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Dirty indoor walls can absorb more light than you might imagine. The dirt film need not be dark to cause this and it builds up slowly over time so that you do not notice it. This requires you to turn on more lights and this wastes electricity. All of the electricity used by light bulbs ends up as heat energy inside your house. In the summer, this puts a greater load on your air conditioner.
Most walls can just be washed with soap and water and this will brighten them up considerably. If you do repaint, select a light color and one of the new easy-to-clean indoor wall paints. Many major paint manufacturers sell this type of paint. Some of it has a low porosity finish and others have components formulated in to keep dirt from sticking to the paint surface.