Saving Energy: Lighting

With different specialty lighting kits like under-cabinet lighting or rope lighting, you can make everyday tasks easier, provide safe night lighting, and create dramatic effects.

Under-cabinet lighting

If you have to squint and strain to read a cookbook on your kitchen counter, under-cabinet lighting is what you need.

These low-voltage fixtures attach to the bottom of any cabinet, and provide bright, non-glaring illumination with no annoying shadows.

Most under-cabinet fixtures are shaped like miniature hockey pucks. Prices for kits range from $15 to $50, and power consumption is about 20 watts per light.

Installing under-cabinet lighting can be a do-it-yourself project, but it requires a little experience with wiring and the use of power tools.

Learn more about
lighting design

Rope lighting

Rope lighting is a set of miniature low-voltage bulbs embedded in a tube of highly durable PVC plastic. Even novice do-it-yourselfers can install this product.

Rope lighting is perfect for both interior and exterior use - you can illuminate your driveway or landscape outdoors, or highlight cabinetry or architectural elements indoors.

It's also great safety lighting - it provides a soft, non-glaring light along stairways and in the "toekick" area underneath kitchen and bathroom cabinets.

If you want unique holiday lighting, you can choose rope lights in a variety of colors and even special effects, including flashing, chasing, and color changing.

Rope lighting is unbreakable, waterproof, shockproof and reusable - and it can bend to conform to any curve or corner.

And the best features are the long lifespan - more than 20,000 hours - and one-watt power consumption. If one bulb goes out, the rest stay lit.

Do-It-Yourself
Project:

Installing
Rope Lighting

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Are you an Alliant Energy customer?

If you’re an Alliant Energy electric customer in Iowa or Wisconsin, you can earn cash back when you purchase high-efficiency EnergyStar light bulbs.

Looking for an energy-smart lighting dealer?

Try Alliant Energy’s online Dealer Locator to find lighting experts in your area.

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Brochures and fact sheets:

PowerHouse: Lighting Your Home
By Alliant Energy [PDF format]

Energy-Efficient Lighting Fact Sheet
By the U.S. Department of Energy [PDF format]

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Learn more:

EnergyStar Lighting

American Lighting Association

National Lighting Bureau