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Health
Light affects your mood. It’s a proven fact. Too little light creates a depressive state. A lot of light can cause euphoric feelings. Think about those “rainy day blues” and how some therapists are using light therapy to treat depression. On the other hand, think about the causes of Spring Fever – longer days, warmer weather and vibrant color, and you guessed it; one of the largest contributors to this seasonal condition is the sun.

Moving from the psychological to the physical, there was a reason for childhood warnings about reading with too little light – eyestrain. Eyestrain makes your eyes fatigued, which in turn causes poor vision, and the fact that vision generally starts to deteriorate in the teen years, if not sooner, is no help either. So as we age, we need to make sure there is sufficient light in order to read and see comfortably – even increasing the overall light level from time to time.

Now you know light makes you feel and see better, but you might be wondering how energy-efficient lighting benefits your health and the health of your family over the average light that’s commonly used in homes. High-efficacy fixtures and bulbs give off more lumens (light output) for less wattage. Just think if you replaced a fixture that accepts a 60w incandescent bulb/lamp with a fixture that accepts a 13w compact fluorescent lamp; you would receive about the same amount of light – in some cases a lot more – for a lot less energy. Also, energy-efficient lighting provides brighter illumination over a general area when compared to incandescent and halogen bulbs that are brighter when you’re closer to the bulb than when you’re at a distance (The distance from the center of the bulb to any particular spot in the room is measured in footcandles). You wouldn’t necessarily have to be segregated to one side of the room with a table lamp, because of a lack of overall light.

Independent and government reports also conclude that high-efficacy lighting enhances productivity, which can help with housecleaning, homework or “honey-do” lists.

Another important safety feature of compact fluorescent products is that they produce more light yet about 70% less heat than incandescent or halogen bulbs. That means they are much cooler to the touch and safer to replace, whereas incandescent and halogen bulbs can actually burn your skin. It’s even been reported that halogens have been the cause of many fires.

Along the same subject of bulb replacement, when compared to a “screw” base, the standard pin base makes energy-efficient lamps less likely to break during changing.
When you reduce the number of times you have to use the ladder, you reduce the chance of ladder accidents. Energy-efficient bulbs only need to be changed once every seven years or so.

Convenience
Those on the go will appreciate the average 10,000-hour life span of an energy-efficient bulb and not having to do the routine tasks associated with changing a bulb quite as often: removing fixture parts such as shades or globes, pulling the ladder out or moving a chair to reach the fixture, or making a special trip to the store for replacement bulbs.

Being cooler to touch than both incandescents and halogens, you don’t need to wait long for energy-efficient bulbs to cool down before replacing. In some instances, you don’t have to wait at all.
The standard pin base makes changing the lamp much easer and less likely to break, therefore there will be no need for a potato to remove the metal part of a screw base from the light socket or a vacuum to remove broken glass from the floor.

Money
On average, lighting accounts for about 25% of all the electricity used in a home. You can reduce your electric bill without sacrificing the quality of your light. Even though they are initially more expensive to purchase than incandescents, energy-efficient lighting pays for itself by saving you money in operational expenses over the life of the bulb, allowing you to “recoup” the additional expense of the bulb often within the first year.

An example borrowed from the Virginia Energy Savers Handbook and modified to the national average:

A single 75-watt incandescent bulb, used an average of six hours per day, costs nearly $17 per year to operate. An equivalent 18-watt compact fluorescent bulb used for the same number of hours costs less than $4 per year to operate – a savings of approximately $13 per year in electricity.

Although it is hard to adjust to paying $5 to $20 for a light bulb, a simple example shows how compact fluorescent lights actually cost much less to buy and use than conventional incandescent bulbs.

An 18-watt compact fluorescent light replaces a 75-watt incandescent. Over its 10,000-hour lifetime, it will consume a total of 180 kWh of electricity. At 10¢ per kWh, the total operating cost is about $18. Add to that the $20 cost (at the most) for the bulb, and your total lighting cost for that fixture is about $38.

Over the same 10,000-hour period, a 75-watt incandescent bulb, with the same light output, would require 750 kWh of electricity at a cost of $75. Also, since incandescents only last about 750 hours, you would need to replace the bulb 12 times at a cost of about $7, making your total cost $82, compared to $38 for the compact fluorescent. Thus, over its expected lifetime, a compact fluorescent light bulb saves about $44.

If you ever want to sell your home, high-efficacy lighting fixtures increase the potential resale value. As more and more people learn the importance of high-efficacy lighting fixtures, it is becoming a huge selling point for homeowners and realtors in some areas.

Environment
Could you ever imagine your children or children’s children not being allowed to run in the surf on a beach, eat anything from a home garden or even breathe mountain air without a mask because of pollutants in the environment? It may sound a bit far-fetched, but consider all the landfills and sunscreen warnings from the 20th century. Do you think anyone ever imagined that?

You might be wondering what all this has to do with lighting. There is a way to help preserve the earth’s natural resources without sacrificing the light you need to live comfortably. By using high-efficacy lighting fixtures that consume less energy, you not only help conserve energy, you help reduce pollution and greenhouse gas emissions that are related to global warming.

Aside from energy conservation, high-efficacy bulbs last longer. You would need to use around 12 incandescent bulbs to match the 10,000-hour life of one compact fluorescent lamp. Multiple 12 by the number of lamps its takes to operate the fixtures in your home and understand how quickly consumable items fill landfills.

Realizing incandescent lighting creates more pollutants and gives off more greenhouse emissions than energy-efficient lighting, if just one room in every U.S. home had Energy Star labeled lighting, the change would keep one trillion pounds of greenhouse gases out of the air.

Role Modeling
Parents who litter have children more likely to litter. Similarly, parents who show an outward respect for the environment help instill respect in their children. When children develop an interest at an early age, they have the opportunity to cultivate it as they grow. Implementing high-efficacy lighting in your own home is a simple way to set an example for family, friends and a future generation.

Incentives

For homeowners:
Some utility companies take a percentage off your electric bill if you create an energy-efficient home with Energy Star-rated lights and appliances. Check with your local utility company to see if they participate.

For builders:
Some utility companies and government-sponsored programs give you rebates for incorporating Energy Star-rated items into the homes and businesses you build. Contact your local builders’ association for information.

For businesses:
Some utility companies and government-sponsored programs give rebates for using energy-efficient lighting in all areas of your building(s). Check with your local utility company to see if they participate or Chamber of Commerce for more information.