Clear Home Lighting

The thought of using our natural resources in a responsible way is becoming a reality. It is no longer acceptable to abuse, waste, and destroy our natural resources. The planet is letting us know it is time to change.

One way we are setting this new eco-friendly mentality in motion is by using habitat lighting that turns on and off when it detects motion. Motion sensor lights may not only be a wise choice for exterior lighting; they may be a good choice for interior rooms, especially for rooms that are not used often.

Motion sensor lights automatically turn on the lights when they detect motion. They can be used in a basement, garage, stairwell, attic, porch, bathroom, laundry room, or any other room. Once the person leaves the room the lights are designed to turn off automatically. Motion sensor lighting systems ensure that lights are turned off efficiently, which makes them green, especially when high energy efficient compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs are used.

Indeed, even old electricity-sucking outdoor lighting is being replaced with more energy efficient and green motion sensor outdoor lighting alternatives. One such example of outdoor motion sensor lighting is the sensor lighting camera. Moreover, one design of the sensor lighting camera is designed to use solar power.

An excellent way to reduce energy consumption and CO2 emissions is to install LED motion sensor lights indoors as well as outdoors. According to the International Energy Agency one dollar invested in more efficient electrical equipment avoids a two dollar investment in electricity supply. Recent studies show that 12.5% of the global production of electricity is used for lighting.

Another way to go green is to use motion bulbs with a monitor sensor built in. These bulbs are designed to turn on automatically when persons enter a room, and turn off when they leave. CFL motion bulbs use 20 watts of electricity, but emit the equivalent of 75 watts of light.

However, given the relatively new technologies of some of the bulbs mentioned above, consumers may want to first research their options, to make sure the design of green lighting they are considering will work well for their intended purpose and/or location where the lights will be utilized.

Residents of homes can make a huge impact on the environment every day by using interior and exterior home lighting systems that are designed to be ecologically friendly. Indeed, imagine what a huge positive impact home dwellers could make on the planet, if green lighting, such as the types described above were installed in homes across the United States, as well as across the globe.

© 2009 Clearhomelighting.com. All Rights Reserved Worldwide.

Homeowners may wish to ask themselves, is their home mostly illuminated with natural light or artificial light? Natural light is defined as light provided by the sun. Artificial light is defined as light provided by a power source other than the sun. In the United States, the power source for habitat lighting is often the electric grid.

Habitat lighting affects the feeling of the home, as well as facilitates task completion. Indeed, when the sun goes down and the electricity goes out during a storm, pitch black is often experienced in the United States, unless, of course, the home is not connected to the electric grid and provides illumination via solar power, for example.

The sun showers the earth with solar light. And yet, it has so much more potential to effectively and efficiently provide illumination for homes, if better utilized by homeowners. Whether it is installing a system that provides solar power to the residence, or just effectively using the sun’s illumination during the day, without necessarily storing it for later use, the sun is indeed a tremendous source of natural light. Discussed below are a few ideas that may provide helpful information to homeowners who wish to better utilize the light the sun offers to provide habitat lights.

1. What color are the walls of the living space? Lighter colors reflect the sun’s light better and thus provide more light to the area, thus impacting habit light.

2. Is there the possibility of installing more windows in the home? How about the possibility of installing clerestory windows? Clerestory windows are installed high, and thus provide privacy, while still letting the sun shine through.

3. How about replacing some exterior doors with doors that have a window built-into it?

4. How about installing skylights? Options include traditional skylights and tubular skylights. Tubular skylights are frequently used for small rooms. Moreover, they tend to cost less than traditional skylights, as well as they tend to be easier to install.

5. Is there the possibility of adding another room to the home? For homeowners who wish to add another room to their home, with the potential of adding a lot of light to the room, how about adding a sun room?

6. How about the window coverings? Installing window coverings that can be adjusted to allow various levels of sunlight to shine through can also help to better use the vast illumination power the sun naturally offers.

Thus, several lighting habitat options that include using the sun’s power are available. Moreover, when homeowners wish to replace or make home modifications to implement using the sun’s energy more effectively and efficiently, the planet benefits, since less light that is generated from the electric grid is used.

Additionally, products are available that are energy efficient. Whether it is replacing or adding windows and doors to the residence, or other home improvements to increase the natural light of the home, homeowners may also wish to consider purchasing products that have been listed as being energy efficient, such as those listed by ENERGY STAR. Indeed, when it comes to habitat lighting, several options that incorporate the optimal use of the sun’s power are available.

© 2009 Clearhomelighting.com. All Rights Reserved Worldwide.

While the incandescent light bulb has provided illumination to countless homes worldwide and was clearly innovative in its day, the design was not energy efficient. Back then, providing light was the goal.  Today, the goal has been upgraded to providing light that is energy efficient. With the current emphasis in the United States on energy efficiency, new energy standards have been mandated by Congress, and the non-energy efficient incandescent light bulb will be phased-out of the consumer markets in the United State over the next few years.

Incandescent light bulbs will be replaced with energy efficient bulbs, such as the newer high-efficiency compact fluorescent and light emitting diode, to provide lights for the home. With the use of incandescent light bulbs, the emphasis has tended to be on the wattage used by the bulb.  Watts is a measure of energy consumption.  It is not a measure of the brightness of the light emitted by the light bulb. Lumens is a measure of  bulb brightness.  However, with the incandescent light bulb, the higher the watts used by the light bulb, on the home light fixture, the brighter the light emitted by the bulb tended to be.

With current energy-efficient technology, fewer watts are needed to provide  equal or more lumens. The difference in energy consumption between energy efficient and non-energy efficient light design is significant.  For example,  as previously mentioned,  compact fluorescent light bulbs tend to be more  energy efficient than incandescent bulbs, consuming less energy, while producing the same or greater amounts of light than an incandescent light bulb. This fact can be illustrated by the following information provided by a light bulb manufacturer:  a common incandescent  60 watt light bulb puts out about 840 lumens and has an estimated life expectancy of about 1,000 hours. By comparison, a compact fluorescent light bulb that uses 14 watts puts out about  900 lumens and has an estimated life expectancy of about 10,000 hours.

Notice the significant difference in energy consumption, 60 watts versus 14 watts.  Moreover, notice the significant difference in the amount of illumination time the lights are reportedly designed to illuminate, 1,000 hours versus 10,000 hours.   In other words,  an incandescent light bulb that provides 840 lumens and consumes 60 watts tends to last about 1,000 hours. By comparison, a compact fluorescent light bulb that uses 14 watts provides 900 lumens and is estimated to last 10,000 hours.  Clearly, the implication for how these energy efficient light bulbs will impact the consumption of energy used by home lighting fixtures is evident, whether it is used in exterior habitat lights or interior habitat lights.

Consumers may also want to make special note of the life expectancy of the bulbs given that energy-efficient bulbs tend to last longer.  The life expectancy of the light bulb is  significant not only because fewer light bulbs need to be bought by consumers given that they last longer,  but also due to the fact that if fewer light bulbs are used, fewer need to be disposed, which is better for the natural environment.

In addition to the upcoming phasing-out of inefficient incandescent light bulbs in the United States,  the Federal Trade Commission announced that changes to the  package labeling on the bulbs is also occurring.  One of the main differences on the package labeling will be the emphasis on lumens instead of watts on the front of the package label.  The new packaging information that will be provided starting in 2011 will  include the following information to help consumers pick the best light bulb to meet their  lighting needs: (1)  brightness, as measured in lumens; (2)  estimated energy cost; (3)  estimated life expectancy; (4)  wattage; (5) whether or not the bulb contains mercury.  As of this writing, it is not yet clear if new package labeling will also apply to candelabra light bulbs, such as the ones used in some home light fixtures that hang from the ceiling.

Thus, while Thomas Edison made having home light  possible for millions of households worldwide with his incandescent light bulb, technology has improved lighting, making it possible to use lighting significantly more efficiently.   As a consequence, the incandescent light bulb will be phased-out of the United States  market place, and new labeling on light bulbs that emphasize lumens instead of watts will be used.

Following: motion sensor lights.

© 2009 Clearhomelighting.com. All Rights Reserved Worldwide.