Tag Archives: Cfl


Reduce your Electric Bill by 20% by Using Energy Efficient Lighting

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In the midst of a talk about making your home more energy efficient by sealing the building envelope , upgrading to a renewable energy HVAC system, putting on a reflective, insulated metal roof, and adding insulation , many people ask, “Does energy-efficient lighting really matter?” The quick answer is “Yes!”

Unsure about the cost of new improvements? Try this free online remodeling cost calculator suitable for improvements small and large .

For some families , lighting matters more than it does for others . If you are coping with young children who just can’t remember to turn the lights off when they leave the room or very old lighting fixtures, you may possibly see a big benefit of upgrading your old light fixtures . When you consider that lighting makes up about 20% of your electric bill, modernization for energy efficiency can result in a big savings for your household .

A licensed contractor can complete the necessary installations for you, or you can undertake the work yourself if you have the skills to do so. Don’t be afraid to call a service to take care of your fixtures for you. In fact, having them all replaced at once can be the quickest and most convenient way to go.

There are several changes you can make to improve the energy efficiency of the lighting in your house .

Switch your light bulbs to Compact Fluorescent Light (CFL) bulbs. Keep in mind that CFLs initially cost more to purchase, but they should last at least 5 years. Use the right type of CFL in each fixture – use covered replectors in recessed fixtures, use three-way bulbs in three-way fixtures , and use dimmer bulbs in sockets connected to a dimmer switch. Be aware also that fluorescent bulbs use a little bit more power when they are turned on, but then use only about 25% as much energy as incandescent bulbs when they are on. If you plan to make the switch progressively, start by replacing bulbs in the most regularly used fixtures.

 

  • Upgrade lighting fixtures to EnergyStar rated fixtures. Like fluorescent bulbs, fluorescent fixtures may cost a bit more to acquire, but they will use 75% less energy than incandescent fixtures. They also provide light without creating as much heat .

 

  • Switch to LED lighting where it makes sense . Light-emitting diode (LED) lights use a completely new technology. LEDs use very little power to light an area . With typical use, they last more than twenty years and use about 75% less energy than incandescent lights. Because these lights produce only minimal heat, they are perfect for places where air circulation might be restricted, such as recessed fixtures .
  • Make use of switches and devices that help you save power . For example, if you have young children who regularly forget to turn off lights, use a motion activated switch or a timer that will turn the light off after a set amount of time. If everyone is out of the house during the day, but you want to come home to a safely lit house, put important lights on timers rather than leaving them turned on all day. Instead of leaving lights on at night or using night-lights in areas like bathrooms , use motion activated lights to help people find their way . If your family tends to use certain rooms at typical times of day, install timed dimmers on lights to use less energy when it is not needed. You can even use switches that adjust the brightness of the lights when there is more natural light in the room .

Taking into consideration that lighting accounts for about 20% of your total energy bill, energy-efficient lighting does make a real difference . By changing to energy-efficient fixtures and bulbs and using dimmers, timers and other distinctive switches, you can make a difference in your total energy usage.

.For guidance on these new fixtures and proper installation and maintenance, contact a local contractor for recommendations particular to your region.  

How to choose safe lighting

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Relating to safety – LED lighting win hands down. Incandescent technology involves that the element be heated to 3000 degreeCelsius before usablelight is created. Naturally light lamps are associated with the chance of accidental scalding, accidental fires and die a premature death. LED know-how allows minute current to kick out electrons from their orbits as these electrons go back to the ground position they emit energy as light.

Incandescent bulbs are extraordinarily hot to the touch and may cause serious burns if precautions are not taken when handling them. The chance is increased for teenagers and pets. For one a youngsters palms and a pet’s nose are delicate and delicate for an additional they are drawn to lighting and will not have the discretion wanted to handle bulbs with care. As an alternative of fretting over the chance scorching bulbs might expose them too it is better to rely on cool burning LED lamps, particularly in low top gentle fixtures.

Compact fluorescent bulbs are better than bulbs on the subject of temperature however each these lighting technologies trigger an enormous amount of mercury pollution. Each CFL has five milligrams of mercury (5 milligrams of mercury in one CFL can contaminate one hundred fifty thousand litres of water!). The bulb could not employ mercury in its development but seeing its wasteful methods (a bulb converts solely fivepercent of the electricity to light) it’s not directly chargeable for the discharge of tonnes of mercury from coal burning energy plants. At 0.0234 milligrams per KWH 1 incandescent bulb displaces 4.5 milligrams of mercury over 6000 hrs (9.12 milligrams per light can be emitted if one hundred% electricity is generated from coal). Visibly there is little to choose between Compact fluorescent bulbs and incandescent bulbs. One could contend that one or the opposite of these is best but that reality remains that the champion of the mercury debate will only be a ‘lesser evil’. At the moment forty% of US mercury exhaust come from coal fired plants. If bulbs have been to be replaced by CFLs this forty% would then come from Compact fluorescent bulbs as a substitute of coal fired energy plants. Using LED lights devices can end the mercury discussion finally.

Light air pollution, the risk of falling while changing bulbs in high lighting fixtures, unintended indoor mercury contamination, malfunction of vital lighting and threat of injury from damaged bulbs are additionally lower with LED lighting and tubes.

Learn more about Led Lights, Led Lighting and Led Tube Lights.

PAR Lighting: LED is the clear winner

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The greatest things in life are free, however if it doesn’t come free the next greatest stuffs are those that will oblige us to spend lesser amount of finances and will sure to offer us long term monetary savings. This is what LED technology offers, large financial savings with uncompromised quality of service.

LED technology has made its method into leading the illumination system of the world, making the use of harmful incandescent bulb and CFLs into its road of being absolutely out moded. Incandescent bulbs are consuming high energy to give-off light. Tungsten in the filament is necessary to be heated with a very high temperature for it to output light. This temperature based tungsten is requiring a lot of electrical energy to be transformed to thermal energy then lastly to illumination energy, which definitely follows big power consumption. On the other hand, compact fluorescent lamps or CFLs,  in comparison to the incandescent bulbs, draws less energy to generate light. This implies that between the two, CFL is of the better option; on the other hand, the composition of CFL are threatening the environment caused by the hazards it could and will bring. CFLs are composed of mercury and lead to incite the electrons to permit emission of illumination. Though it has a longer life than the incandescent bulb, there is no other means for it to be recycled, so it must be disposed-off properly, but how? Even when it is buried underground, mercury and lead is still there. Because of the disadvantages of these prevailing lighting scheme, LED has made its very dependable answer in providing characteristic, cost-efficient and environmentally friendly lighting method. There are now a lot of functions where LED lighting has been proved to really claim those offers.

One of the many innovative enhancements of LED is the par 38 led lights. This development made use of a number of LED lights joined as one to emit the same brightness identical to its counterpart. The connected LED lights are enclosed in a special enclosure, PAR can, or parabolic aluminized reflector, to further enhance the quality and coverage of the illumination. These par 38 led lights have  a nominal diameter of 4.75 inches. The actual diameter can be calculated by dividing the numeral found on its name by 8. The quotient is in unit inches. These par 38 led lights can be installed simply since it perfectly fits in the fixture of the standard lights it substitutes.  Furthermore, there are lots of practical purposes where it has deemed famous due to its efficiency and reliability. PAR lights have a high usage in the field of entertainment illumination, exhibitions, mural walls, staircases, cabinet lights, home and office lighting method, floodlights, medical illumination, and many other more. Due to its big cost reduction characteristic, many are now moving from the traditional to the progressive LED lights regardless that at first cost it can be considered expensive.

Various research and innovation are still on its way to make LED lighting more efficient and inexpensive to majority of the consumers all around the world.

Can Home Owners Really Save an Average £500 Per Year on Utility Bills?

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Let us breakdown the task in to its elements so as to make it an achievable one. To save £500 a year on your utilities, you are required to save £1.50 or less a day; is it going to be easy?

Let’s see now by ripping open all and sundry opportunities how to obtain cheaper utility bills.

Scientifically, 780F temperature keeps us practically comfortable but we tend to relish cold in summer and set the air conditioner’s thermostat to 750F. This inflates our utility bill by a flat 18% per day through the summer . If you are not happy , try opening the window, running a ceiling fan or diving into your pool, just whatever that saves at least 13-15% of it. If you use the AC for 12-13 hours a day and 3-5 months a year that saves a lot. The up keep of your AC, and its filter in perfect condition is essential.

Same principle works with a heating system. For every 10F reduced on the heater, you will save a percentage on fuel costs per annum . Do not forget to turn it down every night before going to bed if it does not setback automatically.

Tips: Have your  house insulated literally everywhere; seal air leaks regardless of winter or summer, un-clutter the corners, reduce day heating to 680F, put off unnecessary lights outdoors and indoors, use lights just when necessary, install energy efficient CFL lamps. You might already be aware, these CFL lamps are wonderful things; they help save over 50% energy on lighting.  4-7 lamps on for 4 hours a day is a lot when calculated on annual consumption. Also topping your tank up with 2-3 days worth of fuel instead of all the way to the top, as in the summer months this can easily evaporate. 

The above  three elements contribute to saving the bulk of £500 for you and we are not done yet. We have refrigerator/freezer, dishwasher, dishwasher, launderer, water heater, oven and cooking stoves to mind.  Baring in mind that  most of these don’t just consume electric power but also enormous quantity of water and detergent which again cost a considerable amount of money if you ever took the time to calculate the overall expenses per year.

If this did not add up to £500, here is the best tip I saved for the last year; cut down on entertainment, TV/videos, develop interest in leisure activities like swimming, cycling or reading etc instead, and spend vacations nearby. Switch and combine all of your utility bills with the Utility Warehouse and that is the simplest way as all of the above is irrelevant due to the fantastic savings on offer.

Be imaginative, save more, and have more to spend on those luxuries in life.