All about energy in Brussels. A Sibelga initiative
en menu
Logo energuide

How can I save energy with my current lighting installation?

Lighting

Are you still using bulbs for your lighting? And do you forget to turn off the lighting when you leave a room? Then there is a potential 50% saving in the energy cost for the lighting.

Did you know by the way that the lighting in an average home is responsible for around 16% of the total electricity consumption?

Step 1: Replace light bulbs and halogen spots with LED or low-energy bulbs

Despite the fact that the light bulb has long disappeared from shops, there are still a lot being used in houses. A light bulb produces not only light but also heat. The ratio is actually 10% light and 90% heat. In short, with light bulbs you are literally burning unnecessary energy.

Choose instead to replace light bulbs with more energy-conscious varieties. They don’t need to be a more expensive LED.

A small example:
A standard family has 29 lamps in its home. If 9 of these are still light bulbs, you can save 65 euro a year by replacing these with compact fluo lamps (energy saving lamps) with a consumption that is 4 to 5 times lower. The price of purchasing the new fluo lamps is included in this calculation.

Step 2: Be smart with lighting

You do not necessarily have to invest or implement changes to save on your lighting costs. Small measures also help:

  • Sunlight is free. Try to make the most of it by keeping windows free.
  • Use bright colours in your interior; they reflect light better which means it can penetrate further into a room.
  • Regularly dust lamps and fittings
  • The most economical lamp is one that is turned off. So the last to leave always turns off the light.

Step 3: Place movement detectors

Undoubtedly you’ve faced the situation where you enter a room and discover that the light is still on.  A piece of forgetfulness that can easily cost several euro. This situation frequently happens in corridors, the garage and in the toilet. These are places that you do not enter often or use for a lengthy period. Consequently, it is not necessary to keep the lamps on for a long time.

You can automate turning the light on and off with a movement detector. There are several versions, both for surface mounting and building in and for various prices. A movement detector can save up to 30% in energy, despite the fact that the detector itself also uses a small amount of electricity for its operation.

A tip: do not place detectors in rooms where you sit still for a long time. You could find yourself sitting in the dark.

Step 4: Use light sensors

In their jargon, the specialists talk about daylight measurement. Actually it means that a sensor measures the intensity of daylight in a room. Depending on the desired level of light, the sensor manages the lighting. The lighting will run at a certain percentage of its capacity (dimmed) to achieve the required level of light. When it is dark, the lighting will be at full power. You save with this daylight operation because the lighting is not always at its full capacity during the day. This application is particularly useful in offices, studies, kitchens or living areas.

Tip: there are also lamps with an integrated light sensor. They turn on automatically when it gets dark(er) and turn off when it gets light again.

Don't miss our new tips

Subscribe to our newsletter and stay informed about energyfacts.

We promise we will only use your data to send you our newsletter as stated in our privacy policy.

More about this topic in these dossiers

Did you find this article useful?
How could this article be improved?

We promise we will only use your data to send you our newsletter as stated in our privacy policy.

Tips on how to save energy!

We promise we will only use your data to send you our newsletter as stated in our privacy policy.