Sustainability - Focus on Light
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One of the luxuries we often times take for granted is the availability of light at the flip of a switch. It makes it possible for us to do just about anything we want at any time of the day or night. What are the elements of sustainability related to light?
Lighting requires energy so:
- Use energy efficient fixtures and bulbs. All our lamps that originally had incandescent bulbs now have compact fluorescent bulbs and the overhead lighting fixtures in the kitchen/basement utilize the tube style fluorescent bulbs. There are still a few halogen floor lamps in our house but I try to not turn them on in the summer when the heat they generate is at cross purposes with the air conditioner! The lights around the mirrors in the bathroom and the dining room fixture still use incandescent bulbs and I don’t plant to replace them.
- Turn off lights when they are not needed. ‘Need’ is full of nuance. When I read - I need a light. But how much extra light do I need if I am reading on a tablet…or if it is in the daytime and my chair is by a window? How important are some lights to feeling secure? We do have a timer system in our house that turns a few lights on and off even if we are not home. If we are home - the lights are on in the evenings and early mornings in the rooms where we are….and not in other parts of the house.
Another element of sustainability when it comes to light - is the influence light has on health. It is an area of research and harder to internalize that the energy consumption issue.
- More outdoor light exposure seems to reduce nearsightedness. It’s not clear what it is about outdoor light that is important.
- Seasonal depression is linked to the amount of daylight (i.e. winter blues).
- Light from computer monitors and e-reader before bedtime can impact sleep.
- Melatonin in linked to light exposure and then a lot of other biological functions. One researcher is investigating the use of blue light to slow, prevent preterm labor (because it reduces melatonin which is linked to contractions).
