Saving Energy

Your lights
Lighting can account for about 12% of your monthly bill
(9% for all-electric homes). If each household in San Diego
replaced four 100-watt incandescent lights with equivalent
27-watt compact fluorescent lights (CFLs), 292,000 kilowatthours
would be saved each year. Enough to power over
60,000 homes for a year.

Saving energy in lighting costs can be as easy as replacing
incandescent light bulbs with CFLs, which use 75% less energy
and last up to ten times longer. Each year, the United States
throws away 1.741 billion incandescent bulbs—enough to fill
two Qualcomm Stadiums. With each CFL, you’ll throw away
nine fewer bulbs.

Dim the lights
Consider buying solid-state dimmer switches. They
can increase incandescent bulb life while reducing
electric consumption and cost.
Motion sensors make sense
Replace light switches with motion or occupancy sensors,
which make the lights go on or off when someone enters
or leaves a room. Motion sensors are perfect for the garage,
exterior or security lighting.

Let timers take on the task
If you sometimes forget to turn off the lights, think about
buying a timer to turn lights off and on automatically.

Try photocells
Photocells automatically turn on your lights when the sun
goes down. Then, when the sun rises, the photocell turns
the lights off. They’re great for outdoor or security lighting.