your lighting bill--it's simpler than you think!
With Earth Day encouraging us all to stop and think about how our choices affect the Earth, we decided to take a moment to point out just a few of the reasons why switching to energy-efficient lighting practices can help save not only money each month on your electric bill, but also the planet!
Believe it or not, it is estimated that the human population will need three planets to support our ever-growing need for resources including fossil fuels, water, and, of course, electricity. Though this statistic is quite shocking, turns out we can make a difference with something as simple as changing a light bulb!
Since lighting typically takes up a whopping 20 to 30 percent of the average American home’s energy bill, switching to more energy-efficient lighting is the easiest way to cut down on lighting costs and preserve the resources we all rely on. Both LED and CFL bulbs are great options for reducing your home's energy use. LED bulbs last up to 25 years, which is 25 times longer than standard incandescent bulbs and 10 times as long as CFL bulbs--and less burnt out bulbs translates to less trash in our landfills.
Translated into a dollar amount, switching to LED bulbs could save your home about $75 a year, which really adds up over the course of the bulb’s life. LED bulbs are also free of the toxic chemicals found in small amounts in CFL bulbs, so no need to worry about a complicated recycling process once the bulb needs to be replaced.
Once you’ve made the switch to LED, there are a few more things you can do to ensure you’re being as efficient as possible when lighting your home. Other steps you can take include:
- Installing dimmers and motion sensors to reduce the amount of wasted light and energy in your home
- Using LED Christmas lights during the holiday season to reduce your energy usage by over 80%
- Using natural daylight to light your home as much as possible
- Using solar or LED lighting outside instead of high-wattage outdoor lighting
As you can see, it doesn’t take much effort on your part to make things a bit more efficient at home when it comes to your lighting. This Earth Day, take a few minutes to think about how you can improve your energy saving efforts at home—your wallet, and the Earth, will thank you!
