If you’ve heard it once, you’ve heard it a thousand times: “Turn the lights off when you leave the room!” It sounds so cliché, but it really does save you money on your electric bills.
If you aren’t careful, electric bills can get out of control. One of the main ways that we waste precious energy is with lighting. Everyone has to be able to see where they are going, but is there a way to light your path that is eco-friendly?
Compact Florescent Lighting
You’ve probably seen compact fluorescent light bulbs through the years. Up until recently, CFLs were those weird coiled bulbs. You probably “re-coiled” (pardon the pun) a little at the thought of putting those things in your pretty lamps.
Recently, these same CFLs have been transformed into a more recognizable light bulb shape that will fit most any fixture. The advantage of CFLs is that they last longer, don’t give off any heat, and use less energy. The initial expense is offset by the fact that the bulbs will last for years. You aren’t replacing them nearly as often as a regular light bulb.
There are even CFLs in yellow as bug lights. In the summer it’s nice to sit on the porch in the evening but you don’t want to end up as the main course for a bunch of hungry insects. These bug lights are powerful and give you hours of bug-free enjoyment along with being quite energy efficient.
Motion-Detecting Lights
When someone is out late at night, you leave the outside light on for them so when they come home they have a bright path. Having that light on for hours is costing money. You must admit there are many times when that light is forgotten and left on all night. The solution? Install motion-detecting lighting.
Adding motion-detecting flood lights to the corner of your home is well worth the effort. When someone approaches, the lights come on. Once all motion has ceased, they go off again. You get lighting only when you need it, instead of wasting energy leaving a light on for hours and hours.
You know that little cartoon “light bulb” that hovers over a character’s head illustrating that they got a “bright” idea? Has your light bulb gone on yet? Use these bright ideas to reduce your energy bill and conserve our earth’s precious resources at the same time.
Joe and Angie Nelson are ecopreneurs and proud owners of eWaste Direct. Founded on Earth Day 2008, eWaste Direct was created to
divert electronic waste from landfills by offering San Ramon and other San Francisco Bay Area drop off locations and free pick up service for residential and business customers.
