The market now offers lighting fixtures that are more efficient than those that use incandescent bulbs and a single switch. These new fixtures save energy, reduce resource use and decrease the amount of waste going into landfills. Rooms often need functional lighting to provide more specific light in particular areas and general ambient lighting to diffuse light to the entire room. You can make choices to meet these different needs in the most eco-responsible way possible.

Our recommendations :

1. ENERGY STAR® rated light fixtures consume 66% less energy on average and minimize heat release, which cuts down on air-conditioning needs in summer.
2. Compact fluorescent bulbs last about 10 times longer than ordinary incandescents and consume 4 or 5 times less energy. Some compact fluorescents can be installed with a dimmer, for greater control over ambient lighting. Because these bulbs contain a small amount of mercury, they cannot be simply thrown away but must be taken to dedicated recovery sites. In the event of breakage, use a piece of cardboard to collect the pieces, place them in a sealed container and dispose of at a recovery centre.
3. LEDs (light emitting diodes) are becoming more and more affordable, they’re well suited to residential lighting needs (better colour rendering), and they have the potential to consume less energy than compact fluorescent bulbs. Interestingly, LEDs have a very long lifespan – 5 to 10 times longer than compact fluorescents, which means 50 to 100 times longer than incandescent bulbs. They can also be adapted to different configurations – bulbs, strips and panels – to provide ambient or functional lighting. LEDs are not very heat resistant, however, which reduces their efficiency. Unlike compact fluorescents, LEDs contain no mercury or noxious gases.
4. Dimmer switches adjust the intensity of the light, which increases eye comfort and decreases energy consumption: depending on the decrease in intensity, a zero-resistance dimmer can save from 5% to 50% in energy costs.

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