Save on lighting with these 10 clever tips

Now it's easier than ever to be brighter! Energy-efficient bulbs have revolutionized lighting, but there are other simple ways to reduce both your lighting use and costs. Here are 10 clever tips to help you save on lighting.

• An overly lit room not only wastes power, it can also remind you of places that are overlit for functional purposes, such as factories and offices.
• Choose bulbs with a wattage that matches both the purpose of the room and the atmosphere you want to create.

• The idea that you can trade a single incandescent light for multiple lights with low-wattage bulbs and come out in front is appealing but not at all true.
• The simple truth is that the more lights you have, the more power you use.

• When installing lighting in a large open-plan space, install multiple switches for different areas.
• This way, if you want to use only a small area of the space, you can light up only that area.

• Dimming reduces the amount of electricity a light uses and increases the life of low-voltage lighting such as halogen pot lights.
• When you buy bulbs, check that they will work with a dimmer.

• An electrical lamp will give you ample light at a lower cost than an overhead light.
• A lamp can also enhance the ambience of a room
• Lamps can also provide focused light for tasks such as sewing.

• When installing security lighting outdoors, make sure the lights have built-in motion sensors or timers so they only operate when needed.

• Illuminate outdoor paths with lamps fitted with photocell batteries that store energy from the sun.

• A dusty light bulb or a dirty lampshade can obstruct as much as half the light that the bulb emits.
• Dust your bulbs and wipe or wash your lampshades regularly.

• Install skylights in darker rooms or as natural pot lights in work rooms such as kitchens.
• If you're buying a new house or apartment, look for one that has the places and rooms you'll spend most of your days in positioned to the north or north-east, so they'll get the most natural daylight.
• If you're building a house or renovating, make similar considerations, making sure that the rooms and areas of your home that will be most used during the day face to the north or northeast.

• Unplug lamps and appliances as soon as you stop using them.
• This advice is as old as electric lighting itself, and still the key to saving on use and costs.

Keep these 10 clever tips in mind and saving money on lighting will be easy.