Did you know that home lighting can easily account for up to 20 per cent of a household’s energy use here in Australia?
This percentage rises in homes with more family members. We know, ten per cent may not seem much, but that figure can mean big bucks when you look at your annual energy expenses. You might just be surprised.
Besides, with such an easy way to solve it (using LED light bulbs), it seems a tiny bit silly not to take advantage. Every little helps, right? Here are some tips on how to reduce your energy consumption.
Take Advantage of the Natural Light
Despite the advances the lighting industry has made in artificial lighting, nothing still beats natural light. This means making the most of your windows.
Everything seems to look better under natural sunlight, and it’s one of the best ways to make your house more energy efficient. Better yet, it’s free.
If you find yourself using your light bulbs even during the day, you have some re-evaluating to do. If you can afford to, consider having a skylight to light up your home during the day. You can also position your windows to provide illumination to your home—a single window can provide as much light as a dozen daylight light bulbs.
You don’t need to have drastic remodelling work done to your home to do this. Instead, work with what you have. You can start by rearranging furniture pieces in your home’s rooms—how about moving your reading chair closer to a window? You can also paint the walls of your home a lighter shade to aid in the reflecting of light deeper into your home.
Have you got furniture blocking sunlight from seeping in? Check around your room.
Use Task Lighting
Task lighting refers to lighting for specific tasks. For example, a reading light, or cooking lights.
You can reduce your home’s electricity usage by using task lighting more instead of background lights (lights that illuminate the entire room). This is due to the fact that they are usually smaller, and there's fewer of them. You might just need one lamp in your study, rather than 3 big overhead lights.
To have a task lighting scheme in your home, install recessed lights to light up parts of your home like your desk, kitchen table, bathroom mirror, and more. It'll also make the tasks easier to perform.
Switch to LEDs
Our favourite, and arguably the most obvious point. LEDs are by far the most energy-efficient lighting solutions on the market today. They’re vastly efficient compared to incandescent bulbs, using just 10 per cent of their energy to generate the same intensity of light.
The upfront cost might be a tiny bit more, but the money you save with LED light bulbs makes up for it completely.
We would happily say that LED bulbs are your safest bet, especially for those who are attempting to live a more efficient lifestyle. Of course, evolving in other areas too is great.