Consumers urged to turn off lights

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PRINCETON — The message is to turn off unnecessary lights and save some energy.

On Saturday, Illinois will be part of a one-hour, international Earth Hour climate awareness initiative. Gov. Rod Blagojevich is encouraging Illinois residents to participate in this one hour event, from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday, by turning off unnecessary lights and electric appliances.

As part of Earth Hour, the state of Illinois will turn off all non-essential and decorative outside lights at state-occupied buildings in Chicago, including the James R. Thompson Center, the Michael Bilandic Building, and 401 S. Clinton. Street lights and lights needed for public safety will remain on, Blagojevich said.

More than 30 cities on six continents around the world are participating in Earth Hour. Earth Hour will start in New Zealand and go through 14 time zones, finishing in the Pacific Time zone.

“I am pleased to announce the state of Illinois is participating in Earth Hour to highlight the difference all of us — from large organizations down to individual people — can have on the problem of climate change,” Blagojevich said. “By working together and thinking of ways to change our habits in the long-term to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, each one of us can make a positive impact to help combat the effects of global warming.”

Though the city of Princeton is not officially participating in Saturday’s Earth Hour, Superintendent of Electric Jason Bird said it’s a great idea, and there are definitely ways in which people and businesses can conserve energy.

To help customers with energy and cost savings, the Princeton Electric Department is still doing free energy audits and will make specific recommendations on how to save energy and money, Bird said. Two basic improvements are to make sure windows are sealed well and to use energy efficient Compact Fluorescent Lighting (CFL) light bulbs.

As far as the city of Princeton itself, the electric department has already changed all 240 lights at the power plant to CFL ones. The city’s traffic lights have been upgraded to more energy efficient ones. Lighting at city hall has been changed to CFL bulbs. The fire department is in the process of making lighting upgrades. The police department has applied for a grant to help with the lighting upgrade, Bird said.

In addition to switching to CFL lights, the homeowner can save energy and costs by various other simple changes, Bird said. For instance, dishwashers and washing machines should only be run when full. Homeowners should also find a comfortable zone for their thermostats and leave them set there. Studies show the 66-68 degree range is most efficient, Bird said.

“It’s absolutely important that we all realize what we can do to save energy, which is not only good for the environment but also saves us money,” Bird said.

Earth Hour is sponsored by the World Wildlife Fund conservation organization. WWF works in 100 countries, has 1.2 million members in the United States and nearly five million members globally. Earth Hour will be the largest voluntary power down in history, organizers said.  

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