Reducing your lighting bill is one of the easiest ways to save money, as lighting can account for up to 8% [1] of the average household’s monthly bill, and an even larger percentage of a small business’ electricity consumption. There are several ways to reduce your lighting bill, such as by replacing any inefficient traditional bulbs with newer energy efficient ones, or by simply making some small changes to your current lifestyle, for example turning off light switches when leaving a room.

Bulbs

Energy saving lightbulbs have often been seen as taking too long to warm up, not being bright enough, or as costing too much. However, over the past few years there have been tremendous developments, with newer models matching the colour and ‘warmth’ of traditional incandescent bulbs, appearing in a large range of sizes and styles, and with an energy payback of 15 months or less [2]. These new bulbs have a lower wattage than traditional bulbs, so use less energy. An 100W traditional bulb provides the same light as a 25W efficient bulb [3], but since the wattage is much lower, your electricity consumption is also lower.

• Compact fluorescents (CFLs) are widely available and provide a number of advantages over a traditional bulb, such as emitting less heat, and using a fraction of the energy. CFLs now typically take less than a minute to reach 95% of their full light output with virtually no flickering [4], and are now designed to be the same size, or even smaller, than traditional bulbs. By replacing a traditional bulb with a CFL you can make savings of around £3 a year, or an overall saving of £50 over the lifetime of the bulb [5].
• LEDs (light emitting diodes) are even more efficient than CFLs, and save more money in the long term, though have a higher upfront cost. LEDs do not need time to warm up and are instantly at their full brightness, with no flickering. By replacing a halogen bulb with an LED you can save £4 a year, and up to £140 over the lifetime of the bulb [6].

Energy Saving Warehouse has a wide range of energy saving light bulbs that can help you save on your electricity consumption.

Using Less Lighting

Energy savings bulbs can save you both energy and money, and combined with some simple energy savings strategies, you can reduce both even further!

• Use natural light as much as possible. Position desks and other areas which require good lighting close to windows and keep windows clean.
• Dust can diminish the effectiveness of lighting, so keep fixtures clean and dust-free.
• Turn off lights when leaving a room. Keeping a light on consumes more energy than turning it off and then back on again when you enter a room, even if you only leave for a second.
• Install movement activated sensors in areas which are less frequently used, such as toilets, as this can save you up to 30% on lighting costs [7].
• Install dimming controls, which allow you to adjust light levels in response to incoming daylight or to the lighting needs of your chosen task.
• When appropriate, use task lighting rather than lighting a large area. If only one desk in an office is occupied then using a suitable lamp can reduce the need to light a whole room.

For more simple and easy energy saving tips like these have a look around the website.

References

[1] Energy Saving Trust Scotland. Lighting. 2013. http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/scotland/Electricity/Lighting

[2] Vaughn, A. 2012. ‘LED lightbulbs can save you hundreds in energy bills.’ The Guardian, June 8. http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/jun/08/led-lightbulbs-save-energy-bills

[3] Centre for Sustainable Energy. Lighting: The low-energy bulb revolution. 2012. http://www.cse.org.uk/downloads/file/advice_leaflet_lighting.pdf

[4] LightBulbs Direct. Energy Saving. 2012. http://www.lightbulbs-direct.com/article/energy-saving/#

[5] Energy Saving Trust Scotland. Lighting. 2013. http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/scotland/Electricity/Lighting

[6] Ibid.

[7] Resource Efficient Scotland. Reduce your lighting bill. 2013. http://www.resourceefficientscotland.com/content/key-task/reduce-your-lighting-bill