Power Usages in Lighting

According to the U.S. Department of Energy, the most electricity usage in U.S. households comes from powering appliances, such as lighting and refrigerators. Lighting makes up around 9 percent of all residential electricity use in the United States.

Traditional

• Traditional forms of electrically powered lighting include incandescent and fluorescent lighting. Incandescent lighting using a wire filament will light at 15 lumens per watt of electricity, turning only 5 percent of power into visible light. The National Nanotechnology Initiative explains that fluorescent lighting works at 80 lumens per watt, using an average of 25 percent of energy for visible light.

Energy Efficient

• The Energy Star website reports compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs), which use gas instead of wire filaments to provide light, are more energy efficient than incandescent and fluorescent lights. CFLs are around 75 percent more energy efficient than incandescent light bulbs, according to Energy Star.

LEDs

• The National Nanotechnology Initiative notes that the use of lighting sources, such as Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs), can result in large energy savings. Approximately one third of the traffic lights in the United States have been switched to LEDs, resulting in savings of on average $1,000 in energy costs per traffic light-controlled intersection.