With the rising cost of energy, a number of changes have been introduced in the past few years that provide consumers with viable solutions for reducing energy use and thereby saving money. One such change is with the light bulb. The old bulb used for years and years is now being replaced with a new bulb – Compact Fluorescent Light Bulb or CFL.
The CFL light is rated as an Energy Star solution that is making a huge improvement on the planet and in millions of homes. For instance, if every home in the United States were to replace a standard light bulb with a CFL, the amount of energy saved would be enough to illuminate three million homes every year. That means annually, this one change can save approximately $600 million but this change would also eliminate nine billion pounds of greenhouse gas emission each year. To put this into perspective, that amount of gas would be the same as emissions from 800,000 cars on the road!
This clearly shows that something as simple as switching out regular light bulbs for CFLs does make a difference to the world but also to the consumer. The key however is to make sure any CFL purchased has an Energy Star rating. That way, you know it meets strict energy efficiency standards that would provide you with long, consistent illumination while not adding to the growing problem of energy consumption.
Okay, so if you were to switch out all the light bulbs in your home from the standard type to CFLs, what would it mean to you from a cost saving standpoint. For starters, this change would save you a minimum of $40 annually. Another huge benefit is that because CFLs use 75% less energy than a standard light bulb would, the bulb would last up to 10 times longer so you would save money on replacement bulbs too. These light bulbs are also much safer because they produce 75% less heat. During the summer when the air conditioning unit is running, this means the unit would not have to work as hard or long because the home’s environment would be cooler.
CFL light bulbs were somewhat expensive when first introduced but today, they are very affordable. Additionally, you can find CFL bulbs at any hardware, home improvement, drug, or grocery store and like regular bulbs, they come in packs of two, three, and four. Considering the average home has between 20 and 30 light bulbs, you can see how beneficial it would be to make the change to CFLs as a way of reducing energy consumption and saving money.
Regular light bulbs, which are known as “incandescent” produce light by allowing electricity to pass through a small wire called a filament. For illumination to occur, the wire becomes hot and glows. However, up to 90% of energy used for the illumination of an incandescent light bulb is not on the glow but on producing heat. That means 90% of energy is being wasted. When compared to a CFL, these light bulbs use a gas-charged tube with electricity passing through the bulb whereby a chemical reaction occurs to create illumination. This means the bulb is cooler than the incandescent type but also that more light is produced.
One important note specific to CFL light bulbs is that they do contain a very slight amount of mercury. For this reason, instead of tossing them out in the garbage as you would with the incandescent bulbs, it would be recommended to collect them and then take them to a disposal site that handles waste products. These sites are very popular and located throughout cities.
