Sustainability in today's age isn't something reserved for those with a bottomless budget. Technology becomes more streamlined with time and development. Today, it has reached the point where even those with limited budgets are able to enjoy the many benefits which become available.
An LED is a Light-Emitting Diode. Because of the nature of this innovation, it is able to provide energy-efficient illumination that requires less energy, and lasts longer. Oftentimes an LED will last as much as fifty times longer than a conventional filament bulb.
That means less replacement. You'll be able to purchase an LED fixture and trust in it for years—decades even, depending on its use. And all that comes with diminished cost to your pocketbook. You actually pay more on your utility bill for older lighting options, as they require more electricity to operate.
Ultimately your carbon footprint decreases with such options, meaning going this route is better for the environment as well. If that weren't enough, LEDs don't burn “hot”. This means they're usually not hot to the touch. Sometimes they may be warm, but it's as likely they'll be near the room's ambient temperature.
The light which is emitted from LED solutions is usually easier on the eyes, too. According to ATG Electronics, LED Outdoor Lighting Fixtures offer “glare free and uniform lighting.” Oftentimes there is flickering with filament bulbs on a frequency that isn't always immediately identifiable, but which definitely has a cognitive effect.
Solar Solutions
Solar panels are cheaper than ever today as well. As a matter of fact, according to Wikipedia, you can get solar panels in an industrial capacity as low as $0.70 per Watt. That means you could purchase a system of 3.1 kWh for $2,170. Installation and necessary functional accoutrements will likely bring the price up to somewhere around $5k; but still: for ten years you'll be entirely energy independent.
Using an LED option with solar technology allows you to remain off the grid perpetually, with illumination options that are good for the environment, last longer, look better, and ultimately save you money. The only real downside to either solution is initial investment; but it pays for itself over time.
Applying Modern Technological Breakthroughs To The Home
Whether you're looking to remain energy-independent from grid solutions that are increasingly less trustworthy in modernity, or you're trying to be more conscientious in the choices you make as they affect the environment, solar and LED options are definitely recommendable.
Additional breakthroughs are coming every day, and it is now theoretically possible to function with full modern technical connectivity while remaining entirely grid-independent.
Such a lifestyle would look something like this: you would have a garden utilizing prepared human waste collected via composting systems which are becoming more affordable and easy to use. You'd get your energy from the sun, and your lighting from LEDs that don't use much of that solar power. Collecting water from a rain barrel, or a well dug on the property, will likewise serve your purposes.
If you throw in a prefabricated steel building, you can even have a structurally sound, low-impact housing option from which to expand your ecologically and economically friendly sustainable options. The only difficulty at this point is finding proper land on which to build; but if you look in the right places, that can be sourced inexpensively as well.
It all depends on your proclivities and the kind of work you do. Keep an eye out for online work—you may be able to eke out a career using the 'net which doesn't require you to be involved in a corporation that doesn't keep your best interests in mind. Do that, and you can live anywhere.
