Don't Let's Treat Our Homes like the Workplace...

Simply put, why would we leave the lights on when we leave the bathroom?  Or any room for that matter!  We don't do that in our homes.  Oh, I see, you're remembering those urban myths about how lights use more electricity to start-up than if left on, right?  Well, that's partially true.  Incandescent, dinosaur-age, bulbs actually have a very small start-up spike in wattage drawn compared to their in vogue counterparts, CFLs or T5/T8 Fluoro tubes.  Yesteryear's fluorescent ballasts did have an initial wattage spike with a higher peak and longer duration but with today's circuitry, digital electronic ballasts have revolutionized the lighting industry.  Ultra-Quiet and efficient, with a significant decrease in start-up surge, digital ballasts paired with modern fluoro tubes have debunked that old myth.  The same goes for CFLs, since they contain small electronic ballasts.  Moving onto business.

Let's look at some numbers based on observations of of a public restroom, here at NOCA...

Sample Time Start: 1320
Sample Time End:  1520
Total Lighting Wattage (including Ballasts):  268W
Number ins/outs (of the door):  5
Average Length of Visit:  7.45 minutes
Average ins/outs per Hour:  2.5
Average Total Occupied Time per Hour:  18.63 minutes
Average Total Unoccupied Time per Hour:  41.37 minutes

Now, let's compare operating costs of those lights for both scenarios (lights on all work day vs only when occupied).  Applying some simple arithmetic and assuming a $.10/kW-hr electiricity rate, we see that if left on for the full work day with no shutoffs when unoccupied, the lights in the restroom will run up a $7.13 tab for a 28 day month.  If only turned on when the restroom is occupied, the cost drops to a whopping $.23 for the month!

That's solely appealing to the consumer savings.  What kind of GHG emissions are being saved by simply shutting off restroom lights between visits?

**CFLs and Fluoro Tubes are most definitely recyclable.  Waste Management will not accept them.  Please keep a box designated for burnt-out bulbs in your garage, pantry, etc and when full, simply bring them to the nearest location that will properly dispose of them:

• Whatcom County HHW Facility - 3505 Airport Dr. (Bellingham) - (360) 380-4640
• Skagit County HHW Facility - 14104 Ovenell Rd. (Mt. Vernon) - (360) 424-3873
• Whatcom County HHW Facility - 3505 Airport Dr. (Bellingham) - (360) 380-4640