Choose the Smartest Lighting Add-Ons for Your Home

Now that homeowners have access to so many types of switches and lighting sensors that can help control how much electricity the home uses, saving energy is easier than ever. In order to choose which types of lighting add-ons you want, you’ll need to decide whether you’re looking for a more effective way to control how much electricity you use—or whether you’d rather take advantage of technology that can help control your lighting use for you.

Control Your Lights with Timers and Switches…

Timer switches enable homeowners to tell their lights to switch on and off at certain times of day, meaning that you won’t have to worry about forgetting to turn the light off and using too much electricity—a timer switch helps ensure that the lights only come on when you need them. Dimmer switches also help homeowners control how much electricity they use by controlling light output at levels between “on” and “off”; if you want to be able to choose just how much light you’d like to use at any time of day, dimmer switches are the way to go.

…Or Let Your Lighting Do the Work

Light sensors do not turn on and off at times specified by the homeowner—instead, they sense the environment around them and determine whether or not to activate based on whether they sense sufficient light or movement. The different types of light sensors include:

• Motion sensors, which activate outdoor lights when something close to them moves
• Occupancy sensors, which activate the lights only in rooms that are being used
• Photo sensors, which work based on how much light is already present around them

Once you decide whether you’d rather purchase a lighting system that gives you a greater range of control over your electricity output or one that does your energy-saving work for you, there’s nothing stopping you from planning the perfect green lighting installation.