by Carly Foubert, CFICE Communications RA
December 23, our 23rd sustainable tip, what’s our tip of the day? Hmmmm…. Let’s think on it. *a light flicks on above our head* I got an idea: light bulbs!
Incandescent lights are a common form of electric lighting and early produced light bulb that has been in use for over 100 years. Because I don’t want to give you a physics lesson please believe me when I say that incandescent bulbs are not very efficient.
The word ‘incandescent” means to emit light as a result of something being heated. According to the law of conservation of energy, energy can not be created or destroyed, but rather it is transformed into another form. If we look at incandescent light bulbs, the energy that is being used is being transformed not only into light, but also heat. Therefore making it an ineffective as not all of the energy used produces light.
In order for a light bulb to more efficient, it would require giving off less heat as a byproduct. Halogen incandescent, compact fluorescent lights (CFL), and light emitting diodes (LED) are energy efficient lights. 95% of the energy used for LED lighting in converted into light and only 5% into heat. LEDs also do not contain toxic chemicals, have better light distribution (meaning less lights requireds), and a longer life span. 
Energy efficient lights can typically use 25-80% less energy than traditional incandescent light bulbs therefore saving you money on your energy bills. They can also last 3-25 times longer.
So here’s the idea: look at the light bulbs you have in your home and consider replacing them with more energy efficient light bulbs.