It is paramount that we consider energy efficient alternatives to many of the things we have take for granted overtime. Light Bulbs are a perfect example of an indispensable resource in our lives that rarely garner any consideration as to their effect on climate change and global warming. Until recently, the utility that light bulbs have provided in our lives have made them immune to the thought of change. According to several experts in the field of alternative energy research, they have estimated that electric lighting consumes up to 25% of the average home energy budget.

Over the lifetime of a single incandescent bulb costs 5 to 10 times the original purchase price of the bulb itself translating into lighting not only being a significant cost but also a significant detriment to our environment

Lighting alternatives are coming of age:

Compact Fluorescent Lights (CFL) and Light Emitting Diode (LED) bulbs have revolutionized energy-efficient lighting.

CFLs are smaller versions of the massive industrial light bulbs that we used to see in school; the are basically miniature versions of full-sized fluorescents. They are inserted into standard light sockets, and emit light that is just as vibrant as the common incandescent bulbs; at a fraction of the energy usage with a much longer useful life.

LEDs lights are small, solid light bulbs which are efficient and are now available to the mass market with a reduced price point. As stated above home lighting is an area where we can really make a difference as far as energy conservation goes.  Technological advances give us options to make our lighting more energy efficient and much more cost-effective as well.

Additionally, there are other lighting technologies that allow for lessened energy usage:

We’ll start with dimmer switches.  Now these handy guys have been around for a while, I’m guessing since the sixties or seventies.  I remember the early ones as round knobs you pushed to turn the light on or off and then simply twisted the knob to attain your desired brightitude.  Newer incarnations of the dimmer include the slide dimmer, where a sliding knob is next to a standard light switch, and the touch dimmer, which provides three or four brightness settings adjustable by simply tapping or touching the base of the lamp.

Motion sensors and timers.  Like dimmer switches, these have been around for a while as well, and are a wonderfully simple way to reduce energy consumption.  Plain and simply, sensors and timers limit the amount of time your lights are on, thus saving energy and money.  Timers are ideal for outdoor use, as they can be set to turn on lights after sunset and turn them off later at night or at sunrise.  Motion sensors have been long been a staple for porch and patio lights, both to welcome visitors and to dissuade would-be burglars.  Recently, they have been popping up in more and more office buildings and public restrooms as an easy way to limit the amount of time empty rooms stay lit.

Another way to achieve more energy efficient lighting is to replace older and outdated light fixtures with Energy Star qualified lights and to replace your incandescent bulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs.  An Energy Star light fixture used in conjunction with a compact fluorescent can be as much as 70 percent more energy efficient than an older fixture with a standard incandescent bulb.  The incandescent light bulb is one of the biggest energy wasters we have in this country, and it is also one of the easiest to change.

Article Source: http://www.lightbulbs.org