Skip to main content

Turn off the Lights

In this episode (172) – Turn off the Lights . . .

It happened on Thursday; Fall officially arrived, and soon darkness will be upon us by 5:00 p.m. To prepare, let's look at our energy usage and the most cost-effective way to light our home this winter. Compulsively turning off household lights to save money is a habit most of us have, but it's not the money-saving power move we think it is - unless . . . 

Back in my day, it made sense to turn the lights off when you left the room. As Mom always said, "Turn off the lights! We're not made of money."

Let's be clear, if you turn off any device in your home that uses electricity, no matter how big or small the device, you will, of course, save money. It doesn't matter if the device is a power-hungry tungsten lamp or a tiny night light in the bathroom. You are obviously not paying for electricity if it isn't using electricity.

However, LEDs completely changed the game regarding serious energy savings. The efficiency of LED lighting compared to traditional incandescent lighting is mind-blowing. LED lights use a fraction of conventional incandescent bulbs' energy. Such a small fraction that—depending on the bulbs in question—you can power anywhere from six to a dozen LED bulbs with the power required by the one incandescent bulb you're replacing.

It helps to look at some numbers to put things in perspective. For example, let's say that there are ten light bulbs in your home that you keep on. And let's say you leave them on for five (5) hours every night. These are ten 60-watt (w) incandescent bulbs. They consume a total of 600w per hour or 0.6 kWh. Multiply that usage by the cost your local utility charges per kWh; the U.S. national residential average is ~$0.12 per kWh, so we'll use that. (Note; California average is ~$0.25 per kWh).

Each evening when you leave those ten bulbs on after work, it costs you $0.36 [($0.12 x 0.6) x 5]. Per month, that's * $10.96; per year, it's $131.49. Now let's say you have ten 60w-equivalent LED bulbs used under the same conditions—5 hours per day in the evening after work. Most 60w-equivalent bulbs use 8-9 watts of energy, so we will use 8.5w for our calculations.

Now your per-hour energy use isn't 600w; it's 85w. At the U.S. national average ($0.12), running those ten bulbs for 5 hours after work costs you $0.03 per day [($0.12 x 0.051) x 5], that's $0.91 per month and only $10.96 per year.

To get close to the energy expense of leaving the ten incandescent bulbs on in the evening, you'd need to leave on roughly 70 equivalent LED bulbs.

The point of this exercise isn't to encourage you to be wasteful for the sake of being extravagant. But with the efficiency of LED bulbs, flipping lights off in a room you'll be returning to shortly or not leaving accent lights on around your house just doesn't make a lot of sense.

The cost to run one 60w-equivalent LED bulb is ~$0.001 —a tenth of a cent per hour. You're talking 1,000 hours of operation to hit one dollar at that price point. And hey, if you want to save more money (power), unplug your lesser-used electronics or put them on a power strip; so you can flip them off when you're not using them.

For example, a TV uses about 18W of idle power. That's two LED bulbs worth of energy, 24/7 ($18.93/yr.), completely wasted because it's just powering a TV that's not even turned on.

And granted, you probably leave frequently used items and crucial things like your internet modem and router plugged in; you'll save way more power per year by unplugging unused electronics than you will by beating yourself up for leaving the kitchen lights on.

With winter approaching, if you haven't made the switch to LED lights - think about it.

I'm Patrick Ball; thanks for listening. I'll see you in the next episode.

* (Calculations assume 30.44 days/month & 365.25 days/year) 


Comments

Most Popular of All Time

Finding Our Place

In this episode,  Finding Our Place: Hope and Humanity in the Age of AI . . . Yesterday, I overheard a conversation that echoed a question many of us are quietly asking: In a world increasingly shaped by algorithms, where do we , as humans, truly fit in? My younger colleagues, sharp and driven, were "joking" about AI taking their jobs. Their concerns felt valid, prompting me to reflect. Will machines really replace us? My answer, unequivocally, is No . And here’s why. What makes us uniquely human isn't merely our ability to perform tasks. It's our innate capacity for creativity and our deep-seated need to serve others. These aren't just abstract ideas; they are the very essence of what gives meaning to our lives and work. While AI excels at processing data and automating tasks with incredible speed, it cannot replicate the spark of human ingenuity. It lacks the empathy to truly understand unspoken needs or the intuitive synergy that fosters breakthrough solutio...

Chasing the Magic

In this episode, Chasing the Magic: How the Summer of ’98 Inspired the 'Ball Boys' . . .  Do you remember that feeling? The late-summer air was thick with humidity, radios crackling on porches, the smell of fresh-cut grass and barbecue smoke in the backyard. Every evening carried a new kind of suspense—the country holding its collective breath after every pitch. “Did he hit one today?” became more than a question; it sparked a nationwide conversation.   For me, and millions of others, the summer of 1998 wasn’t just another baseball season. It was theater, a movement, a time when the game recaptured something sacred. As sportswriter Mike Lupica said so perfectly,   “No matter how old you are or how much you’ve seen, sports is still about memory and imagination. Never more than during the summer of ’98, when baseball made everyone feel like a kid again, when it felt important again.”    Just four years earlier, the 1994 players’ strike had left the sport bruised...

The Curious Crew

In today's special episode, The Curious Crew . . .  Oh, our young folks are ready, with AI so grand, A new era of wonders across every land! With curious minds, vast as Space, full of creative delight, And a zest for exploring, with all of their light! They welcome new tools, with a gleam in their eye, To learn and to grow, way up to the sky! Our thinking's a marvel, a clever design, We make new plans, so fantastically fine! With problem-space maps and memories, too, We build new ideas, quite fresh and quite new! With smiling faces, showing gratitude's grace, We find our own wonderful, human-filled place! Sharing a meal with generosity and love, A warm human spirit, a gift from above! We stand tall together, collaborate, and help with a grin, For with Agentic AI, together we win! Not machines all alone, but with us by their side, We'll create and serve, with nothing to hide! I'm Patrick Ball. Stay curious and ask questions. See you next time.

The Sights of Summer

In this episode, The Sights of Summer: Chasing Miles & Unexpected Smiles . . . For Lori and me, the perfect summer morning isn't something you find marked on a calendar; it's a feeling . It's the refreshing crispness of the air on our faces, the gentle warmth of the sun on our skin, and the exciting anticipation of discovering new miles and uncovering the hidden "sights of summer" along our journey. A glorious California day returns with our weekly ride. We begin with a warm-up cruise around our neighborhood under a wide, cloudless, azure sky. With a smile, I’m thinking, " You know it’s going to be a great ride when even furry co-pilots are excited!"  We chuckled as a neighbor drove past, two white, fluffy dogs with their tongues flapping in the breeze and ears flopping wildly out the truck window. Pure canine bliss—an ideal sign for a fun day on two wheels. “Did you see those pups? They looked like they were smiling.” Traffic was blissfully light, ...