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Energy EfficiencyOperating your outdoor lights most likely costs more per year that it did to buy and install them. Keep these recommendations in mind to save energy and money. Use a bulb of the appropriate wattage -- Don't use a 150-watt bulb if a 75-watt bulb would do the job. The 75-watt bulb uses half the electricity, thus costs half as much to operate. Try bulbs of different wattages in your lights to see which provides sufficient, but not too much, illumination. Use a motion sensor control on your light -- Your lights will come on automatically when someone enters the area, alerting you and your neighbors to their presence. Furthermore, because lights will be on only when you need them, you use very little electricity.
Use fluorescent PAR-style bulbs rather than incandescent bulbs -- A 23-watt fluorescent bulb puts out as much light as a 90-watt incandescent but uses less than a third of the electricity! Unfortunately, many of the new fluorescent PAR bulbs can't be used with motion detectors. Ultimately, you will probably use less electricity by adding a motion sensor control to your incandescent PAR fixture. But, if you need an always-on light, check out the new fluorescent PAR-style bulbs. |
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