Efficient Lighting

In most homes and many businesses, a large portion of the energy consumed is used for lighting.

Since lighting is one of the larger energy users in a home, pay close attention to what kind you use. If you replace all of your lights with efficient versions, you will see a reduction on your electric bill. Also, you may be able to get by with fewer expensive batteries and solar panels if you live in a remote home, and are not connected to the electric grid.

Wasting most of the power they consume as heat, incandescent lights are basically electric space heaters that give off light as a byproduct. They are VERY inefficient! That is funny, too because that is the most widely used lighting device in use today.

For best efficiency, use fluorescents of any type. Install standard fluorescents in workspaces where you can stand the blue-tinged light, hum and flicker. Use compact flourescents in living spaces for a more 'friendly' ambiance. Use halogen lighting for outdoor applications where temperature causes problems with fluorescents. Use white LED lighting for applications that normally use dismally-efficient small incandescents...task lights, nightlights, pathway lighting, exit signs, and flashlights. Avoid using incandescent lighting at all if you can avoid it.

Lighting Efficiency Ratings

A standard way of rating lighting efficiency is in lumens per watt--this figure accounts for all of the light produced by a bulb. This rating does not necessarily reflect how much usable light is is thrown on your work area. The reflector and fixture will have a large effect on this. Lights that show a lower efficiency may still save you energy depending on the application.

* 32 watt T8 fluorescent--85 to 95 lumens/watt
* standard F40T12 cool white fluorescent--60-65 lumens/watt
* compact fluorescents--low 30's to low 60's lumens per watt, usually 48-60
* T3 tubular halogen--20 lumens/watt
* white LED--15-19 lumens/watt
* standard 100 watt incandescent--17 lumens/watt
* incandescent night light bulb (7w)--6 lumens/watt
* incandescent flashlight bulbs--dismal, less than 6 lumens/watt

Another thing to keep in mind--notice that with current available lighting products, the smaller the incandescent bulb, the less efficient it is. For small-sized and lower-light-intensity applications such as task and reading lights, pathway lighting, exit signs, and flashlights, LED lights will be much more efficient than the equivilent small incandescent. This is because fluorescent light products in these small sizes are not available commercially.

Appliances

Appliances you use in your home are somewhat efficient, especially if they are newer appliances.
However, there are versions of common appliances that are far more efficient than those you can purchase at the local "Big Box Home Center".
For example, a Sun Frost model RF-16 refrigerator uses approximately 254KWH of electricity per year and a similarly sized unit, the Whirlpool model ET5WSE*K*0 uses 372KWH of electricity per year. The Whirlpool is nearly one third less efficient.