General Lighting
- Replace your high-use incandescent light bulbs with ENERGY STAR qualified compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs). They use up to 75 % less electricity and last up to 10 times longer.
- Whenever you leave a room, get into the habit of turning off the lights.
- Disposal of CFLs: CFLs contain small amounts of mercury. We encourage you to dispose of your used bulbs in an environmentally friendly manner. Please contact your local municipality for proper disposal.
- Motion sensors are ideal for rooms where you may forget to turn off the lights.
- Use area or task lighting instead of full, overhead lights. For task lighting consider light emitting diodes (LEDs). They provide focused lighting, making them a great choice for tasks such as reading lights, desk lamps, night lights, spotlights, security lights, signage lighting etc.
- The light will be bright where you point it.
- LEDs are long-lasting, durable and cool.
- LEDs can reduce energy consumption. They use a fraction of the wattage of incandescent bulbs.
- Maximize the amount of natural daylight.
- Nightlights will give you the light you need in hallways but remember to turn them off in the morning. Consider purchasing a night light with a daylight sensor so it will turn off automatically.
- For those lights that are on all night, use the lowest wattage bulbs possible.
- Make a point of keeping your light fixtures clean for maximum light.
- Install dimmer switches and use dimmable CFLs. Check the packaging for compatibility.
- Install programmable timers or motion sensors on interior and exterior lights.
- Use solar-powered lights for outdoor lighting.
- Upgrade fluorescent T12 fixtures with the newer T8 (T8 tubes are 1 inch in diameter) fluorescent tube fixture that uses an electronic ballast, and has many advantages over the T12 fixture and magnetic ballasts. They use 35 % less electricity; maintain their light level much better (only 8 % lifetime light reduction instead of 40 % ; are quieter. The electronic ballast does not ‘hum’ like a magnetic ballast; lights up much more quickly. The ballast does not have to warm up like a magnetic ballast.
- Remember the Canadian government has pledged to phase out inefficient incandescent bulbs by 2012.
Decorative Lighting
- Light emitting diodes (LED) lights use up to 90% less electricity and last 10 times longer than old incandescent lights.
- Use ENERGY STAR qualified seasonal light-emitting diodes (SLEDS) light strings.
- Solar-powered seasonal (SLEDS) use improved solar technology and require only a little sunlight to recharge, even recharging on cloudy days.
- Replacing your old holiday incandescent lights with LED lights can bring holiday cheer to your electricity bill. They use up to 90 % less electricity. Look for ENERGY STAR qualified light strings.
- Last 10 times longer.
- Are far more durable with no glass bulbs to break or replace.
Cool to the touch because they produce almost no heat – they give you peace of mind when using indoors.
Exterior Lighting
- The outdoor porch lamp is one of the most used light fixtures in any home, making it the perfect place to install highly efficient ENERGY STAR qualified lighting products.
- Many compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) will fit easily into existing porch lights. Be sure to use bulbs approved for use outdoors.
- ENERGY STAR qualified lighting fixtures are bright and warm but use about 75% less electricity than standard lighting and last up to 10 times longer.
- Whether welcoming visitors, searching for your keys or ensuring safety, motion sensors are an electricity-saving option for lighting your way, because they only operate when they detect movement.
- Consider photocell timers, which react to sunlight.