CHICAGO (NewsNation Now) — You may already know this, but turning on the lights makes up about 15 percent of an average home’s electricity use, and the average household saves about $225 in energy costs per year by using LED lighting.
If you’re still using incandescent light bulbs, switching to energy-efficient lighting is one of the fastest ways to cut your energy bills, said Beth Holaday, partner relations manager with Verde, an energy efficiency consulting company.
“LED lighting matters because the technology has advanced so much that all that energy to produce that light is actually being directed at making light and not heat,” Holaday explained.” “Incandescents are 90% heat, 10 % light. Whereas an LED is 90% light and only 10% heat.”
LED light bulbs use 75% less energy and last up to 25 times longer than incandescent lighting.
Holaday also says setting your thermostat can help you save money.
“Programming your thermostat is the easiest way to set it and forget it in a way that it adapts to your schedule. You’re staying comfortable but also you can program it in a way to continue to save energy even during the winter months,” Holaday explained.
Programmable thermostats save approximately $100 per year.
“In the wintertime, if your house is a little bit colder, it’s actually going to lose less energy,” Holaday said. “The farther the difference is from the inside temperature to the outside temperature, that’s when you lose the most energy.
Also, keeping your thermostat at 68 saves 10% on bills.
“We want to program a setback, meaning you want to set back your temperature for about 8 hours a day from 7 to 10 degrees from where you have normally, and that set back that’s where you see the energy savings, and it won’t take more energy to get back up to comfort.
She says people could save up to $100 by using the setback method.
If you don’t have a programmable thermostat, Holaday recommends contacting your local utility for incentives to make the switch.