Conserving energy and saving money can go hand in hand, and it can be as simple as changing a light bulb.

“I changed out all my chandeliers and they hold about 30 or 40 bulbs each, and I have noticed a savings after I did that,” downtown business owner Barbara Willingham said.

Willingham said she decided to move to more energy efficient bulbs after hearing a talk at the monthly Vicksburg-Warren County Chamber of Commerce lunch held back in March 2015.

“Jane (Flowers) called and told me there was going to be a program the Chamber was doing,” Willingham said.

Flowers is the executive director of the Vicksburg-Warren County Chamber of Commerce.

After hearing Wayne Ammons from Entergy Solutions at the monthly Chamber luncheon, Willingham said she was convinced to move to more cost savings light bulbs.

Flowers said before scheduling Ammons for the meeting, Entergy Solutions had contacted her about the READI program, where contractors come in and do an assessment of your business and home and then physically change out the bulbs.

Flowers said, she let them change out the light bulbs in the Chamber’s boardroom, and the rebates that were being paid out at the time covered almost the entire expense of the bulbs, she said.

Flowers said she had heard Hinds Community College had saved a lot of money after switching out their light bulbs.

The entergymississippi website states there are benefits of switching from traditional incandescent lighting to Energy Star certified CFL or LED light bulbs.

With a CFL light bulb consumers can save up to $6 per bulb annually on energy costs, the bulbs will last up to 10 times longer than incandescent bulbs, and they use 75 percent less energy.

An LED bulb last up to 25 times longer than incandescent bulbs, uses 75 percent less energy and comes with a minimum three-year warranty.

The National Wildlife Federation’s website also suggested these tips for going green when it comes to lighting.

4 Turn off lights you are not using.

4 If your older children live with you, put them in charge of the electricity bill. They will make sure all the lights are turned off if they are responsible to for paying for the electricity.

4 Do not place lamps near a thermostat. The thermostat senses the heat produced from the lamp, which can change how often your furnace or air conditioner will run.

4 Consider safer, more efficient Energy Star torchiere (tall floor lamp with a bowl-shaped glass that diffuses the light and directs it upward) lamps over popular halogen torchiere lamps. The halogen lamps can cause fires, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. While relatively inexpensive to purchase, halogen lamps are expensive to operate.

4 Use dimmers, timers and motion detectors on indoor and outdoor lighting.