With the cooler weather and shorter days approaching, you will naturally find yourself using your lights more. There are two main reasons for this. The first is that the days are getting shorter, giving you less daylight hours to work and play. Daylight savings may help a little bit with this, unless you tend to work in the mornings, like I do.
The second is that during the cooler weather, you’ll probably find yourself staying indoors more often than not, and this needing more light.
Putting a good plan together now will save you money on your lighting costs this season.
You have heard of LED and CFL light bulbs, right? These bulbs are more expensive than the standard incandescent bulbs (which will be completely phased out in the near future), but they do save money on your overall lighting costs because they save on energy.
To reduce the cost of the bulbs themselves, you’ll have to shop around, both for store promotions and power company promotions. Through the former, I got enough free bulbs to supply my entire household.
Another great way to save on lighting costs is to install a dimmer switch or even several dimmer switches. Believe it or not, this can save you hundreds of dollars a year on electricity costs. Make sure that you look for special light bulbs that can be used with a dimmer switch. With the exception of incandescent bulbs, you’ll get better results that way.
Finally, save on your lighting costs by remembering to turn off your lights when they are not in use. If you have high traffic areas where lights frequently get left on, consider installing motion detectors or timers on these lights. If you don’t want to go to that length to save on your lighting costs, simply hang signs near switches and change them out to different ones with different colors, so they continue to catch everyone’s eye.
Neighborhood Sharing is Frugal
What to Buy for Your Home in October