Energy efficiency is a hot topic and one thing that is sure to be mentioned is lighting. This post aims to answer some common questions including: How much can energy efficient light bulbs save the average household? How do energy saving bulbs compare to traditional light bulbs? And what types of energy saving light bulbs are available?

Lighting and Your Utility Bills

According to the EnergySavingTrust website, lighting accounts for around 8% of a typical household’s utility bill. This makes it a priority to ensure poor lighting choices aren’t simply the equivalent of throwing money away. There are two ways to save when it comes to lighting. The first is changing your lighting habits and the second is ensuring your home is kitted out with the right types of bulbs.

Always opt for either compact fluorescents (CFLs) or LED bulbs in your home compared to traditional bulbs and halogen down-lighters or spotlights.  Swapping your traditional bulbs for CFLs will typically save you around £3 a year or £55 over the life of the bulb.

Similarly if you opted for LED bulbs to replace the bulbs in your spotlights, that can often be fitted to bathrooms and kitchens, you could save around £70 over the life of the bulb. All figures stated above have been taken from the EnergySavingTrust website. You can buy a range of energy efficient lighting at BuySpares.

Change Your Lighting Habits

Leaving lights on unnecessarily can add to your utility bills. Simple changes to the way you light you home can make a big difference. Below are a few tips to get you started:

• Don’t use more light than you need. If your rooms have several light fitting then only turn on those required to achieve the level of brightness needed to safely complete the activities you are doing. For example while watching TV you are unlikely to need as much light as is requires for doing other activities such as cleaning or reading.

• Switch off the lights when you leave the room. Keeping the light on when nobody is in the room will simply waste energy and cost you money. If you can get into the habit of switching lights off regularly then you will soon notice the savings.

• Use sensors on outdoor lights so that they are only on when you need them. This is a far more energy efficient way of lighting the approach to your home compared to constantly lighting the entrance in the evening.

• Every little helps. Switching the lights off will always help save energy and money, even if it is just for a couple of minutes. Try to avoid leaving lights on simply because you will be using that room again later.

What Can You Save In a Year?

By making the extra effort to conserve energy when it comes to lighting your home you can expect to save a considerable amount on your utility bills a year. The exact amount will depend on the amount of light you use and the number of light fittings there are in you home. If your home has 10 light fittings and you simply switch each to the energy saving equivalent we would anticipate savings of at least £30 a year – more if you combine this change with an improvement in your lighting habits!

If you have any lighting tips of your home or any thoughts on energy conservation, we would love to read them. As always simply use the comments below to share your views.

Tags: energy saving, LED Bulbs, Lightbulbs, Money Saving Tips