By Carl Seville, Networx One of the biggest causes of excessive
energy use in homes comes from the amount of electrical
equipment, lighting, and electronics we have, and how often it
is left on when not needed. Starting with lights, we often turn
them on when we walk into rooms, even if there is enough light
to see without them. On top of that, they are too often left on
when not needed. If no one is in a room, then there isn’t much
point in having a light on. A little lighting here and there for
security -- to make intruders think you are at home and to have
enough light so you don’t trip over something or fall down a
flight of stairs is fine, but don’t leave on so many lights that
someone walking down the street thinks that you’re filming a
movie in your house. If you have the old, soon to be
discontinued, incandescent light bulbs, they product a lot of
heat (about 90 percent of their energy is heat and only 10
percent is light), so in the summer, lights left on heat up your
house, requiring more air condit