As promised, here are more tips for keeing your apartment energy efficient this winter. These lighting ideas are simple enough that anyone can do them!
Lighting:
- This tip is one I enforce a great deal-whenever you leave a room turn off the lights! Even if it’s for a short while and you are going right back. Over time this tip can really save you power (i.e. money)!!
- Obviously, use natural light as much as you can rather than turning on a light.
- Something interesting to note (and something I’m definitely going to check when I get home) is dirty windows let in less light, so do dirty light bulbs, fixtures and shades. So clean them up!
- Another item that is interesting, but may not apply until the next time you need them, is purchasing light colored furnishings, curtains and rugs rather than dark ones. This is because they will reflect light better therefore reducing the amount of artificial light needed.
- As I’ve mentioned in our previous blog “Water & Energy Saving Tips,” replace incandescent lights with fluorescent lights in fixtures you leave on for long periods of time. (i.e. kitchens, bathrooms, porches etc.)
- Consider getting dimmers or timers for your lights. Dimmers save energy by reducing the amount of energy needed to light a space, and timers are much more energy efficient than leaving your lights on all day (especially when you’re out of town).
Last month alone I saved $20 by incorporating a few habits mentioned in Part I & Part II ‘Make Your Apartment Energy-Efficient this Winter’ in my household. Can you imagine the savings annually? For more great tips, stay tuned for our Part III. A breif snip-bit: how to go energy efficient with appliances (and no, it doesn’t include you purchasing new ones)!!
Posted: November 17, 2008