LIPA Celebrates Change A Light Season
Uniondale, NY— October 3, 2007— Long Islanders can save $63 a year in
energy costs by changing just five light fixtures in their homes. And, if every
LIPA residential customer replaced just one light bulb with an ENERGY STAR
qualified bulb, enough energy would be saved to light more than 7,000 homes for
a year; reduce annual energy costs by more than $13 million; and prevent
greenhouse gases equivalent to the emissions of more than 70,000 cars.
The Long Island Power Authority (LIPA) announced today it will encourage its
customers to participate in the national Change A Light, Change the World
campaign by hosting a pledge to replace at least one incandescent light bulb
with a Compact Fluorescent Bulb (CFL). Each year the U.S. Department of Energy
and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency join with organizations across the
country – including LIPA –to encourage every American to change out the
incandescent light bulbs in their home with ENERGY STAR® qualified lighting. The
pledge can be found on the LIPA Web site (www.lipower.org).
As of October 1st and running through December 31st, 2007, LIPA once again
began rebating $1.00 per bulb per pack of ENERGY STAR spiral CFLs, $2.00 on
third party tested specialty lamps (globes, A-lamps, 3-way bulbs and dimmable
bulbs), and new for this year, LIPA introduced a $2.00 rebate on cold cathode
light bulbs. (A cold cathode is much like neon lighting, although up to five
times brighter, and it has one of the longest lives of any lighting fixture at
about 50,000 hours.)
And with the holiday’s fast approaching, don’t forget energy efficient
holiday lights. LIPA is also providing a $2 rebate to customers who purchase
Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) for their holiday decorations.
“The average Long Island home spends about $100 a year or 7 percent of its
energy bill on lighting,” said LIPA CEO/President Richard M. Kessel. “At a time
when energy consumption and global warming have become a priority in the
public’s eye, using ENERGY STAR qualified lighting products is a fast and easy
solution that is good for us and our environment.”
The Change A Light, Change A World campaign begins today, Wednesday, October
3rd. LIPA invites Long Islanders to join the campaign by logging on to
www.lipower.org and take the pledge to
change out the incandescent light bulbs in their home with ENERGY STAR®
qualified lighting.
ENERGY STAR qualified lighting uses 75% less energy than traditional lighting
products and lasts 6 to 10 times longer. The ENERGY STAR label can be found on
lighting products ranging from bare spiral light bulbs, to reflector bulbs—used
in high-hats, to an increasingly wide range of stylish and task-oriented lamps
and fixtures. To save the most energy and money, replace the highest used
fixtures or the light bulbs in them with energy-efficient models. The five
highest use fixtures in a home are typically the kitchen ceiling light, the
living room table and floor lamps, bathroom vanity, and outdoor porch or post
lamp.
Many Long Island residents are already familiar with the ENERGY STAR program.
In fact, since the launch of LIPA’s Clean Energy Initiative in 1999, over four
million CFLs have been rebated! That amounts to almost four CFL bulbs per
household, which is a great start. However, the average home has 30 sockets
where CFLs could be placed. Some of these areas can be easy to overlook. In
addition to the most frequently used areas previously mentioned, other great
places to install ENERGY STAR qualified CFLs include basements, closets,
garages, and hallways. Many manufacturers have designed CFLs specifically for
use with ceiling fans, so that customers get the energy savings from a CFL in a
covered, more compact design.
LED is a technology whose time has come. LEDs have been around for years, but
new technological advances have made them more energy efficient, brighter and
available in a wide range of colors.
Illuminated solely by the movement of electrons in a semiconductor material,
LEDs do not use glass or tungsten fibers. This means that they are very
lightweight and environmentally safe. LEDs also produce brighter light with
virtually no heat and consume 50% to 70% less energy than conventional lighting.
As an example, the energy cost of lighting 600 LED bulbs five hours per day for
30 days is approximately 56 cents. By comparison, the same number of
incandescent bulbs utilized over the same amount of time would use almost $23.00
of electricity. LED lighting will save energy for years to come. LEDs can last
between 50,000 and 100,000 hours, whereas conventional incandescent light bulbs
have a lifespan of around 1,500 hours.
Available in a wide range of styles and colors, LED holiday lights can be
purchased in strings from 50 to 250 bulbs. Up to 25 strings of LED lights can be
strung together without overloading the typical household circuit.
The average home can cause more air pollution than a car. Because ENERGY STAR
qualified CFLs use two-thirds less energy than traditional light bulbs and last
6-10 times longer, they create less greenhouse emissions – a by-product of
energy consumption. In addition to helping preserve our environment for future
generations, the long life and energy efficiency of CFLs and LEDs can help
improve your lifestyle today by saving both time and money. Using ENERGY STAR
qualified lighting and LED lighting can help reduce your electric bill, and save
time shopping for and replacing bulbs.
For more information on saving energy in the home, visit
www.lipower.org/cei or call the LIPA
Energy Infoline at 1-800-692-2626. |
