Take Action: Replace a light bulb

ECOstrive – If every American home replaced just one light bulb with an ENERGY STAR qualified bulb, we would save enough energy to light more than 3 million homes for a year, more than $600 million in annual energy costs, and prevent greenhouse gases equivalent to the emissions of more than 800,000 cars. Source: Energy Star

Replacing a light bulb might seem like a simple thing. But there are many that have not changed from incandescent to Compact Fluorescent (CFL) bulbs. The direct energy savings speak for themselves, but you also have some significant indirect savings from the reduced heat output. Most CFLs put out 75% less heat than the incandescent equivalent. Here are some more facts from Energy Star:

  • ENERGY STAR qualified bulbs use about 75 percent less energy than standard incandescent bulbs and last up to 10 times longer.
  • Save about $30 or more in electricity costs over each bulb’s lifetime.
  • Produce about 75 percent less heat, so they’re safer to operate and can cut energy costs associated with home cooling.
  • Are available in different sizes and shapes to fit in almost any fixture, for indoors and outdoors.

If cost is a factor, just replace your most often used light first. Then, make it a goal to replace 1 light every month until you have replaced every bulb in your house. You will notice a savings, especially in larger homes.

Another feature listed above, is the fact that you will replace the CFL far less often than your standard light bulb. This makes them ideal for those hard to reach fixtures, and will save you hassle and cost down the road.

The modern CFL is available in many different colors, sometimes referred to as temperatures, measured in Kelvin (K). Lower Kelvin numbers mean the light has a warmer color, while higher Kelvin numbers mean the light has a cooler color. The majority of CFLs available in the market offer soft or warm white light (2700K–3000K), which is comparable to an incandescent bulb. CFLs are also available in higher kelvin color temperature CFLs (3500K, 4100K, 5000K, 6500K) and will emit whiter to bluish-white light. These products are usually identified with the terms “bright white,” “natural” or “daylight.”

The bottom line is that you can start saving a LOT of energy today, for very little sacrifice in comfort or cost. ENERGY STAR recommends installing qualified CFLs in fixtures that are used at least 15 minutes at a time or several hours per day to reap the maximum benefit.

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