Though making your home shine bright by installing and using outdoor lights, indoor lamps, and holiday strings is a good idea, the entire thing can often become quite expensive. This is because a lot of electricity is consumed by these artificial lighting equipments. But if you thought that saving energy means sacrificing the use of such lighting choices, think again. With some day lighting plans and the right choice of lighting equipments, you can make your home bright and beautiful without sacrificing on the comfort and visibility quotient.

Here are some simple tips to save electricity and decrease your lighting bills:

• Use the power of the sun: Sunlight is the most energy- and cost-efficient lighting as it’s free. So, make sure that your windows facing north and south allow day lighting, which in turn could save you a lot of energy and money.
• Install ENERGY STAR windows: Installation of such windows will help you to maintain a desired temperature indoors, by blocking as much as 70% of the solar heat in summer. During the winter season, such windows will reflect heat indoors, thus keeping your indoors warm and comfortable.
• Use LED and CFL light bulbs: Light-emitting diodes (LEDs) are considered to be efficient bulbs as they emit light only in one direction and save energy. Compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) are also a good choice as they consume 25% to 30% lesser energy as compared to what incandescent light bulbs use.
• Employ lighting controls: Setting up automatic devices like timers, dimmers, and motion-sensors can estimate your needs and adjust the lights accordingly, which makes them an excellent way to control your energy use when you are not at your home or present in a room.
• Decrease background lighting: Rather than lighting large areas that don’t need to be illuminated, you can use floor lamps, table lamps, track lights etc to concentrate your lighting on specific areas, thus controlling your electricity consumption.
• Use energy-efficient lights: You should replace energy-wasting lights with energy-efficient models. While the former usuallytrap light inside the fixtures, the latter push more light out into the room, thus improving both efficiency and illumination.
• Ensure proper maintenance of your lighting fixtures: With age and the accumulation of dirt, dust and grime on the surface, your lamps and lighting fixtures may start performing at 50% or lower than their full capacity, while they continue to consume 100% of the energy. So, ensure proper maintenance of yourlamps and lighting fixtures to avoid paying steep electric bills.  

With these tips, you can reduce your lighting bills considerably.