ENERGY EFFICIENT LIGHTING

GREEN TIPS
(Brought to you by the MdTL Green Committee)
Based on recommendations from a PG&E audit and because it’s better for the environment, MdTL has installed energy efficient lighting fixtures and bulbs and is monitoring its lighting usage and here’s why…
* By just turning off the lights when you leave a room you substantially reduce your electric bill.
More than 20% of the electricity generated in the U.S. is used for lighting alone. Approximately half of this energy is wasted lighting empty rooms or as heat produced by inefficient bulbs and lighting fixtures. One quarter of the United States annual electric bill, $34 billion, comes from lighting.
* Eco-Friendly Lighting is better for the environment; the environmental benefits of switching to compact fluorescent lights are substantial with just one bulb saving 500lbs in coal and over 1300 pounds of carbon dioxide and 20 pounds of sulfur dioxide!
By purchasing energy efficient lighting products, energy consumption is minimized. This will reduce the release of harmful emissions by polluting power plants. Efficient lamps generate equal or greater amount of light as traditional incandescent bulbs while consuming much less energy and generating much less cost.
* Compact fluorescents use about 65% less energy than standard incandescent light bulbs and last 10-20 times longer and contrary to popular opinion can be recycled at any Home Depot or Elephant Pharmacy.
A 100W incandescent bulb will cost approximately 75 cents to purchase and last 750 hours. To use a lamp with this bulb for 3 years you will go through 6 bulbs ($4.50 total) and spend about $35 in electricity. On the other hand, to use that same lamp with a compact fluorescent for 3 years you will spend $11 on a bulb that will last almost 7 years. Additionally, you will spend only $8.00 on electricity throughout the initial 3 years. That is a total operating cost of $19.00 for a CFL, compared to $39.50 for an incandescent bulb. So, for spending a little more on the initial bulb you can save more than $20 on each lamp.
The environmental benefits of switching to compact fluorescent lights are substantial.
Using a single 20-watt compact fluorescent bulb instead of a 75-watt incandescent bulb saves over 550 kWh of electricity over its lifetime. If your electricity is produced from burning coal, using a CFL would save 500 pounds of coal that would release 1,300 pounds of carbon dioxide and 20 pounds of sulfur dioxide, and a variety of other harmful pollutants
* Incandescent lights bulbs are the worst offenders
Incandescent light bulbs are the most familiar type of light bulb used in almost all homes. This type of lighting, unfortunately, is also the most inefficient type of lighting. In an incandescent light bulb, electric current heats up a metal filament making it glow white-hot and give off light. The reason these bulbs waste energy is because only 5% of the electricity is actually used to produce light. The remaining 95% ends up as heat. During the summer this heat causes your cooling requirements to go up and makes your air conditioner work harder. During the winter the extra heat might seem like a bonus, but it is a very expensive way to pay for a little extra heat.
Safely cleaning up CFLs: www.energystar.gov/ia/partners/promotions/change_light/downloads/Fact_Sheet_Mercury.pdf -
Sources: http://www.eco-lights.com, http://apps1.eere.energy.gov/consumer/your_home/lighting_daylighting/index.cfm/mytopic=12280
http://www.thedailygreen.com/going-green/tips/energy-conservation-turn-off-lights-460107 http://www.energyquest.ca.gov/saving_energy/index.html