The Green Guide: Tip NO.3 – All Of The Lights

Tips and tricks for making environmentally friendly swaps today!

This tip covers a simple habit change that will help to combat the infamous environmental lecture about turning off the lights… 💡

“Turn off the lights!” is probably one of the oldest and most well known ways to save the environment, but how many of us actively practice saving electricity by turning off the lights? It’s so simple, yet for many so much energy is wasted and light pollution caused by ignoring this simple act. It may not be ground-breaking, but as with the majority of individual change, small actions add up when we all practice them, eventually becoming something much bigger. I believe for sustained change to happen in our lives, we have to turn these actions into positive habits, so that practising them no longer becomes a chore but second nature to us. Therefore, while this is not advocating sitting in a dark room for the rest of your days, these habits may help you to be less wasteful by considering your light energy usage…

• Firstly, reacquaint yourself with the basics: if no one is using a room – turn the lights off, if you leave the room – turn the lights off. This will in time become a habit as you flick the light switch each time you leave and enter the door (with the emphasis on switching lights off as you leave the room).
• A handy rule to use is a kind of light budget – you have to turn a light off in order to turn one on….. Or perhaps only having a set number of lights in use in your home at one time. Therefore if you want to use a light in another room, you first need to turn one off somewhere else. This helps conserve electricity, reduce light pollution and create a homely, cosy vibe in your home.
• Additionally, you may want to go further if you are able to by investing in energy efficient lights, using light timers or using solar panels to generate your electricity. I won’t go into depth here, but this may give you an idea to research next time a bulb blows or you give your home a lockdown update…

That was short and simple Tip No.3 – hopefully one that you can start considering and practising straight away. There’s no need to strain your eyes or cook in the dark, but by tackling and mastering the habit of switching off lights when not in use, you are taking another step towards making your home more efficient and less wasteful. ⭐