Many people grew up with their parents constantly nagging them about forgetting to turn off a light when leaving a room. But there are more aspects involved with saving energy and money by using lights properly than you may think. The incandescent light bulb has been around for more than a hundred years and hasn't changed much in that time. They are more efficient than they used to be, but not by much. If fact, only about 15% of the energy used by an incandescent bulb is emitted in the form of light. You have probably noticed that a standard light bulb can get very hot if left on for a long time and a lot of energy is wasted through this heat transfer. You could interpret this to mean that it is better to leave standard light bulbs on during the winter when light is more scarce and when they can act as little `heaters' for the house.

Fluorescent lights have been around for a while as well and compact fluorescent bulbs are fairly new to the scene. These are much more efficient and take less energy, and money, to use than standard incandescent bulbs. CFLs, as they are sometimes called, can save about 75% on energy compared to incandescent bulbs. But they need to be used properly as well if you want to squeeze all the savings out of them that you can. Fluorescent bulbs take more energy when they are constantly being turned off and on. A general guideline if you have these in your home is to not turn off a light if you know you will be returning to the same space within 15 minutes. This will help you save money as well.

Although the savings you can make by using compact fluorescent bulbs, they can still be considered inefficient if they are on in a room where they don't need to be. If you are leaving the house or won't be in a room for a while, then the best rule is to turn off the lights and only use them when you actually plan on being in the room. Many people choose to have incandescent bulbs in the permanent fixtures around the house and then to use CFLs in smaller lights like lamps. This can be a smart idea, especially if there are a lot of people always coming and going from a room.

But many people talk about saving money on appliances or by using efficient light bulbs and then go and spend the money they `saved' on some kind of electronic device that uses more energy. When you are being conscious about the money you are spending on energy in general and specifically electricity, keep track of what your monthly bills are and also how many kilowatt hours you are using from month to month. When you see the money that you are saving on your bill each month, deposit the money into an interest bearing account and you will really see the fruits of your labors. Saving money really only does any good if you actually save the money and set it aside for something more important or for a cash reserve in case of an emergency.