When it comes to being more efficient with your household’s energy consumption, one thing you may overlook is your lighting. However, lighting is an essential feature that helps us comfortably enjoy our homes. We’re going to share with you some of our top recommendations for upgrading your lighting to more energy-efficient fixtures.
Consider LED Lighting
One of the best lighting installations that can make it more energy efficient is to invest in LED lights. LEDs have been proven far superior to their predecessor, incandescent lighting. LEDs can provide the same or even more brightness as traditional light bulbs but use 90% less energy to achieve the job. Even better, they last up to 15 to 20 times longer than incandescent bulbs. LEDs also produce very little heat compared to the 90% energy released in the form of heat from incandescent bulbs.
Consider Using Lower Wattage Bulbs
The amount of wattage that a bulb uses has a direct impact on the amount of energy that it consumes. Lower-wattage bulbs will consume less energy than higher-wattage bulbs. For this reason, you may want to consider replacing some of your higher-wattage bulbs with slightly lower wattages. In many cases, you’ll find that you will not need as much lighting as the higher-wattage bulb provides in many rooms throughout your home.
Install Dimmer Switches
Dimmer switches are a great addition to any household. They give you direct control over the amount of energy that your light fixture uses. For example, you can set it to operate at 100% capacity when you want a lot of light or brighter effects. However, if you prefer to minimize light during the evening, you can turn the dimmer switch down so the light only operates at 25% of its capacity.
Lowering the dimmer switch will lower the energy the lighting fixture consumes during operation. Install dimmer switches in all the main rooms of your home to give you the added ability to alter your light and energy usage based on your specific needs at any point in time.
Use Motion Sensors
If your outside lights operate on a single switch that can either be on or off, you are likely not optimizing your energy usage. Many people simply forget to turn off their outside lights before they go to bed or in the morning before they leave for work. This is where motion sensor lighting can come into play.
You can ensure that your outside light turns on whenever you’re walking around outside so that you have adequate lighting. However, when the light’s sensor detects that you’re no longer outside, it will shut off the light to conserve energy. Motion sensors are a great way to help reduce your energy usage without doing a lot of extra footwork.
Install Light Timers
If you don’t like the idea of your lights only turning on when they sense motion, you can always opt to install light timers. These allow you to set a time for when the light will turn on and when it will shut off. For example, you may set the timer on your outside lights to run from 6:00 p.m. until midnight.
This takes the guesswork out of constantly turning switches on and off and gives you the convenience of knowing when your lights will run even if you’re not home. Many newer light timers will have smart technology integration so that you can alter the settings from the convenience of your smartphone. This is great for changing your settings throughout the seasons to match the sunset.
Consider Putting Lights on Multiple Switches
In the past, most home builders used one light switch for all the lights in a particular room as a standard practice. However, when you think about how you use your lights, you most likely could get away with only using some of your lights during certain activities instead of having to run all the lights at once.
To better optimize your energy usage, you can have one of our electricians split up all the lights in a single room into different circuits or sections. Each section can get its own light switch so that you can independently control that area without having to run all of your lights. This is great for both energy efficiency and your overall comfort and convenience.
Invest in a Smart Lighting System
Smart home lighting systems are a great upgrade for anyone interested in reducing their energy consumption. These systems use multiple smart lighting fixtures that all connect wirelessly to an app on your smartphone device. This allows you to easily control all the lights throughout your home from the convenience of your smartphone or tablet. Even better, the app will allow you to monitor your energy consumption at each lighting fixture so you can make better-informed decisions about using your lights.
Consider a Daylight Harvesting System
Daylight harvesting systems are a unique type of technology that is becoming more available and accessible to homeowners. These systems integrate with lighting fixtures in your home with have an independent sensor responsible for detecting the amount of natural light coming into the room. When the sensor reads the level of natural light coming into the room, the light output of the lighting fixture is adjusted accordingly.
The idea is that the lighting fixture doesn’t need to run at full capacity if there is a lot of natural sunlight streaming into the room. Rather, it can run at a lower capacity level to help conserve energy usage while still allowing you to enjoy an ample amount of light for your tasks.
Opt For ENERGY STAR Lighting Fixtures
When selecting new lighting fixture upgrades for your home, it’s important to always look at the packaging. You want to ensure that the fixture has an ENERGY STAR rating. This signals that the product is highly energy efficient and that its operation will help save you money without sacrificing any necessary performance. This will help give you a gauge for choosing between what LED lights make the most sense for your home.
Install Different Layers of Efficient Lighting
Traditionally, household lighting comprised one light in the center of the room to provide lighting for all the different tasks that you did in the room. This wasn’t particularly efficient for a variety of reasons. A great alternative is to use layered lighting throughout your room so that you can turn off different layers when they’re not necessary for the task in which you are engaged. Some common examples of lighting layers include task lighting, accent lighting, and ambient lighting.
Reliable Light Installation Service
General Air Conditioning & Plumbing offers electrical services including reliable light installation for the Coachella Valley, CA community. We can assist with all your heating, air conditioning, plumbing, drain service, and electrical needs. Simply give us a call today to book your next service appointment with one of our helpful electricians.
