There are a few of you out there, that I know, who will most likely have an answer for me. I hope it's the one I'm looking for, but we'll see.
How much does leaving a light on really cost? The reason I ask is because I have a tendency to leave the lights on in the house. It's a horrible habit, I admit, but it's one I'm having trouble breaking. Although, I told Devil last night that I will do my best to turn every light off when I leave the room. So far I've had to go back through the house and turn them all off a few times already. So much for remembering that one. Anyway, when the light is on, is it adding $$$ for our, already crooked, electric company?
P.S. I haven't told him this part, but when he's out with the guys, I leave every light on in the house until I go to bed. I mean, if someone is standing in the bathtub waiting to jump me, I want to at least see him. You're probably wondering why on earth would I worry about that..I think I watch too much True Crime stories and it doesn't help that I'm terrified of the dark..anyway, that's more than you really needed to know..just answer the question, please. LOL
the generic answer is it depends.
ReplyDeleteIncandescent and those halogen bulbs use a bunch of electricity all of the time and put out huge quantities of heat. So any chance you have to turn one of them off it is a good answer.
Florescent bulbs have a start up surge and then settle down to a lower use rate than the old style bulbs. So if you plan to go back into that room in a time span less than a half hour, it uses less to keep it burning.
But burning a candle when you dont need to always makes the candle shorter.
they do make very efficient replacement bulbs. The new LED style uses a fraction of the amount of energy for the same or more light emitted. The draw back is that they are super expensive. The upside is that they last a very long time.
The new florescent replacement bulbs are very good in open fixtures. They self destruct after very little use when you use them in an enclosed or recessed fixture. But otherwise you can get 100 watts worth of light out of a bulb using 1/4 or 1/3 of the electricity.
Okay, I thought that it didn't make much of a difference if you're in and out of the room. But, I really do need to turn each light off when I'm finished and that's where I fall short, especially at night. Thanks for your response, Randy, and for taking the time to give me such a detailed explanation. I really do appreciate that.
ReplyDeleteHEB did a study on our usage of lighting company wide. After seeing all the data they went with incandescent lighting on the sales floor and flourescent in the offices. They also added switches that detect motion. If no one is in the room the lights will auto shut off. The cool thing is the lights will come on when you walk into the room. I have seen these switch's at lowes and home depot. Something to think about getting.
ReplyDelete