As some of the other editors have mentioned in their Green @ Home Projects, it's the little things that add up and make a big difference. And from experience we've found that doing things Big doesn't have much impact if we fizzle out after 10 days. So our project is based on a deep-seated habit of leaving the lights on:
Green @ Home Project: Turning Off The Lights
[image from mondolind]
Yes, we vow to turn the lights off as we leave a room and to make an effort not to have every light in the room on if all we're doing sitting and reading a book, then we'll just use a reading light. The main offendors are the closet light and the bathroom lights. We always think we'll be right back so we leave them on, when really it might be hours before we realize we've even left them ablaze. It might seem too easy or too simple, but building greener habits is the way to make a difference. And once we build this habit then we'll look at some other small ways to make improvements in how wasteful or conscious we are of what we use and how we live.
Along these simple lines, our next project might be to use less glasses (why can't we ever find the glass we were just drinking from?) and therefore less water to wash all those glasses.
Have you started doing something so simple it almost feels silly? Or are you an all or nothing personality?
Want to join us in our journey toward greener living? Participate in this month's Green @ Home project below:
Comments (9)
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I'm a huge fan of timers and skylights! Of course skylights are a major project, but you can put all sorts of lights on timers. I use one in the winter in the living room that comes on before i get home and goes out after i crawl in bed. I've seen timers on bathroom heaters, I wonder if putting one of those on your bathroom or closet light would be effective?
view Maggiempbp's profile
Now that the summer has started, one challenge I've run into is leaving the ceiling fans in each room on. It's a lot easier to walk out of a room or apartment with a fan on than it is a light bulb.
While ceiling fans are great for supplementing or replacing air conditioning, it only makes a room feel cooler. It does not actually change the temperature. So, there are no advantages to leaving a ceiling fan on when leaving a room
view JuliusJefferson's profile
Are you absolutely sure turning off the lights saves energy and is therefore green or is this a myth? Is there a big depletion of energy that is used each time the lights are turned on compared to just leaving them on for a certain period? And if this is true, what is the formula or time period? I remember having a big fight with hubbie about this. Of course, I was right and where children are concerned you must train them as if they were little lab rats to "TURN OFF THE LIGHTS!" when they leave a room. Does anyone know?
view Bo Placebo's profile
I actually remember an episode of Mythbusters that showed that for every type of light bulb, it saves more energy to turn it off than to leave it on continuously. The miniscule amount of energy used to turn them on and off doesn't compare to the amount of energy being used when they are left on for hours on end.
view Jennae @ Green Your Decor's profile
I believe, that with flourescent light tubes it's more efficient to leave them on, than to briefly turn them off, and then on again.
view gryt's profile
I am a grown up lab rat who still turns off the light when leaving the room. I only turn on a light in the room I am in. At night, I leave the blinds in my house partially open which lets in just enough steet light to illuminate the interior so I don't need to constantly turn lights on and on if I go to other rooms in the house.
view Seaside's profile
Whether or not to turn lights off isn't about using more energy to "start" them (the car argument), but about the life expectancy of the bulb. Turning lights on and off decreases the light of the bulb. It depends on a bunch of stuff, but the bottom line...
incandescents: turn 'em off
fluorescents: turn 'em off if you'll be gone for more than 15 minutes
http://www.eere.energy.gov/consumer/your_home/lighting_daylighting/index.cfm/mytopic=12280
view hillgirl's profile
oops --- that would be "deceases the life of the bulb"
view hillgirl's profile
I have a nifty little system set up where I can turn most of my lights off by simply flicking off the power strip. That way I know they are all off and I don't have to worry about forgetting anything at 2am. Other than that I'm not home between 6am and 6pm so I don't use any lights (or energy for that matter) during peak times.
view surferartchick's profile