Week 7: Energy-efficient Lighting
Artificial lighting:
Replacing your incandescent light bulbs with the EnergyStar rated compact fluorescent variety all over the house can save you $100 per year, according to the Partnership for Advancing Technology in Housing (PATH).
True, buying new bulbs does take an initial investment, but Compact Fluorescent light bulb is a simple way of making a big change at a low cost in the energy efficiency of your home. Most home improvement stores carry these bulbs, which use 70 percent less energy than regular bulbs and can save $30 or more in energy costs over each bulb’s lifetime.
Natural lighting:
By replacing your windows with ENERGY STAR® windows, you save on energy bills by helping to keep heat inside during the winter and outside during the summer. These windows may have two or more panes of glass, warm-edge spacers between the window panes, improved framing materials, and Low-E coating(s), microscopically thin metal or metallic oxide layers deposited on windows to reduce radiative heat flow.
In addition, changes like adding a skylight in the hallway will cut down on the need for daytime artificial lighting.
