While we might not pay much attention to our monthly electricity bills to figure out what makes up the major part of the bill , it is suprising to see that lighting might make up for as much as 10- 15 per cent of the total bill of the domestic energy cost . However , if careful measures are taken timely then this part of your expenditure and energy output can be easily sliced down considerably . The basic step for kicking start with this is by opening your hose for natural free of cost and highly efficient source of light , that is , sunlight . Sunlight is not only an excellent source of light for lightening up your house during the time but also is an eco friendly and renewable source of energy . It has zero residue formation and dont have any production and manufacturing cost involved . Moreover , the sunlight also works as an disinfectant by killing off all the germ particles and bacteria present indoors thanks to the uv rays that are emitted by the sun . Alo , it helps in keeping home warm and comfortable naturally .
TIPS FOR NATURALLY LIGHING UP THE INDOORS OF THE HOUSE
It is always advisable to paint the walls of the rooms in pale colours to reflect more of the natural light and use reflecting mirrors in the darker rooms to serve this purpose . If your house is darker inside , then think over the idea of installing big and large windows , like the frech windows . Always keep in mind to make windows longer and taller and than making them wider so as to let in more of the sunlight than it usually does so . On warm sunny days that are moderately hot open up all the windows and curtains to let in more of sunlight . If you are planning to buy a new house then make sure that the kitchen , study room and bedrooms receives good amount of natural light .
Opt for installing sky lights in darker corners of the house like the hallway , staircase etc. to minimise the flow of heat . A cheaper alternative to a skylight is a sky tube or a solar tube . It concentrates and reflect natural light through a diffuser into the room below . The light generated is equivalent to a 100 watt bulb . This can be fitted with an exhaust fan or a sky light for night use . Clean all the light fittings , shades as well as the reflectors at regular time periods to prevent dust and dirt build up on them which are known to reduce efficiency of the fittings by 50 per cent . Whatever kind of light you use , select the lowest acceptable wattage to reduce / minimise the energy use . Gradually and slowly replace your 100 wattage bulbs and regular tube lights with20 – 30 watt CFLs ( compact fluorescent bulbs ) . They last much longer, almost 10 times longer than a conventional light and pay themselves at least twice again during the rest of their lifetime .
KIND OF LIGHTING
Choosing the right light for each location is very crucial . An efficient , proper and appropriate light will not only increase your comfort , but at the same time will also save energy and reduce long term costs . Now a days a wide range of lighting options are available to us to choose from based on our eqirements , i.e. , the type of lighting required , budget , efficiency , usage and enviroment friendliness . The conventional bulbs are rather insufficient as a large chunk of the electricity consumed by them is converted to heat energy instead of light energy . Though they are less expensive but still they need to be replaced regularly . These bulbs should be installed at places where instant lighning is required for short interval of time and is not in 24 hour usage , like bathrooms and toilets .
Halogen lamps should be installed at places where you want to draw attention to like at a painting or work area . The light emiited by these lamps is bright light that resembles the natural light . They don’t come easy on your pockets as they are rather expensive but lasts as long as twice the regular bulb . Be sure before you installhalogen lamps as they produce hard -edged spotlights instead of ambident light so , it will take seven such lamps to light a area as a single incandescent bulb . Also , low – voltage halogen downlight require need transformers as thus , you’ll need to install em in your roof cavity . If your home has a concreate slab ceiling , your only available halogen option is he 240 voltage variety . This variety don’t need transformers but the bulbs are highly expensive , even more than the low voltage variety .
SMART WAYS OF LIGHTING
Mre the wattage of bulb , more will be the power consumption , so , select the bulbs with ther lowest possible wattage . Turn of the lights before leaving the room . Try to use low wattage light for general room lighting , saving mkore powerful lights for where you need to do more work . Use timers and heat and light sensors to control outside lights . Keep low wattage light closer to where it is required then keeping a stronger light away . Mke sure that your light fittings do not obsecure way of light making it insufficient . Solar powered garden lights can be an ideal solution for gental night lighting of garden paths and dirveways which as in would be difficult to connect with house lighting system . Their operational cost is negligible as they soak up the sun’s power during the day though a panel and store it in a battery that powers the light at night . Use dimmer switches to reduce the energy usage . They can be attached to all the incandecent light fittings , though you will require transformers for low wattage halogaen lamps . They do not work with fluorescent lamps / bulbs . Avoid lights with multiple bulbs as they are n ot that efficient . In this case six 25 wattage bulbs are required to match up the output of one 100 wattage bulb .
LED VS. CFL
LED bulbs or lights have higher efficiency for converting power in to brightness. High efficiency CFLs are also available, but they cost very high. You can replace CFL bulb with LED of half power. It will save 50% of your electricity bill over CFL . Although they are only gaining popularity now as a real alternative to CFLs, LED lights have actually been around for decades, it is only with a reduction in cost that people are now buying them . CFLs differ from older fluorescent tubes which have two metal caps at each end. Inside the coiled glass tube is a mixture of argon (a inflammable gas) and mercury (a type of metal). The inside of the coiled glass is coated with phosphorous powder. When electricity is passed through the metal fitting it travels along a piece of tungsten metal.
so , we can say that LED is a much better option .
