One of the many ways to achieve points to go toward the earthcents rating is the type of light bulbs used in the home. We opted to predominately use CFL (compact flourescent bulbs) and LED. I think as woman, the first thing I think of when I hear flourescent is "institutional" or that bright blue/gray LED. To be candid, flourescents and LED lighting has been feared by many designers . There's nothing that says home like warm incadescent lighting that makes you want to wrap up with a blanket and book. Lighting affects so much of what we see. Think about a photo shoot. It is all about lighting.

But during this entire process, I found out that the lighting industry has made great strides toward efficiency and beauty. They have even produced an incandescent light that uses less energy than the traditional incandescent. We are using a few of these lights as well.

Oh, did i mention that this is a smart home as well which furthers our challenge. I am still learning about this as well but my understanding is that dimmable LEDS are difficult to obtain at best. However, the exterior 4" recessed cans are LED and dimmable and the interior recessed flourescents are dimmable. I must say that I am so impressed with the effort and results of Inline Electric Co. www.inlineelectric.com They have been on the forefront of this and really made what seemed like an insormountable task (beauty and efficiency) come to fruition.

Everytime I look at the ligting, I am reminded of the team effort taken to make it happen. It is so beautiful if I say so myself.