Three ways to significantly reduce the amount of electricity spent on lights:

1. Switch off lights when not in use

2. Use day/night sensors

3. Use energy saving bulbs

Leaving lights on unnecessarily wastes a huge amount of electricity. Get into the habit of switching off the lights as you leave a room. Day/night sensors are also great as they automatically switch off all outside lights when the ambient light becomes bright enough.

The third thing you can do is convert to low energy bulbs where ever practical. We’ve all heard this before, but do we realise just how much of a difference it could make?

The Power Saving website explains the difference between incandescent and fluorescent lighting well. Standard incandescent globes are the preferred source of light in most homes as the light appears natural. They require 40-100W of power to operate. Avoid halogen lighting as it is the most power hungry form of incandescent lighting and the bulbs can have power ratings of 300-500W!

In contrast, fluorescent bulbs only use 8-40W of power and also last about six times longer than normal incandescent bulbs! Use these energy saving bulbs wherever possible. They provide adequate lighting except for illuminating some coloured objects as they do not emit light evenly at all frequencies across the visible spectrum the way incandescent lights do. Low energy bulbs will also make it practical to use battery power as an alternative power source during power failures (incandescent bulbs use up the battery capacity six times faster).