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| How we light up the places where we live and work makes a big impact on how we feel. It also makes a big impact on the environment. The kind of bulbs, the kind of fixtures, the kind of power, and the habits we keep can all add up to a very significant greening. Start with the fact that a conventional incandescent bulb turns only around five to ten percent of its consumed energy into light, the rest goes out as heat. From there, there's no limit to how green your lighting can be. |
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1. CFLs
Compact fluorescent bulbs (CFLs) are the swirley bulbs you're seeing in more and more places. In addition to the most common ones that look a little like soft-serve ice cream cones, CFLs come in all kinds of shapes, sizes and colors. These bulbs may seem more expensive if you only compare their price to standard incandescent bulbs, but CFLs use around ¼ the energy, last many times longer and release much less heat.
2. LEDs
LEDs, or light emitting diodes, are long-lasting, high tech and just starting to become another affordable alternative in consumer lighting. While LEDs are a bit more expensive than CFLs, they use even less energy and last even longer. An LED light bulb can reduce energy consumption by 80 to 90% and last close to 100,000 hours.
3. Power Adapters
Power adapters are those black boxes that are often found on chargers for electronics. You may notice that they stay warm even when not charging or when the attached device is turned off. This is because they draw energy from the wall all the time. One way to green your lighting is to unplug these adapters when not in use, attach lights to a power strip and turn off the whole switch when not in use, or get your hands on a "smart" power strip that knows when the device is off.
4. Habits
No matter how efficient your lighting is, it still doesn't make sense to have lights on when there is no one in the room. Be sure to turn off lights in rooms when not in use. Also, try not to leave your computer in standby mode. The latest estimates show 5 percent of electricity used in the United States goes to standby power at a cost of close to
$4 billion a year.
5. Dimmers and Motion Sensors
Dimmers can be used so you can adjust the amount of light to just what is desired. Motion sensors are a good way to keep lights turned off when not necessary. Also consider timers that can be set to turn things on and off as needed.
6. Green Power
More and more electric utilities are offering "green power". Usually this means that a consumer pays just a few dollars more per month to support energy in the grid that comes from renewable sources like wind, solar, or biogas.
7. Materials
Using eco-friendly lamps and light fixtures is another way to green up your lighting. Look for lamps made from natural, recycled or reused materials. There are some really interesting ones made from reclaimed materials such as traffic signal lenses and wine bottles.
8. Disposal
Fluorescent bulbs may last a long time but when they die they must be disposed of properly. CFLs, like all fluorescents, contain a small amount of mercury and must not be thrown into your regular trash. To properly dispose of fluorescent bulbs visit our recycling section or visit EARTH911.org to find a recycling center near you.
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- According to a report published by the International Energy Agency (IEA), a global switch to efficient lighting systems would trim the world's electricity bill by nearly one-tenth. The carbon dioxide emissions saved by such a switch would dwarf cuts so far achieved by adopting wind and solar power. According to Paul Waide, a senior policy analyst with the IEA and one of the report's authors, "19% of global electricity generation is taken for lighting- that's more than is produced by hydro or nuclear stations, and about the same that's produced from natural gas."
- Studies by the Heschong Mahone Group found that sales increased 40% in stores with good natural light.
- Natural lighting is being used to do better business, make people happier, and save energy and dollars. The presence of daylight often shows in increased worker satisfaction and productivity, better test scores in schools, increased sales in retail settings, and, of course, lower energy bills.
- According to the federal Energy Star program: "If every American home replaced just one light bulb with an ENERGY STAR, we would save enough energy to light more than 2.5 million homes for a year and prevent greenhouse gases equivalent to the emissions of nearly 800,000 cars."
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