Saturday, August 11, 2012

Turn the Lights Down Low

Ever install a dimmer switch? My dad has, and he's not even an electrician! The ones pictured above are fancy looking, but you can always get the simple ones that lay next to the regular light switch. Dimmer switches are an easy and awesome fix. Dimming the lights will extend the life of your light bulb. The percent that the light is dimmed by basically corresponds with the percent of energy that you are saving. Therefore, when dimmed by 25% the light will use about 25% less energy, and 50% less energy when dimmed by 50%. Also, saved energy always equals saved cash! I know that I like dimmer lights at night that I do during the day, so I will turn them down low when I am doing something like watching TV. Also, I like to dim the light just a little and try to leave it there. That way, even if the light is not noticeably dimmer, the light will never be running at full brightness. The unfortunate news is that dimmer switches are not reccommded for flourescent lightbulbs, so if you went and put in all CFL's then do not try this at home. The good news is that if you already put in CFL's than you probably don't need to worry too much about the energy that the dimmer switch would save you.

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