According to the state Department of Environmental Services, it takes approximately 394 pounds of coal to keep a single 100-watt incandescent light bulb burning for 12 hours each day for one year.
If every home in America replaced just one incandescent lightbulb with an Energy Star qualified CFL, or compact fluorescent light, in one year it would save enough energy to light more than 3 million homes and prevent greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to those of more than 800,000 cars. Compact fluorescent lights use 75 percent less electricity than regular bulbs and last up to 10 times longer. Consider switching one or more of your incandescent bulbs to CFLs, at the very least just so you can feel proud that you did your part.
• Turn off lights when you leave a room or when they aren’t needed. According to a 2007 Smart Power research project, a single 60-watt bulb left on for one hour a day will consume more than $4 worth of electricity and emit an extra 43 pounds of carbon dioxide. Two bulbs left on for two hours consume almost $18 in electricity and add more than 170 pounds of carbon dioxide to the air. According to the study: “In terms of greenhouse gases, that’s more than burning through 3 propane cylinders with your home barbeque.”
• Use task lighting directed at a specific area instead of overhead lighting or general lighting.
• Turn off unnecessary lights. Most of the energy used (about 90 percent in incandescent lights) is given off as heat.
• Keep windows clean to let in more natural lighting, and keep bulbs and lighting fixtures clean for maximum efficiency.
• Use photovoltaic modules for outdoor lighting.
• Use “shielded” lighting for outdoor lighting.