How To Reduce Energy Usage With Recessed Can Lights
by Rae Wertman
Most people know that recessed can lights use a lot more energy than regular lights, and if you don’t already know that you will as soon as you get them installed! The problem is not that each fixture uses more energy than standard fixtures do, it’s the fact that you will have eight or ten fixtures to light one room. There is also the problem of air leakage between your living space and the attic, which causes the AC or heater to run more frequently. In this post I want to offer some ideas to help you tackle both of these problems so your recessed can lighting doesn’t become too expensive to run.
The obvious solution to reducing the energy drain of a lot of recessed lights is to install energy efficient bulbs. The problem is that running a bunch of CFL bulbs will still use a lot of energy. One of the best things that you can do is fork over the extra money for LED bulbs. These use a fraction of the energy that a CFL bulb does, and has the advantage of only burning out every couple of decades. That is extremely helpful if you have very high ceilings since these fixtures are notoriously hard to change bulbs in.
Should you be totally against the idea of energy efficient lights, a dimmer switch can make a big impact in the life of your bulbs and the amount of energy they use. A dimmer will only help you out when it’s not turned all the way up, but with a little bit of training this is easy to do.
Sealing recessed lights is another important task that will stop air leakage from the attic. Simple kits are available to seal up your light fixtures. Be very careful if you choose to add insulation around the fixture because some of them are not designed to be placed around anything flammable. Check your fixture first to make sure that it’s IC rated, if it’s not DO NOT put insulation anywhere near it or you’re running a major risk of an attic fire!
Reducing the amount of energy that your ceiling can lights use, and the heating and cooling costs associated with them is not difficult to do. Use any of the three ideas discussed above and see a major impact in your utility bill right away!
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