Night Lights - burn all night long

If you stop and think about it, night lights burn all night long as we sleep. Do we really need them?

When you get up at night, our eyes are accustomed to the dark since they've been closed for hours. If there are streetlights nearby or a moon of any sort, then chances are good that we will have plenty of light to see by with our sensitive night vision.

Those little lights don’t consume all that much power, but I think it's silly to light up portions of my house while I sleep.

If it's illuminated and my eyes are closed, that seems wasteful to me. It goes against my mindset of frugality.

Many people believe that lights in the hall and bath are necessary because when they first turn off the lights, everything looks so dark – their eyes haven’t adjusted to the reduced light levels. I think night lights are a lot like those plug in room deodorizers - someone thought is was a really neat idea to plug something into the wall outlet, and quite a few of us stayed enamored with it.

We red, white and blue Americans love anything that runs on electric power - even stuff that operates all night long while we're not using it. Is there any wonder the electric meter keep on turning?

Once you get on the "lights on at night" kick, you’ll have those little buggers in the hall, the kitchen, the bath, and who knows where. Then it will start to add something noticeable to your electric bill.

If you have a dark hall or room, and someone in the family has to negotiate that at night and they aren’t sure-footed, or they have poor night vision, then the night lights are worth the minor expense to have peace of mind that family members aren’t at risk.

If you have visitors that aren’t familiar with your home, then using them during their stay is also a good idea.

Otherwise, unplug them with the rest of the stuff that you aren't really using and don't need running while you sleep or while you're awake during the day either.

The version of Wee Willie Winkie that I remember had him tip toeing through the house, not running through the town. Regardless, he used a candle to light his way, and he didn't leave it burning all night long in the event that he had to get up and use the bed pan.

Done with Night Lights, back to Ways to Save Energy