Residential

Bright Ideas for Lighting Your Home Efficiently

Pick the right bulb | Control your usage| Start saving today

The right lighting can not only enhance your home's appearance, it can also contribute to your safety. And while lighting is not typically a major user of energy in most homes (the average cost is about $70 a year), there are two simple steps you can take to reduce costs:

  • Pick the right bulb.
  • Control your usage.

Pick the right bulb

Before you buy bulbs for the fixtures in your home, it's important to know that you're buying the right and most efficient ones. The following chart can help you determine the type of bulb that is most appropriate for each room in your home.

Room or Location Suggested Bulb /
Fixture Type
Bulb Efficiency Bulb Life Additional Bulb Information
Outdoor
security
1. Metal halide (white light)
2. Halogen flood lights
1. High
2. Medium
1. Long life
2. Medium
1. These lights require their own special fixture and cannot be used in a standard fixture.
2. Can be screwed into standard outdoor floodlight fixtures.
Outdoor
landscaping

Solar light
fixture
High Long Life Easy and inexpensive to install because no wiring is needed. Turns on automatically at dusk. Emits the same amount of light as a 15-20 bulb for a few hours after sunset.
Porch
Compact fluorescent
High Extra long life Can use in a standard fixture. Good for hard-to-reach places because it does not have to be replaced often.
Interior living, Decorative accent
Incandescent
Low Short Life Provides warm, natural light. Longer-life incandescent bulbs are available and can last 2-3 times longer than a standard bulb.
Interior accent lighting, track lighting
Halogen
Medium Medium life Provides bright, clean and crisp white light. Good for use in indoor flood, spot and recessed lighting.
Laundry, Workshop, Garage, Kitchen, and Bath
Fluorescent
High Long Life Getting the right length is important, so measure before you buy.


For example, replacing a 60-watt porch light with a 15-watt compact fluorescent bulb will cost about $10, but will save you nearly $50 over its 2 1/2 year life. Based on 11 hours per night usage and $ 0.12 per kWh.

Here are some things to consider before you shop:
  • Cost to operate - The more the light is on, the more efficient the bulb should be. If a light is on 8 hours or more (day or night), you should use the most efficient bulb in that fixture.
  • Wattage - Look for a sticker on your fixture that indicates the maximum wattage allowable and never put in a bulb over that recommended wattage.

Control your usage

To help manage your lighting use and for added convenience and safety, FPL recommends that you use automatic devices (especially outdoors), such as:

  • Preset timers - automatically turn your lights on and off. Ideal if you only want your lights on for a few hours.
  • Light-sensitive photocells - switch lights on at night and off during the day and provide light all night long.
  • Motion detectors - sense the motion of someone walking up or driving within range of the sensor, which triggers the light to come on. They're a good security measure that doesn't waste energy, since the light only comes on when motion is sensed.
Monthly Lighting Cost


How much does it
cost to run lights?
  
Hours per day:

Number of bulbs:
Monthly Lighting Cost
* Note:Energy cost $0.12 per kWh
  
Sodium vapor yard light (70 Watt)
Halogen flood (Outdoor, 90 Watt)
Garden light (20 Watt)
Compact fluorescent (20 Watt)    
Incandescent (100 Watt)
Halogen track light (50 Watt)
  Fluorescent (40 Watt)

Start saving today

To see how using energy-efficient lighting can help reduce your bill, take the Online Home Energy Survey

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