Household Lighting and its use

Here is the energy usage trends of Australian domestic sector for various types of equipments used.This clearly shows that lighting is one of the main energy consumption area and is expected to grow steadily in the coming years.

Here is the graph showing sources used for electricity generation in Australia. This clearly shows that more than 94% of the electricity is produced by burning fossil fuels (>80% share of Coal) generating anormous amount of Carbon Dioixde (CO₂). Statistics show that to produce every I MWH energy from fossil fuels, about 1 ton of CO₂ is generated and discharged into the atmosphere hence we can easily imagine how muchcarbon dioxide (CO₂) is being discharged into our atmosphere for electricity generation only. The problem is that in addition to generating cheap electricity, coal-fired power plants also release massive amounts of carbon dioxide, the greenhouse gas linked to global warming.

Did you know that, according to the Earth Policy Institute statistics, if the Australia shifted entirely from incandescent to compact fluorescent light bulbs, we could shut down 6 coal-fired (500 MW) power plants? And that if these changes adopted worldwide, we would be able to shut down 270 coal-fired power plants.

The story doesn't end with greenhouse gases, however.  In addition to releasing carbon dioxide, coal-fired power plants also release the following:

·Sulfur Dioxide - the main cause of acid rain

·Nitrogen Oxide - causes smog and acid rain

·Radioactive pollutants - in fact a coal-fired power plant can release more radioactive pollutants than a properly functioning nuclear power plant

It has thus now become our responsibility to think serious and utilize better energy efficient systems in our houses, commercial buildings and industry to help reduce CO₂ build-up causingmany concequences for our globe.

Lighting represents about 20 percent of your home’s electricity bill. Switching from incandescent bulbs to CFLs is the easiest step you can take to save on your energy bill and help the environment.

Our goal is to educate people about the cost-saving and environmental benefits of replacing compact fluorescent (CFL) light bulbs with the current incandescent bulbs so that individually they save money and collectively they bring about an environmentally-beneficial outcome.