Energy Conservation

Ways to Reduce Lighting Costs

• Take advantage of sunlight and leave lights off during the day. If possible, adjust your daily routine to align your waking hours with sunlit hours.
• Replace incandescent night lights with LED or eletroluminescent lights.
• Don't use excessive holiday lighting.
• Dust light bulbs occasionally to increase light levels.
• Use limited, focused lighting when performing a task in a small area instead of lighting the entire room.
• Choose light fixtures that require fewer bulbs, or unscrew some of the bulbs in existing fixtures.
• Use compact fluorescent light bulbs in place of conventional incandescent light bulbs. A CFL uses approximately one-fourth the wattage of an incandescent bulb producing a similar level of illumination, and they last 8,000 to 10,000 hours. The savings in electricity typically amounts to over $30 per replaced bulb. Replace your most-used bulbs first for maximum savings.
• Install motion-detection switches or timers for outdoor lighting rather than leaving lights on all night.
• Install dimmer switches for incandescent light fixtures so you can use less light when less is needed. Most CFLs and other fluorescent bulbs are not designed for use with a dimmer.