We all know that energy-efficient lighting provides some sort of savings over non-energy-efficient lighting, but it is often difficult to discover just how much savings one actually gets from it.
In this article, I will discuss just how much savings you should expect from your energy-efficient lighting.
First, we need a little theory.
Energy efficiency refers to how much energy per unit it costs to do something.
In lighting, the unit in question is called a "lumens," a measure of brightness.
Since electricity is measured in watts, the amount of efficiency an energy-efficient bulb gets is measured in "lumens per watt.
".
If one bulb gets twice as many lumens per watt as another bulb, it will use half of the energy to do the same job.
So, all that said, what is the efficiency of the various types of light bulbs? Traditional incandescent bulbs get only 15 lumens per watt, while halogen bulbs get about 20 lumens per watt.
This is not very efficient.
On the other hand, fluorescent light bulbs get about 75 lumens per watt, about five times the efficiency of incandescent light bulbs and almost four times the efficiency of halogen.
What about LEDs? Currently, LEDs are a little more efficient than incandescent light bulbs, giving about 80 lumens per watt.
However, because they are based on semi-conductor technology that is rapidly improving at about the same rate as computer processing, you should expect this number to increase soon.
For now, though, let's just clock them in at 80 lumens per watt.
So, if you are using incandescent light bulbs, you will cut your costs by 80% by using fluorescent light bulbs instead, and by 81% by using LEDs.
That's quite a savings over traditional forms of lighting.
So, if $50 of your monthly bill had gone to lighting, expect it to only cost about $10.
So far, I have only spoken about bulbs, but there is another important form of energy-efficient lighting: solar lighting.
Solar lighting will reduce your energy bills by 100% for those fixtures, because the energy from the sun is completely free.
There is some bad news, however.
These savings are not on your entire electrical bill, but only on the part of the bill that covers lighting.
For most households, the amount of the electricity bill that covers lighting is only about 10%-15%.
So, all of these very large savings only apply to a small portion of your electricity bill.
Nonetheless, an 8%-12% savings on electricity bills would be of great benefit to most households.
In this article, I will discuss just how much savings you should expect from your energy-efficient lighting.
First, we need a little theory.
Energy efficiency refers to how much energy per unit it costs to do something.
In lighting, the unit in question is called a "lumens," a measure of brightness.
Since electricity is measured in watts, the amount of efficiency an energy-efficient bulb gets is measured in "lumens per watt.
".
If one bulb gets twice as many lumens per watt as another bulb, it will use half of the energy to do the same job.
So, all that said, what is the efficiency of the various types of light bulbs? Traditional incandescent bulbs get only 15 lumens per watt, while halogen bulbs get about 20 lumens per watt.
This is not very efficient.
On the other hand, fluorescent light bulbs get about 75 lumens per watt, about five times the efficiency of incandescent light bulbs and almost four times the efficiency of halogen.
What about LEDs? Currently, LEDs are a little more efficient than incandescent light bulbs, giving about 80 lumens per watt.
However, because they are based on semi-conductor technology that is rapidly improving at about the same rate as computer processing, you should expect this number to increase soon.
For now, though, let's just clock them in at 80 lumens per watt.
So, if you are using incandescent light bulbs, you will cut your costs by 80% by using fluorescent light bulbs instead, and by 81% by using LEDs.
That's quite a savings over traditional forms of lighting.
So, if $50 of your monthly bill had gone to lighting, expect it to only cost about $10.
So far, I have only spoken about bulbs, but there is another important form of energy-efficient lighting: solar lighting.
Solar lighting will reduce your energy bills by 100% for those fixtures, because the energy from the sun is completely free.
There is some bad news, however.
These savings are not on your entire electrical bill, but only on the part of the bill that covers lighting.
For most households, the amount of the electricity bill that covers lighting is only about 10%-15%.
So, all of these very large savings only apply to a small portion of your electricity bill.
Nonetheless, an 8%-12% savings on electricity bills would be of great benefit to most households.
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