Turn down your wattage

It isn't always necessary to have a room fully lit.  Here are some ways you can lower electricity usage.

Dining Room
I enjoy being in my dining room, so sometimes I bring my laptop in and work on it there, like I am right now.  My dining room has a lovely brass and glass light fixture with 6 light bulbs hanging over the dining table.  Every now and then, I take off the glass shades and wash them.  This allows better light and it looks nice when they are sparkling clean.

The first option I have to use less electricity is a dimmer switch.  We dim the lights when we do not need the full brightness, which is most of the time.

The second option is a little lamp I put in the corner that has a 13w curly fluorescent bulb in it.  I have had this lamp for years and it was sitting on a shelf in the storage room with no lamp shade because it had gotten old and fell apart.  I was at a garage sale where they were selling a brand new, still in the wrapper lamp shade that fit this little lamp perfectly.  I only paid 50 cents for it!  It ads a nice ambiance and works well when not a lot of light is needed.

Family Room
The television is in our basement family room.  We can light this room by turning on 4 wall sconces or using a lamp.  When I am watching a movie, sometimes I will use the lamp which has a curly 13w bulb.  Other times I will use no electricity at all to light the room.  Instead, I light a scented candle.  There is really no need for more light than that.  I can enjoy my candle and save electricity.

Not only am I saving money using dimmer switches, less light bulbs, lower wattage bulbs and candles, I was also able to make use of something that another person did not need.

Green Highlights:

• use less electricity by using dimmer switches
• use less electricity by using lower wattage bulbs
• use less electricity by using less light bulbs
• use candles for light
• shop at garage sales

Have you lowered your energy usage by using less lighting when you don't need a fully lit room?

-TJ