Friday, July 22, 2011

How To Use Lighting To Create Atmosphere And Save Money

By Owen Jones


There is no doubt that lighting has the greatest influence on atmosphere and. Soft lighting in a bedroom or at an intimate dinner results in a romantic ambiance; bright, purposeful lighting in the office or kitchen shows that you mean business; dimmed lighting in the living room creates a relaxing atmosphere in which to watch a film or read a book.

Soft, back lighting behind flowers or a waterfall leads to a magical atmosphere, whereas severe floodlights turned on by a motion sensor would freeze most intruders in their tracks.

Getting the lighting wrong can have a gravely adverse effect on any room or occasion. Imagine a romantic dinner for two by candlelight and then imagine it by a bare 100 watt bulb hanging from the ceiling or a fluorescent tube.

It is said that the average household can save at least twenty-five percent on its electricity bills by using lighting more effectively and therefore more efficiently. More notably, you could save more than sixty percent, if you switch from the normal incandescent light bulbs to high-output compact fluorescent lights. Sixty percent is a massive saving for you, your country and your planet.

Here are some of the ways that you can achieve savings on the electricity you currently expend on lighting.

Make the addition of dimmers wherever you use lighting. You can put a touch lamp dimmer into the wiring of any lamp, so that when you touch it, it changes from low, to medium, to high, to off. You will be surprised how often you will lower the light once you are able to, particularly in the case of desk or table lamps and standard floor lamps.

In a similar vein is the touch switch that you can utilize to control lighting that traditionally hangs from the ceiling. You will be able to dim the lights in any room and on the patio or deck too.

Photosensitive switches turn whatever they regulate off or on when the sun comes up. This is useful if you have motion-activated anti-intruder lighting. There is certainly no need for it in the daytime, but you do not want to have to remember to switch it off in the mornings and reactivate it every night either.

Another use could be to turn the fishpond fountain off when it gets dark. All of these photosensitive switches can have over-ride switches too. These photosensitive devices will practically half the cost of running the devices to which they are attached.

It is very easy to make quite substantial savings if you put your mind to it. Just moving your furniture to take full advantage of natural light can help a lot too. Sitting near a window or in the garden to read the newspaper is far better than having to put the kitchen light on to read it in there.

In the evening it is better to switch off all the main lights in the living room if you are watching television or reading a book and put one standard floor lamp just to one side behind you. It is plenty to read by or to save your eyes from the strain of watching TV in the dark.




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