Kermit may have sung of the hardships of being green, but here at BCG we think it’s easy, and totally worth it. Especially in Los Angeles, you already recycle, use re-usable grocery bags, and drive an Earth-friendly vehicle, why shouldn’t your house be part of the environmental fun too? With all the advances in today’s technology, there are easy things you can do throughout your home that Mother Nature would be proud of, and actually make your life better. Making your home a “Smart Home” is just the thing to modernize your space and make everything around the house a little more convenient, all the while saving you money and doing your part to protect our planet.
The quickest way to get your home on the “smart” track? Lighting Control. Automated lighting is an essential element of any smart home. It’s also the easiest way to cut down your electricity bill and save some energy. Preset dimmers, motorized shades, and scheduled automation can help ensure that lights aren’t left on unnecessarily and your entire home can take advantage of natural light. Especially here in Southern California, we should take advantage of all that sunshine!
The quickest way to get your home on the “smart” track? Lighting Control. Automated lighting is an essential element of any smart home. It’s also the easiest way to cut down your electricity bill and save some energy. Preset dimmers, motorized shades, and scheduled automation can help ensure that lights aren’t left on unnecessarily and your entire home can take advantage of natural light. Especially here in Southern California, we should take advantage of all that sunshine!
5 Big Benefits of Lighting Control:
- Lighting control increases comfort and improves productivity. Not only will uncontrolled lighting zap the energy in your home, it can zap your personal energy as well. Lighting that is too harsh strains your eyes, is a common culprit for migraine headaches, and will subconsciously discourage you from spending much time in that space. Conversely, lighting that is too dim for your task also puts undue stress on your eyes and can cause drowsiness and lack of focus. Being able to control the light levels in your space through dimmers, or through motorized shades and sensors for natural light, will keep you productive and comfortable while saving your electric bill.
- So often, in order to reduce your energy use or to be more eco-friendly, you have to sacrifice something for the “greater good,” whether its convenience, money, or time. With lighting control, you’re actually going to enrich your life. You’ll have more control in your space (a lighting solution for every situation, i.e. scary movie ambiance, novel reading, playing with the kids, anything!) setting customized “scenes,” or preset lighting conditions, will mean your preferences are at the easy touch of a button, and there’s the option to control everything from your mobile devices. No more fumbling around in the dark trying to find the wall switch, and no need to turn the car around when you realize you’ve left all the living room lights on.
- Dimmers, like those from Lutron, will save you energy. Even if you keep your dimmer switch at its highest level, you’ll still be saving about 5% in electricity compared to a typical on/off control. And the more you dim, the more you save. This goes for any light source you use a dimmer on, whether halogen, CFL, or LED; if you dim it, you’ll save energy on it.
- Dimmers and lighting control will also extend the life of your light bulbs. Since you’re reducing power, you’ll get more mileage out of each bulb, saving you even more money, and the hassle of replacing burned-out bulbs, especially those hard-to-reach ones, in the long run.
- According to Lutron, if every US homeowner changed just 2 standard switches to dimmers, the United States could potentially save $1.5 billion in electricity and would be the equivalent environmentally of taking more than 1 million cars off the road. That’s a big impact for such an easy change around the house!
Taking the first step toward total lighting control will give you instant gratification on your electric bill, as well as making your home modern and beautiful. We told you it’s easy being green!
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