If you want to lower your electric bill and your lights are the biggest offender when it comes to high energy costs, then you should start by remembering to turn off lights when you leave a room. As well do not turn on lights when you don’t need to.

Indoor sensors can be purchased for anywhere from $15 up to $50 or more. These sensors can be placed in high traffic areas of your home such as hallways, corridors, stairways and garages. When someone is in the vicinity the lights will come on and when they leave the lights will go off. There is no turning lights on and off and the worry about forgetting!

One of the best ways to lower your electric bills in terms of your lights is to switch your standard lightbulbs to those twisty strange looking bulbs that are popping up in every store. These compact fluorescent lightbulbs (CFL’s) are the absolute best type of bulb for energy efficiency. The ones that are qualified by Energy Star (all of them are not as of yet so only purchase the ones that are) use on average about 75% less electricity than the standard incandescent bulbs that most of us have been using our whole lives. The CFL’s last a great deal longer too- an estimated 10 times longer.

The CFL’s are more expensive to purchase but think of them as an investment. If you rent then take them with you when you move to a new place. Please note that the new light bulbs do consist of a small trace of mercury so it is important that you follow directions set down by the EPA when it comes to disposing of the bulbs and cleaning one up if it breaks. R

To lower your electric bills, lower your lights. While many of the new fluorescent bulbs are not currently compatible with dimmer switches unless it states so on the packaging, you can still reduce energy costs when you use regular bulbs. Set your dimmer switch at 75% for energy output. This can greatly lengthen the life of the bulbs and it will save you as much as 20% in energy costs.

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