Eco-Friendly Lighting for Your Home

There are plenty of new forms of lighting available which work well and are environmentally friendly such as LED, solar and CFL lights. When you use these eco-friendly lights in your home and garden area, you can save money and help the planet at the same time. Additionally, you can use certain appliances, such as light timers, motion and heat sensors or other automatic equipment which allows you to be in control of your home's lighting, while lessening your monthly electric bills and greenhouse gas emissions to the environment. In other words, if you want to benefit your wallet and the planet, look seriously at eco-friendly lighting options.

Outdoor Lighting

Solar panel lighting for outdoor use can be incredibly useful; you can find many different types of solar lighting, including individual lights which can be placed along a sidewalk to help you see at nighttime. Solar lights can give you soft illumination for your backyard, garage or garden, and will only add to the appearance of your home. You need no electric connection to install solar lights, therefore there will be no messy wires going from your home to the outdoors. Other options include LED lights which use lower amounts of energy and can withstand the outdoor elements, while CFL's will need to be encased when used outdoors, however both of these types of outdoor lights require electrical connections.

Choosing Light Bulbs

For inside use, compact fluorescent light bulbs are famous for using a deficient amount of energy on a daily basis as well as being great for the environment. Something as relatively easy as changing to compact fluorescents can significantly reduce the amount of energy you use monthly. These types of light bulbs also last for a much longer time than normal light bulbs, saving you money in the future. Eco-friendly light bulbs don't pollute our planet by sending out harmful carbon or gases, and are safe to use around animals and children. Eco-friendly lights also need smaller amounts of maintenance and upkeep-they are essentially ready to go once installed until you decide to change them. Compact fluorescent light bulbs are slightly more expensive than regular incandescent light bulbs, but their lower energy use will pay for itself in short order. Halogen lights are not given nearly as much attention; while not as energy-efficient as the CFL, they do use about 30 percent less energy than a regular incandescent bulb.

Energy Star Fixtures

In addition to changing out the light bulbs in your home, and adding solar lights to your outdoors, consider fixtures and ceiling fans which have earned the Energy Star label. Fixtures which have been Energy Star certified meet strict energy efficiency guidelines set by the EPA and the US Department of Energy. Energy Star qualified lighting can be stylish and elegant while offering energy-efficient lighting solutions for any room in your home. Energy Star lighting fixtures general use pin-based light bulbs, meaning they do not screw into the socket, are brighter and have a longer lamp life. For instance, the pin-based light bulbs which come with Sea Gull Lighting fixtures are tested to last for 10,000 hours, compared to 6,000 hours for screw-in light bulbs. Purchasing something as simple as an Energy Star labeled light fixture, and replacing all the regular light bulbs in your home can give you a deep sense of satisfaction in knowing you are helping protect our environment while saving money at the same time.