There is no question that lighting has the biggest influence on atmosphere and. Subtle lighting in a bedroom or at an intimate dinner results in a romantic atmosphere; bright, purposeful lighting in the office or kitchen shows that you mean business; dimmed lighting in the living room makes for a relaxing atmosphere in which to watch a film or read a book.
Understated, 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 seriously adverse effect on any room or occasion. Imagine a romantic dinner for two by candlelight and then imagine it by a naked 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 energy you currently use up on lighting.
Insert 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 cycles from low, to medium, to high, to off. You will be amazed how often you will dim 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 turn down the lights in any room and on the patio or deck too.
Photosensitive devices 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 absolutely 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 water fountain off when it gets dark. All of these photosensitive switches can have over-ride switches too. These photosensitive switches will practically half the cost of running the systems to which they are attached.
It is very easy to make fairly substantial savings if you put your mind to it. Just rearranging your furniture to take full advantage of natural light can help a lot as well. Sitting near a window or in the garden to read the newspaper is much better than having to switch 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 sufficient to read by or to save your eyes from the strain of watching TV in the dark.
Owen Jones, the writer of this article writes on several topics, but is at present involved with researching wrought iron floor lamps. If you would like to know more or check out great offers, please go to our website at Wrought Iron Light