Not Turning Off A Light or Changing to a More Efficient Light Bulb Could Be Costing You a New Toy or More!

What's Up?

Did you know that lighting makes up approximately 10% of total home energy costs?  If you take small steps each day to use less energy the savings both monetarily and environmentally can really add up.

Idea

Set a goal for how much money you would like to save.  With your parent(s) help, understand how much you spend each month on electricity to determine a starting point to calculate your savings.  Review the energy saving tips and then implement some of them.  Each month when the bill comes, calculate how much you saved.  Put those savings into a virtual or literal piggy bank.  Set goals and reward yourself when you save enough to buy the item you want.

Savings Example

While CFL light bulbs are initially more expensive to purchase ($5 vs. 50 cents), they last approximately 10 times longer than regular bulbs.   Depending on the state you live in, the lifetime savings of one CFL vs. Incandescent bulb is between $30 to $60 dollars.

An average household has approximately 45 light bulbs.  If you replaced them with 75 watt CFL equivalents, you could save over $180 a year on lighting costs.

How Does It Help?

In addition to their cost-saving benefits, the use of CFL light bulbs help the environment.  Each CFL prevents more than 450 pounds of greenhouse gas emissions over its lifetime.  That is equal to 210 pounds of coal not being burned.

The Department of Energy states that if every American home replaced just one light bulb with an Energy Star qualified bulb, we could save enough energy to light more than 3 million homes for a year, more than $600 million in annual energy costs, and prevent greenhouse gases equivalent to the emissions of more than 800,000 cars.

Parent(s)

Your child will need help with this project.  Please get involved so that they can build a better understanding of energy savings.

Safety Tips

CFL light bulbs contain a small amount of mercury.  When they burn out do not put them into the trash.  Recycle them at an approved location.  Currently Home Depot is taking used CFL bulbs.  Also Earth 911 is an excellent source to locate recycling centers.

If a CFL bulb breaks, put the pieces in a sealed container, and dispose of them separately.  Do not let anyone in your household touch the mercury.

Did You Know?

The amount of electrical energy used to light a 100 watt incandescent bulb for 10 hours would be enough to run a TV for 7 hours.

Energy Saving Tips

There are two ways to save: Energy Conservation and Energy Efficiency. Conservation focuses on using less energy.  Efficiency means using less energy while getting more service from your equipment.

Energy Conservation

  1. Turn out the lights when you are not in the room.
  2. Utilize task lighting versus room lighting.  This will help reduce overall lighting use.
  3. A by product of using a CFL is that CFL's produce 75% less heat which can reduce home cooling costs.
  4. Utilize outdoor solar lighting or motion detector lighting.
  5. Use daylight to light a room versus turning on a light.

Energy Efficiency

  1. Use CFL bulbs.  CFL bulbs give the same amount of light using less energy.
  2. Keep lights and fixtures clean.  This can improve efficiency up to 20%.