Eco-friendly lighting maintenance can be surprisingly and delightfully easy. If you want more complexity, you might need to hire a professional electrician who knows how to make lighting the inside and outside of your home kinder to the environment. Here are some of these maintenance tasks to consider.
Wipe Down Your Lightbulbs
One of the first steps to becoming more eco-friendly is to simply keep your lightbulbs clean. A lightbulb that’s furry with dust and other gunk can dim the light by as much as 10%. Dust your lightbulbs with lambswool or a microfiber cloth every week. If you’re still using incandescent bulbs, turn the fixture off and wait until the bulb is cool enough to handle. You can also put your lightbulbs in a bowl of mild, soapy water to clean them, but be careful not to replace them until they’re perfectly dry. Don’t forget to clean the lampshade, whether it be made of fabric or glass.
Don’t Ignore the Landscape Lights
Your indoor lights can get grungy, but they have it easy compared to your landscape lighting, which is vulnerable to the weather. Make sure to clean the lenses and any solar panels that power them. Because these light fixtures are outdoors, some experts suggest you wash them down much like you wash your car. Use a soft brush, a bucket with mild soapy water, and a garden hose. Do it early in the morning before the temperature gets hot. Of course, whether you’re cleaning your indoor or outdoor lights, turn off the power first.
Invest in Timers
Timers can work like your smart thermostat. They turn your lights on only when they’re needed and turn them off when they’re not. You can buy and plug in a timer yourself, but you might want to hire an electrician to install motion sensors that help turn on the lights when a space is occupied. Some are sophisticated enough to monitor the amount of natural light and adjust the artificial light for the best level of brightness. This looks merely energy-efficient, but it’s good to know that lighting that’s energy-efficient is also eco-friendly.
Wash Windows to Bring the Sunshine In
What’s more eco-friendly than letting sunshine into your home? Sunlight is mostly free, and there are studies that show that it improves your mood. If you’re worried about glare or damage to your furnishings from ultraviolet light, you can buy window dressing that lets in the sunlight while keeping out those UV rays and reducing the glare. So wash your windows now and then, furl up the blinds, and open the curtains to let in the sunlight.
Here’s the secret about eco-friendly maintenance: Some things are not only easy to do, but they save you money while you help save the planet. When you need lighting services in Denver, CO, contact Absolute Electrical Heating & Air.