Energy-Saving LED Lighting for Your Home and Garden - Top 5

Having just had to raise my Direct Debit amount for my electricity bill each month, I’ve taken a look over the ways our lighting can be used to save energy. Saving energy is saving money, and we could all use that extra peace of mind at the end of a month.

There are a few different ways to save energy and money on lighting your home and garden, and it’s not all just about turning lights off! Let’s see how LED light bulbs and a dedicated method can help us all rest a little easier this year.

1. Twin-Pack Magnetic Motion Lights

What Are Magnetic Motion Lights?

If anyone saw me highlight these in the Spring sale, you know how genuinely helpful motion LED light can be. It’s a hands-free, mains-free way of lighting areas both small and large. The motion sensor LED will detect you opening the bathroom door, a cupboard being opened or a pet walking past and trigger a directional cone of diffusing light.

The practicality of the lights is due to their huge versatility. You can attach them as they come to any magnetic surface, or use the included 3M sticky magnet to make any surface suitable. Personally, I attached the sticky magnet on my bedroom doorframe so that if I leave the room at night the corridor gets some light without having to claw for a light switch or use excessive energy from the corridor light bulb. Transforming the small LED discs into wall lights or even ceiling lights this way gives you almost unlimited creativity.

How They Save Energy

The design of motion sensor LEDs lends itself to energy-saving through only ever being on when needed. More than that, the internal battery is rechargeable and so not only is your local household more efficient, but so is the planet overall. No replacement battery means you can use the LED over and over without any extra production and energy costs on the grand scale.

Most importantly, the motion sensor LED light also has a light sensor. This is great because the motion sensor will only enable If the light sensor is deactivated. Basically, the LEDs only react to movement at night! They won’t detect motion and turn on during the day, or if the main room light is on, making them even more efficient than normal motion detecting lights.

2. Bluetooth LED Desk Lamp

What is a Bluetooth LED Desk Lamp?

While adding Bluetooth to everything was a trend over a decade ago, the utility of some of those creations lives on. A Bluetooth lamp provides a charging port, wireless speaker and LED light all at once. The ultimate home-office, kitchen or workplace space-saver as well as an energy efficient bulb make this an adaptable and clean way to access multiple benefits.

How It Saves Energy

Mains or battery use will obviously change drastically based on which features you use, and for how long. It is this dynamic power-usage that makes the device more efficient than having 3 separate devices. With a lamp, charger, and speaker all separately plugged in or discharging you will be using far more standby, start-up and shut-down energy. The surges needed to activate the devices can stack up, and charging all 3 separately is inefficient.

In addition, by only needing one device you save on production and shipping emissions on a worldwide scale. Every little change we make for our energy costs saves the world some energy too, not just us.

3. Laptop Keyboard Light USB

What is a USB Keyboard Light?

If you don’t have a backlit keyboard and your screen brightness is dim / directional it can be hard to work into the night. You don’t want to have the main room light on all night but need to have an hour or so working away on something with visibility.

A USB LED light strip can provide a small solution with a big impact. Using the PC / Laptop’s USB port for power, this light can be posed to illuminate the keyboard, nearby desk space and papers, or serve as a night-light. Being solely USB-powered makes it incredibly portable, and the few small LEDs it features draw very little energy for the amount of light they generate.

How They Save Energy

The device saves space and power by using USB and keeping a simple design; just a few LEDs in a flexible rubberised casing. There aren’t so many LEDs as a garden light, and no motion-sensing or light-detection systems. This means you are in full control of when the light is on and where it’s needed.

The tangential benefit is that, by using a USB light for the minimal illumination, you save yourself from needing a larger lamp or the main room light turned on. To start saving energy it’s best to compare what you’re using with what you would otherwise be using. Don’t compare to a baseline of 0, because that’s not a realistic expectation in most households!

In this case, while the USB light still uses energy, it is achieving the same goal for much less! This is why the word efficiency is used so much for lighting and energy, because the goal we are achieving (Be it lighting a room or boiling a kettle) stays the same, but the amount of money and effort it takes is what changes.

4. Portable LED Desk Lamp and Torch

What is a Torch Desk Lamp?

We’ve seen how combining features can help us save some energy and make the planet greener in the long run, and how a smaller light source being available can save us from using larger, energy-guzzling bulbs. This portable LED desk lamp which can fold outwards into a sort of flashlight combines both of these ideas. Elevate your table lamps to a new level of efficiency.

By folding into a standing position, the lamp is great on desks and bedside tables, but you can flip the neck around and shine ahead of you too. Picking up the lamp and getting a midnight glass of water or navigating stairs in the dark makes things safer, easier and less intrusive for others in the house.

How it Saves You Energy

The main benefit of a multifunctional LED desk lamp / LED flashlight is that you don’t need to rely on your main light fittings, or motion lights. The light does the job itself provided you can pick it up and bring it with you. While more cumbersome than the magnetic motion LEDs, the lamp does stop the constant on / offs of our main lights overnight or while working.

This light is the most powerful on the list, too, while still being 100% LED. LEDs provide more visible and usable light per Watt than other bulbs, so even though this lamp will certainly take more energy than the small motion lights or USB LED, it will still be greener and cheaper than using your mains bulbs for short periods.

5. Exterior Shed LED Motion Sensor Light

What is an Outside Motion Shed Light?

“Shed Lights” are traditionally angular, wall-mounted outdoor lighting that come on to flood people’s gardens with light when movement is detected at night. They are often positioned above the doors to, or on the walls of, sheds. Personally, I don’t have the garden or space for a shed so mine is sitting above my exterior Gas / Electric meter (Ironically) so that I can take readings and see the lock easily.

The technology is similar to the little interior lights, but make more sturdy. The angular design spreads the light out over up to 20 feet, and ensures a good coverage of the area below the fitting.

How It Saves Energy

Using the same smart technology as the interior motion lights, this shed light will only turn on when it’s night-time and there’s not enough light in the area. If you need more than that, you can still do so efficiently thanks to a mode that leaves the light on “dim” until motion is detected. This means you aren’t stuck having the light fixed on 100% brightness all night wasting power, but still have constant light when you need.

On top of that I’ve never had to take it off the wall from out there and bring it in the charge, since it’s a solar led motion sensor light. The solar power has kept it charged seemingly indefinitely!

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