Ring out the old bulbs, ring in the new: Rossland residents invited to free holiday light exchange
By Contributor
As part of the Rossland Energy Diet, FortisBC is helping to brighten the holidays and save residents electricity by providing CFL bulbs and strings of LED holiday lights.
“FortisBC is welcoming winter with a light bulb and holiday light exchange for all Rossland residents and a contractor meet ‘n greet for Rossland Energy Diet participants,” said Tom Loski, FortisBC’s vice president of customer service.
“Natural Resources Canada tells us that just changing your holiday lights can make a big difference. ENERGY STAR® LEDs use up to 90 per cent less electricity and last 10 times longer. An average home would pay about $27 in energy costs using the old incandescent lights versus only 32 cents for LEDs.”
The light bulb and holiday light exchange event is scheduled for Tuesday, November 29, 2011 at 6 p.m. at Rossland Miners’ Hall. Residents can exchange five old incandescent bulbs for CFLs (two globes and three twisters). They can also exchange two strings of incandescent holiday lights for two strings of high efficiency LED lights. All lights are available on a first come, first served basis.
“The energy diet is well underway, with over 200 residential participants who have now completed their home energy assessments and 34 small businesses that have completed a lighting audit. This event is another opportunity for the community to get involved in energy savings, even if they aren’t doing major home or business upgrades,” added Loski.
For Rossland Energy Diet participants who are already registered, the event will also provide an opportunity to meet and speak informally with local contractors about how to improve the comfort and efficiency of their homes. They can even schedule appointments for work with these contractors to help achieve home energy efficiency goals.
Some other simple tips to save you energy and money this holiday season:
- Decorative holiday LEDs are cool to the touch, reduce the risk of fire and are available in a variety of colours, shapes and lengths.
- Using a timer will help save electricity. Switch lights on at 7 p.m. during weekdays to avoid the electricity peak and remember to turn holiday lights off if you are leaving home for extended periods of time.
- Buy ENERGY STAR electronics. ENERGY STAR certified electronics – TVs, DVD players, VCRs and cordless phones – use significantly less electricity than their non-certified counterparts. Visit energystar.gov for a list of qualifying models.
- TVs, DVD players, computers, printers, radios and many other electronics use energy even when they aren’t turned on. Unplug these items before you go on vacation and enjoy the energy savings.
For more information, visit fortisbc.com/energydiet or call 250-368-1918.
NOTE: A list of local contractors is attached to this article.
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