Go Green - Lighting

With energy costs on the rise, at Home Timber and Hardware we´re conscious more than ever on helping you save energy.

By looking at introducing energy efficient lighting in your home, you can start doing your little bitf.

Helpful Tips

Turn off all lights in unoccupied rooms
Turn outside lights off when you’re not using them
CFLs (Compact Fluorescent Lamps) or LEDs (Light Emitting Diodes), are a great replacements for incandescent or halogen globes especially when lighting is required for longer periods
Use the lowest wattage bulb required to meet the room’s lighting needs
Using timers and sensors for outdoor lights are a great option to automate lighting in evening hours.
Ensure you regularly dust your low energy light bulbs and fittings.
During daylight hours make the most of natural light by opening your curtains and blinds
Where possible allocate one switch per light rather than turning on multiple lights with one switch. Please ensure that they are installed by a licensed electrician.
Use two-way switching in rooms with two exits to ensure lights can be easily turned off when leaving the room. Please ensure that they are installed by a licensed electrician.

WHY SWITCH TO LOW ENERGY LIGHTING?

With energy efficient lighting you are able to purchase lighting that has reduced wattage but is able to maintain very similar light output. By introducing such a small change into your home you will be able to contribute towards building a better environment.

There are number of different energy efficient lighting options such as CFLs (Compact Fluorescent Lamps) and LED (Light Emitting Diodes), and whilst they cost more than the traditional incandescent globes, it’s the fact that they only consume 20% of the electricity compared to standard incandescent globes where the savings are so great. Another great feature to energy efficient lighting is they are designed to last much longer and whilst being more efficient.

More importantly, by moving towards to energy efficient lighting energy consumption reduces and assists in the reduction of greenhouse gas emission.

WHICH LIGHT IS WHICH?

Incandescent: Due to government regulations, as of November 2009, you are no longer able to purchase standard incandescent globes. Extremely inefficient.

Halogen: Commonly used light globes in Australia. Even though they are more efficient than incandescent globes, they require lower voltage however they are not energy efficient globes.

Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFLs): CFLs are fluorescent tubes bent into shape to fit a standard light fitting. They use around 20% of the power required by an incandescent bulb and will last an impressive 6-15 times longer.
Because CFLs are more efficient, they require a lower wattage globe for the same light output.

Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs): Welcome to the future, as LEDs are the next generation in lighting. They don’t generate heat, take no time to reach full brightness and contain no lead or mercury. When purchasing LEDs be sure they meet Eye Safe Standards.

LEDs are a great option when replacing halogen downlights. LEDs are also available in outdoor garden lights. Switch to LEDs and start saving

Solar lighting: Commonly used outdoors for gardens to light pathways. Being totally self-sufficient and requires only the energy from sunlight to convert into electrical energy, Solar is the ultimate ‘green’ option in lighting. Solar lights are designed to provide mood lighting.

For more information regarding energy efficient lighting options, be sure to visit your local Home Timber and Hardware who are always happy to help