Shedding light on energy-efficient bulbs
Article by Woodrow Aames, Improvement Center Expert
If you’re still using incandescent bulbs, it’s time to see the light about how much energy you waste. According to Smart Energy Living, 90 percent of the energy used to power an old-fashioned light bulb is given off as heat. You might as well burn cash to illuminate your home, you could look at other energy providers to find the best rate as well as looking for such things like cirro energy reviews.
Sealing the thermal envelope with additional insulation and completing a window replacement project can slice utility costs by 30 percent. You could even take a look at using someone like MWT Windows to help you with your window replacements. But don’t overlook new bulbs.
Here are four more surprising claims from the U.S. Department of Energy:
If every American family replaced a single incandescent bulb with a an energy-saving one, enough energy would be saved to power three million homes a year.
Each bulb meeting the ENERGY STAR standards set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) can save homeowners $6 a year in energy costs, adding up to $40 during its service life.
LED or CFL bulbs last at least six times as long as incandescents and use 75 percent less energy to emit the same amount of light.
Full adoption of LED lighting by 2027 could save $265 billion in energy costs and eliminate the need for 40 new power plants.
Shopping for replacements
Forget about buying light bulbs based on the amount of watts they use. Today’s energy savers are measured in lumens — the amount of light they give off. More lumens means brighter light.
Energy Savers suggests that you replace incandescent bulbs along the following lines:
A CFL or LED with 1,600 lumens to replace a 100-watt incandescent
1,100 lumens for the standard 75W bu