Save Money with Green Lighting in Your Home

Lighting Options for your Home

In my last blog I said that heating and cooling expend the most energy in our homes.  Today, I’m going to talk about the next highest energy hog – lighting and appliances.

Lighting is essential in today’s society.  In poverty-stricken parts of the world, one of the projects that consistently makes the most difference to a community is the provision of reliable lighting.  Why?

Without electricity, the day effectively ends at sunset.   Imagine a child trying to study their homework by candlelight or kerosene lamp.  The light simply isn’t bright enough, plus all the fumes coming from candles and a fire for cooking and warmth, are not conducive to concentration.  Not to mention the fire hazard.  With good light, children tend to be better educated – and statistically those with some education are more likely to escape or minimise the effects of poverty.

(I’ve chosen to spend most of my adult life in various parts of Africa, and I have seen what a difference proper light can make.   I have also researched projects in rural India, and the effects are similar).

In developed countries, lights have revolutionized the way we live, work, and play. Some homes still use the traditional incandescent bulbs. These bulbs convert only about 10% of the electricity they use into light; the other 90% is converted into heat.

This makes them hugely inefficient – although the heat they generate is useful in winter, in summer you have to pay more to cool your house from your lighting!

Many countries including Canada, Cuba, Brazil, Venezuela, Australia, Argentina, Russia and Malaysia have all banned incandescent bulbs, as has Europe.  The US is not phasing them out, but instead setting minimum efficiency standards.

So, if ‘normal’ or incandescent light bulbs are inefficient, what should we use instead?

Option 1: CFLs

A fluorescent bulb produces less heat, so it is more efficient – in fact it is four to six times more efficient than an incandescent bulb.

Compact fluorescent bulbs, or CFLs, last much longer and use much less energy than incandescent bulbs.  They cost more to buy, but they will last longer.  The US Department of Energy does a comparison between CFL and incandescent costs and shows savings (in terms of energy costs and purchase costs) over the lifetime of a CFL bulb to be $105!

CFLs have some issues however:

• Switching your whole house and business over to CFLs at one time can be a heavy capital cost.  So switch over gradually – as bulbs fail, replace them with CFLs so the financial impact isn’t so overwhelming.
• Some CFLs don’t last as long as they say they will.  Like most products, there are reputable brands, and others.  Use your judgement, like you would with any other purchase.  Reputable brands have a guarantee (although I admit I don’t always keep my receipts).
• CFLs can’t be simply put in the bin when they’re used, because they contain a tiny amount of mercury, which could be dangerous.   You should place them in special recycling containers (without breaking them) – most hardware stores, supermarkets and municipal recycling centres have them.
• The light from CFLs is different from incandescents.  Some people don’t’ like it.  This is being overcome – CFLs now come in different whites, e.g. warm white, daylight, etc.
• The light from CFLs doesn’t travel as far as incandescent.  This has implications for high-level lighting – however, if it’s hard-to-reach, you’ll benefit from not having to change the bulbs as often.
• Some CFLs take a while to light up to full strength in cold weather.  Newer designs are overcoming this.
• CFLs are not necessarily dimmable, and don’t always come in different shapes (for chandeliers, etc).  Again, CFLs that can work in dimmers are more readily available now, and some new shapes are coming in, although currently not with the huge range we are used to with incandescents.

Option 2: LEDs

Another route to consider is that of LED (light-emitting diode) lights.   LED lighting for homes and buildings (also called SSL or Solid State Lighting) is evolving rapidly.   The better brands of LED give over 50,000 hours of light – that’s equivalent to 50 incandescent or 5 CFLs.

Although the purchase costs are high, the running costs are low and the long life of LEDs mean cost savings over its life.  LEDs are smaller and don’t break easily.  On the down side, LEDs are sensitive to variations in electrical current, and heat management needs to be considered.

Nonetheless, LEDs are eco-friendly because they don’t contain mercury, their long life means less material for landfills, and of course they use much less energy to run, thus saving on energy generation and carbon emissions.

Interesting History

Joseph Swan, a British physicist and chemist, demonstrated a working light bulb in 1879 – eight months ahead of Thomas Edison.  Swan’s home was the first house in the world to be lit by a lightbulb.

Edison then went on to commercial success with his incandescent light bulbs.

We’ve come a long way since then!

Related article:  the (other) 2nd-biggest energy hog in your home.

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