Love your light this Valentine's Day
Burlington, VT
There’s a lot to love about lighting this Valentine’s Day, including the chance to win a home lighting package from Efficiency Vermont. The package includes six energy-efficient light bulbs: three LEDs and three CFLs. Once installed, these six bulbs together are estimated to save $240 over their lives.
It’s all part of a new way to shop for light bulbs, which means that now more than ever before, it’s easy to love your light. With the new “Lighting Facts” label on every bulb, you can understand exactly how energy efficient a bulb is, and how it will look in your home. In addition, Efficiency Vermont has developed an interactive web tool to help make these choices easier. Here is what to look for in the lighting aisle:
Brightness. When replacing a traditional incandescent bulb with a CFL or LED, the best way to get what you want is to look for "brightness" on the label, listed in lumens. The higher the lumens, the brighter the bulb. For example, a 60 watt incandescent bulb is equivalent to 800 lumens; a CFL or LED bulb produces the same amount of light while consuming only 12-15 watts of energy.
Color. Today, you have more freedom than ever when it comes to picking the right light for specific rooms in your home, or for specific activities like reading or doing projects. Look for “Light Appearance” on the label, which tells you the color of light a bulb produces. Light Appearance (or light color) is measured in Kelvin (K). For example, if you like the warm light that a traditional incandescent bulb produces, look for something around 2,700-3,000K.
Savings. Each type of bulb uses energy differently, and some cost more to run than others. For example, CFLs and LEDs have low yearly energy costs, while halogen incandescent bulbs and traditional incandescent bulbs cost more to use each year. When comparing different bulbs at the store, check the "Estimated Yearly Energy Cost" on the label: the lower the number, the more you save.
“The lighting aisle has really undergone a transformation over the last couple of years,” said Lara Bonn, Retail Efficient Products Manager at Efficiency Vermont. “We want to make sure that consumers have the support and guidance they need to make choices that fit their homes and budgets, so we’ve created a helpful interactive tool and video on our website. And we are very excited to offer a ‘Love your Light’ home lighting package this year in celebration of Valentine’s Day, and all the great lighting options that are available.”
To enter the contest and learn more about lighting Vermonters can visit www.efficiencyvermont.com/facebook.
About Efficiency Vermont
As the nation’s first Energy Efficiency Utility, Efficiency Vermont has helped Vermont avoid over 13.2 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions and has received the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s ENERGY STAR program Partner of the Year – Sustained Excellence award for the last eight consecutive years. Efficiency Vermont works with partners to help our state transition to more affordable, low carbon energy use through education, incentives, and support for our clean energy workforce. Learn more at www.efficiencyvermont.com.
Efficiency Vermont Press Contact
Matthew Smith
Phone: (802) 540-7662
[email protected]