Kauai Efficient Lighting
If every American home replaced just one light with an Energy Star light, we would save enough energy to light more than 3 million homes for a year. A compact fluorescent light bulb (CFL) will save about $30 over its lifetime because it uses 75 percent less energy and lasts about 10 times longer than an incandescent bulb. One bulb in every home will save about $700 million in annual energy costs, and prevent 9 billion pounds of greenhouse gas emissions per year, equivalent to the emissions of about 800,000 cars. Lighting a home on Kauai only consumes about 8% of your electricity bill, but it is the easiest place to start making reductions. Daylighting, compact fluorescents, and light emitting diodes (LEDs) are bright ideas to consider.
Daylighting is the practice of placing windows, skylights, daylights, or openings so that during the day natural light provides effective internal lighting. New technologies, such as the Solatube daylight allow you to bring light into rooms that are not directly below the roof. These improvements also currently qualify for a 30% federal tax credit as well. Also, consider several small skylights instead of one large skylight for better distribution. Nature provides the best light available – and it’s free.
CFLs are miniature versions of full-sized fluorescents, and screw into standard lamp sockets giving off light that looks just like incandescent bulbs. They use 75% less electricity than out-dated incandescent light bulbs and last about ten times longer (over 8000 hours versus under 1000 hours). They also produce about 75 percent less heat, which reduces cooling costs and helps you stay cool.
LEDs are small, solid light bulbs with diffuser lenses which are extremely energy-efficient. Currently, the high cost of producing LEDs is a roadblock to widespread use, but researchers are finding new technologies to drive the price of LEDs into a more competitive range with CFLs. The benefits over CFLs and incandescents are: they use only 2-10 watts of electricity, they last up to 10 times longer than compact fluorescents, they hold up well to jarring and bumping, they produce less heat, and they are mercury free.
