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Natural lighting conserves electricity, creates a connection with the outdoors, and gives a space a lively feeling. We should attempt to have light come into a building from as many directions as possible. The quality of the light and connection to the outside is what people feel the most, even more than the size of a space. Here are some of the techniques architects use to bring light in and control it for the best effect.

Tracking the sun’s path

If you like to wake up to the sun, you can build the bedrooms on the east side of the house. If you prefer maximum light in the living/dining quarters later in the day, you can choose to put them on the west side.

Funneling light into the center of a home

One common technique many architects use is to create a central stairwell, for multiple storey buildings that doubles as a light well, lit by a nearby window or skylight. This makes the stairs light and open.

Windows

Adding more windows to your home or building allows for the maximum capitalization of sunlight. The more windows there are, the more light enters and fill the entire room.

Replace Interior Solid Doors with Glass

Living, dining, laundry rooms with solid interior doors can be replaced with glass doors which not only allows light to easily pass through but also reflects light back into the room.

Paint Your Rooms Deep Colours

The most common thing to do with dark rooms is to paint them light to increase brightness, but sometimes the best thing to do is to embrace the shadows and go for deeper, moody colors.

Hang a Well-Placed Mirror

Another tool for reflecting light is with the use of mirrors. The addition of mirrors in living rooms allows captured light to be reflected in the opposite direction.

Trimming Trees and Other Plants

Trees are beneficial to the home in that it blocks the sun from directly heating the home. However they reduce the amount of light entering the room. By effectively trimming the leaves and branches they can achieve both functions.

In our last column we discussed saving energy around the home and saving money as a result.  We touched on ways to reduce costs contributed by lighting and appliances; more specifically, the refrigerator and washing machine.  In a previous article we talked about the home office.  Today we provide a few tips on reducing energy costs in the home office.

Persons working from home will most likely use electronic devices and may use them very frequently.  These normally include a computer, fan or air condition, printer/copier etc.  Although it saves on transportation cost it increases your home energy bills, so in order to actually realize savings there are a few things we should bear in mind.

1. Selecting energy-efficient office equipment and turning off machines when they are not in use can result in significant energy savings.

2. Spending a large portion of time in low-power mode not only saves energy but helps equipment run cooler and last longer.

3. Using the power management settings on computers and monitors can cause significant savings.

4. It is a common misperception that screen savers reduce a monitor’s energy use. Use automatic switching to sleep mode or simply turn it off.

5. Another misperception is that equipment lasts longer if it is never turned off. Many appliances continue to draw a small amount of power while switched off so unplug appliances not in use and unplug battery chargers when the batteries are fully charged or the chargers are not in use.

6. Use rechargeable batteries for products like cordless phones and digital cameras.

7. Turn on air conditions and fans at hotter times of the day.

8. Reduce the use of paper. Do double-sided printing and use printed paper with errors for scrap.

9. Make use of emails and free or cheap calling systems like Skype.

Right in your own home, you have the power to save energy and money.

Maintaining an energy-efficient home will save you money.  Saving energy will also contribute to the reduction in our nation’s overall resources needed to produce and provide energy.

An average household dedicates about 5% – 6% of its energy bill to lighting.  Switching to energy-efficient lighting is one of the fastest ways to lower your energy bill.  You have many choices in energy-efficient lighting; the most popular ones being halogen incandescent, compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs), and light-emitting diodes (LEDs).  Switching to these may seem to cost more money initially but the cost saving benefit will be realized during its lifetime.

Appliances account for about 13% of a household’s energy costs, with refrigeration and laundry at the top of the list.

To reduce the amount of energy costs refrigeration and laundry account for, the following could be practiced:

Refrigeration

• Ensure your refrigerator door seals airtight
• Cover liquids and wrap foods stored in the refrigerator. Uncovered foods release moisture and make the compressor work harder.
• Regularly defrost freezers and refrigerators. Frost buildup decreases the energy efficiency of the unit.
• Ensure your refrigerator or freezer is not kept at a very cold temperature.

Laundry

• Wash your clothes in cold water using cold-water detergents whenever possible.
• Wash and dry full loads. If you are washing a small load, use the appropriate water-level setting.
• Dry towels and heavier cottons in a separate load from lighter-weight clothes.
• Don’t over-dry your clothes.
• Air-dry clothes on clothes lines or drying racks. Air drying is recommended by clothing manufacturers for some fabrics.

Whether you take simple steps or make a large investment to conserve energy it will ultimately be beneficial to you and your family.