» All the lights in the house are on...
or nearly all. In most homes lighting only accounts for about 6% of the electric cost. The costs can add up, though, so keep up the habit of turning off lights when you leave a room. If you have ten 75 watt lights on for twelve hours a day, the cost (at $.0823 per kilowatt hour) is $.74/day, $22.53/month, $270.35/year. Over 99% of the energy provided to those lights is converted to heat, less than 1% to light. Remember that when you're trying to keep cool in summer!

» Outdoor area lights are on all through the day...
because of a bad photocell.

» "Light Zone" your house to provide good illumination for reading, writing, sewing or sketching, with wattage as low as possible elsewhere. Wattage saved in this simple manner can add up to almost three figures in a year.

» Use one large bulb in preference to three smaller ones where bright light is needed. A 100 watt lamp will provide better reading light than three 40 watt bulbs.

» "Long Life" incandescents use more energy than standard bulbs!

» Turn off all but one or two low-watt lamps when watching TV. You only need enough light to balance TV brightness and avoid eyestrain.

» Specify 4 watt clear night light bulbs. They use half the energy of the 7 watt and provide almost the same light.

» Keep all bulbs and shades clean. Dirt absorbs light.

» Use outdoor spots, floods and driveway illumination only when necessary.

» Use fluorescent bulbs whenever possible. A 40 watt fluorescent will use 140 watts less than a 60 watt incandescent in a seven hour period and provide more than five times the amount of light.