solar powered security lighting

solar powered security lighting

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Make an impact to your energy costs with solar-powered garden lights

Homeowners and small business owners are taking action to lower costs and make their homes and offices more energy efficient. Lighting improvements can be one of the fastest ways to cut your energy bills, as technology changes in light bulbs and fixtures can reduce lighting energy usage in your home by >50%.

Use of energy efficient compact fluorescent lights (CFLs) in fixtures throughout your home provides highly efficient lighting. Lasting four to ten times longer, fluorescent lamps are much more efficient than incandescent (standard) bulbs. Today's energy efficient bulbs are brighter with comparable color rendition, as the standard incandescent lights. Costing a bit more than standard bulbs, energy efficient ones will more pay for themselves over their lifetime of use.

For ways to save money inside your home and for outdoor lighting, use these tips:

• Efficiency branding - when purchasing products, look for labeling such as ENERGY STAR (US Environmental Protection Agency or US EPA) or Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE); each country may vary. Be sure to use energy efficient bulbs wherever possible, inside and outside your home.

• Reduce consumption - when not in a room, turn off the lights and consider installation of lighting timers, photo cells, or occupancy sensor to reduce the amount of time your lights are on.

• Proper lighting - instead of lighting an entire room with bright lights, use appropriate task specific lighting. Use of three-way lamps makes it easier to you to keep lower lighting levels in your rooms.

Outdoor lighting for both security and decoration is used by many homeowners today. PV is the term used for photovoltaic and solar power is an even more common term used. Extremely useful in some areas of your yard, but sometimes dependent on your geographic region and weather conditions, they convert sunlight into electricity. For lighting areas without an existing power supply, PV or solar can be a great solution.

 

Although you can personally take action now, it's also important to understand the government support behind programs to phase out inefficient light bulbs. In the UK, government, retailers, and energy companies are all working together to phase out inefficient lighting concurrent with manufacturers changing out their equipment to produce enough energy saving light bulbs to meet the global demand.

Bulbs greater than 100W have been phased out in the UK; retailers stopped selling them in January 2009. Scheduled next are the standard shaped, usually called A-shaped bulbs. 60W A-shaped bulbs were no longer available in retail as of January 2010. In January 2011, you will no longer be able to purchase 40W A-shaped or 60W golf ball-shaped and candle shaped bulbs.

Although the earliest CFLs were bulky and oddly shaped, advanced engineering has produced energy-efficient bulbs offering classic shapes with excellent lighting. You can now buy a wide variety of fittings, shapes, and sizes and thanks to the invention of 'soft tone' bulbs; you can enjoy a warm glow rather than a cold light.

Depending on the length of daily use, one energy efficient light bulb could save you on average £2.50 a year. With a life expectancy of 10 times longer, than a standard bulb, you could save an estimated £40 before that one new bulb needs to be replaced.

As you assess your home energy use, you'll find that simple light changes not only save you money, but can be a very cost effective way to update, change the style of, or remodel your home. There are vast selections of lighting options to help you provide adequate ambient, task, or accent lighting both inside and outside of your home.

A popular choice for garden lighting and landscape lighting is the use of solar-powered garden lights to provide a well lit pathway or accent on plants and shrubs. Using solar-powered lights helps eliminate the need for complicated outdoor electrical wiring. Also, it provides a cheap way to light the area. You'll also find a number of low-energy floodlights to help provide added security for your home.

One of my favorite enhancements not only saved me money but provided the much needed task lighting I was looking for. Consider the use of kitchen cabinet lights which can be placed inside a much used cabinet or for task lighting underneath the cabinet to light your countertop. In most cases, this completely eliminates the need to turn the kitchen ceiling downlights on.

There are many ways you can improve on your home's energy efficiency. Do you part now to help make your home more energy efficient, replace your standard light bulbs with energy efficient ones and begin saving today….and don't be kept in the dark.

About the Author

Kathryn Dawson writes articles for Luma Lighting, a well established supplier in the UK providing an extensive range of modern indoor and garden lights at affordable prices. Browse through a huge selection of ceiling downlights for homes and office; LED, energy saving as well as halogen downlights. They also stock plenty of kitchen cabinet lights for all budgets and styles; they not only look good in your homes but also reduce your electricity bills dramatically.

Solar Security Lights