Can You Use Energy Saving Lighting Outside?

Whilst there are not many people spending too much time outside at the moment, it is steadily growing closer to that time of the year when homeowners are preparing their properties for the nicer weather ahead. One thing that they may do as a part of this is update the globes in their outdoor lights, getting them ready for long nights of entertaining under the stars. Is it a good idea, however, to swap over to energy saving lighting?

There are three main purposes for lighting that has been installed outside:

Security, such as illumination at your front door or garage Accent, such as illuminating features of your landscape Task, such as over your patio or swimming pool areas

Like indoor lighting, each of these fixtures can really increase your electricity consumption, especially if they are turned on for extended periods of time.

It is possible, however, to save some money by fitting all of your outdoor fixtures energy saving lighting, unless they are controlled via motion sensor. So, if you have a floodlight above the garage for times you come home late at night or you use a fixture to illuminate a tree or sculpture, you should swap these over to energy saving globes as soon as possible - the savings (both in money and carbon emissions) will be almost instantaneous.

To further prove why you should use energy efficient lighting outside wherever possible, let's look at some of the figures:

An incandescent globe only produces around 14 lumens per watt, which will cost you around $20 per year to run (if switched on for 8 hours a day) and will produce about 349 pounds of carbon. Now think about the cost and emissions when compared to every single outdoor light you have. An energy efficient globe produces around 55 lumens per watt, which will only cost you around $15 per year to run (also for 8 hours a day) and will only produce about 87 pounds of carbon. Now think about the savings you will make by swapping over.

As you can see from the statistics outline above, not only can you use energy saving lighting outside, you really should be using it for all fixtures that do not operate off motion sensors. Not only will this allow you to considerably lower your home's electricity consumption, it will help you to sleep easy at night knowing that you are doing all you can for protecting the environment. Don't wait - switch over your outdoor fixtures today!

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