Why Choose Energy Star Outdoor Lighting Fixtures?

Most people are familiar with energy star outdoor lighting fixtures or at least know to look for the energy star label on the box when searching for new lighting equipment.

Energy star products have been around since 1992 as an initiative from the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to help reduce the energy consumption of electrical equipment.

We continue to see a larger number of consumers concerned about the environment and wanting to decrease their carbon footprint.

While electricity is still considered clean energy, the means by which electricity is manufactured at nuclear power plants releases environmentally unfriendly byproducts into the atmosphere.

As advances in technology allow us to use energy more sparingly without compromising our current lifestyles, we will see more and more demand for energy star products.

How Much Energy Do You Really Save?

Without question, outdoor lighting is necessary in helping us manage our lives so that we can continue to live a comfortable life.

Traditionally, outdoor lighting fixtures consumed lots of energy. While that still may be true to some extent, outdoor lighting manufacturers have begun manufacturing newer, more energy efficient lamps.

How energy efficient does an outdoor lighting fixture need to be to qualify as an energy star product?

The US Environmental Protection Agency says that an outdoor lighting fixture would need to consume 1/4 (one quarter) the amount of energy it would traditionally consume to qualify as an energy star outdoor lighting fixture.

Thats a pretty high standard and has raised the bar quite a bit.

Energy Star Lighting Life Span

Energy star outdoor lighting requires that all outdoor lamps last a minimum of 10,000 hours. Thats to ensure that you are not constantly replacing your light bulbs and contributing to more waste.

You will often find that energy star lighting fixtures use outdoor fluorescent lighting, compact fluorescent bulbs, or outdoor LED lighting as an energy efficient alternative to the traditional incandescent light bulb.

These fluorescent and LED lights tend to have a much longer lifespan than incandescent outdoor lamps while also being very energy efficient.

Fixture Efficiency

Energy star fixtures must be able to produce better light output than non-energy star fixtures. This is to ensure that the energy consumed by the lamp is used most efficiently and not lost due to an ineffective design flaw.

Its also another reason why many energy star fixtures use compact fluorescent or outdoor LED lighting. These light sources are very energy efficient and produce the best ratio of light output per watt consumed.

Energy Saving Features

The best way to save energy is not to use the energy in the first place. That's why many energy star fixtures contain features such as motion sensor outdoor lighting.

Another great feature called intermatic outdoor lighting is often used in conjunction with motion sensor outdoor lighting to ensure your outdoor lights don't continue to remain lit even in the daytime.

And of course, outdoor lighting timers allow you to pre-set your lights to turn on and off at a pre-determined time.

2 Year Warranty

To qualify for eligability, all energy star outdoor lighting equipment is required to have a two year warranty from the manufacturer. Thats a pretty good deal if you ask me.