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Turn off the lights when you leave a room

Why This is Green

It's so simple, and yet so hard to remember: Turn off the lights when you leave a room and you can save energy and money.

A standard bulb uses 60 watts of energy an hour. That’s stamped on the bulb. We get that. If you think in terms of kilowatts, here’s a little math: that bulb consumes a kilowatt of energy over approximately 16 hours. A kilowatt-hour of energy costs about 11 cents. So leaving that light on unnecessarily for 16 hours a day all year equals $40.15 down the drain. Leave the lights on in a room with multiple recessed lights and you've cost yourself a night out.

CFLs only use 13 watts per hour and the LED equivalent of a 60 watt incandescent uses about 7 watts per hour. So it’s a good idea to switch the kind of bulb you use. Regardless of the type of bulb you have, it’s always a good idea to turn off the lights if you’re leaving a room for more than a few minutes.

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How To

Everyone has their own way to remember to turn off the lights. Implement your own. If fear of a nagging spouse doesn’t do it, try doing a last lap around the house before leaving. Hang a reminder sign on the door. Or bribe your kids to check.

If you truly cannot remember, install a motion sensor. This is particularly good for kids rooms and offices.