Learn Hardcore Italian: Metteremo una lampadina a basso consumo per risparmiare energia. - We will put in a low-consumption light bulb to save energy.

Metteremo is the futuro semplice (simple future) of mettere, first‐person plural (“we will put”). Here it indicates an action that will take place in the future: “we will install/put in.”

Why not just use the present tense mettiamo instead of metteremo?

In Italian, you can sometimes use the present (“domani mettiamo…”) for near future, especially in colloquial speech. However, the simple future (metteremo) is more formal and unambiguous when you want to stress that the action definitely lies ahead in time.

What exactly is a lampadina, and how does it differ from lampada?

Lampadina is the diminutive form of lampada. While lampada can mean any lamp or light fixture, lampadina specifically means “light bulb.” The suffix -ina makes it a smaller, more precise object.

What does the phrase a basso consumo mean and how is it constructed?

A basso consumo literally means “at low consumption” and is the standard way to say “low‐energy” or “energy‐saving” in Italian. Structurally it’s a + adjective + noun, where the adjective (basso) modifies the noun (consumo).

Why is it basso consumo and not bassa consumo?

Because consumo is a masculine noun (il consumo), its adjective must agree in gender and number. So you use the masculine singular basso, not bassa.

Could one say una lampadina di basso consumo instead of a basso consumo?

You might hear una lampadina di basso consumo, but the idiomatic, most common form is a basso consumo. The preposition a here signals a characteristic or “type” (like una macchina a metano).

What is the function of per in per risparmiare energia?

Here per expresses purpose (“in order to”): “in order to save energy.” In English we drop “per” and say “to save,” but in Italian the preposition remains mandatory.

Why is energia singular here? Could it be plural?

Energia is an uncountable noun in Italian when talking about the concept or amount of power in general. You wouldn’t say energie in this context—energia remains singular to express “(some) energy.”

If I wanted to use a pronoun instead of repeating energia, could I?

Yes. In a connected sentence you could say:
“Metteremo una lampadina a basso consumo, così la risparmieremo.”
Here la stands for energia and you’ve turned per risparmiare energia into a clause with a direct‐object pronoun.