Lighting is one of the challenges of going off the grid. Everyone needs to have lighting for some time of the day. An average of just over 3 hours a day.Â
Unless you are going to go to bed at sunset every day then you will need to have some kind of lighting. The key going off the grid is to reduce the amount of energy you use on a daily basis.Â
For lighting you have three methods available using electrical power.
1. Incandescent lights
2. Compact Florescent Lights
3. LED lights
You can disregard using Incandescent lights due to there high power usage. Something you want to avoid when providing your own power.
That leaves Compact Florescent lights and LED lights to consider.Â
Between the two you have a choice of lower upfront cost and higher power usage or high upfront costs and low power usage.
Depending on the number of lights you have in your home and the type of power generation system you are using will determine which one you choose. If you are going to use solar panels to produce your electricity then you will want to lower your electrical needs as much as possible.Â
With solar panels you can add panels to your system in small increments. Which means that the fewer panels you need to supply your electrical needs the cheaper it will be for you.Â
Whereas if you are using a wind turbine you don't have the ability to move up in small increments. Instead you will have a choice of small, medium or, large systems. The price increasing in accordance with the power the turbine generates.Â
If you cannot run your house on a small generator no matter how much you reduce your electrical usage then it makes financial sense to go with low upfront costs and higher power usage as your system can produce enough excess power to power your lights.
The yearly power usage of each system is quite different.
As an example:
If you operate your lights an average of 3 hours per day and you want the equivalent lighting power as a 60 watt incandescent light bulb then:
You will use 14.24 kWH of power in one year using CFL's
An equivalent LED light will use 4.9 kWH per year.Â
Therefore if you are looking solely for low energy demands then LED lights are what you need.
Upfront costs are easy to determine. Simply count the number of lights you will need and multiply by what each costs.
As an example:
A three bedroom house may need:
2- 60 watt bulbs per bedroom
2- 60 watt bulbs per bathroom
4- 60 watt bulbs in the living room, dining room, and kitchen
6- 60 watt bulbs in the family room
6- 60 watt bulbs for miscellaneous places like closets and crawl spaces
4- 60 watt bulbs in the garage
Totaling 24 bulbs in total
CFL 13 watt bulbs which will provide the same lighting power as a 60 watt incandescent bulb will cost
$6.50 each times 24 bulbs equals $156
LED 5 watt bulbs providing the same lights as a 60 watt bulb will cost
$20.00 times 24 bulbs equaling $480
A difference of $324.Â
If the lower power usage will lower your overall power usage enough to need a smaller system or need fewer solar panels then the $324 if money well spent.
If you are still on the grid and want to lower the cost of lighting your house then the difference between the two is about 30 cents per bulb. Not a big difference so until LED lights start to come down in price it makes more sense to stick with CFL's.?
Unless you are going to go to bed at sunset every day then you will need to have some kind of lighting. The key going off the grid is to reduce the amount of energy you use on a daily basis.Â
For lighting you have three methods available using electrical power.
1. Incandescent lights
2. Compact Florescent Lights
3. LED lights
You can disregard using Incandescent lights due to there high power usage. Something you want to avoid when providing your own power.
That leaves Compact Florescent lights and LED lights to consider.Â
Between the two you have a choice of lower upfront cost and higher power usage or high upfront costs and low power usage.
Depending on the number of lights you have in your home and the type of power generation system you are using will determine which one you choose. If you are going to use solar panels to produce your electricity then you will want to lower your electrical needs as much as possible.Â
With solar panels you can add panels to your system in small increments. Which means that the fewer panels you need to supply your electrical needs the cheaper it will be for you.Â
Whereas if you are using a wind turbine you don't have the ability to move up in small increments. Instead you will have a choice of small, medium or, large systems. The price increasing in accordance with the power the turbine generates.Â
If you cannot run your house on a small generator no matter how much you reduce your electrical usage then it makes financial sense to go with low upfront costs and higher power usage as your system can produce enough excess power to power your lights.
The yearly power usage of each system is quite different.
As an example:
If you operate your lights an average of 3 hours per day and you want the equivalent lighting power as a 60 watt incandescent light bulb then:
You will use 14.24 kWH of power in one year using CFL's
An equivalent LED light will use 4.9 kWH per year.Â
Therefore if you are looking solely for low energy demands then LED lights are what you need.
Upfront costs are easy to determine. Simply count the number of lights you will need and multiply by what each costs.
As an example:
A three bedroom house may need:
2- 60 watt bulbs per bedroom
2- 60 watt bulbs per bathroom
4- 60 watt bulbs in the living room, dining room, and kitchen
6- 60 watt bulbs in the family room
6- 60 watt bulbs for miscellaneous places like closets and crawl spaces
4- 60 watt bulbs in the garage
Totaling 24 bulbs in total
CFL 13 watt bulbs which will provide the same lighting power as a 60 watt incandescent bulb will cost
$6.50 each times 24 bulbs equals $156
LED 5 watt bulbs providing the same lights as a 60 watt bulb will cost
$20.00 times 24 bulbs equaling $480
A difference of $324.Â
If the lower power usage will lower your overall power usage enough to need a smaller system or need fewer solar panels then the $324 if money well spent.
If you are still on the grid and want to lower the cost of lighting your house then the difference between the two is about 30 cents per bulb. Not a big difference so until LED lights start to come down in price it makes more sense to stick with CFL's.?
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