For 2012, we’re committed to helping you slim down something pretty important—your electric bill! Each month, we’ll give you a simple way to save energy AND save money. With 12 simple steps throughout the year, we’ll help you reduce your electric bill.
Step 1: See the Light
Did you know electric lighting can burn up to 25% of your home energy budget?1 Compact florescent bulbs (also called CFLs) use about 75% less energy than old-fashioned incandescent bulbs while still providing the same amount of light. They also stay cooler, which reduces home cooling costs. And each bulb can last up to 10 times longer.
Switching your light bulbs to CFLs can really help you save money on your electric bill. For example, replacing a 60-watt incandescent bulb with a 13-watt CFL will save about $65.80 in electricity costs—and remove over 600 lbs of carbon from the Texas environment.2
A few things to know about CFLs:
• Always screw them in by holding the bottom part (called the ballast), not the twisty glass part.
• Make sure you have 3-way bulbs for 3-way sockets, and dimmer bulbs for dimmer sockets.
• Most motion-sensitive lights and timers won’t work with CFLs.
Ready to see the light? The average home has 18 light fixtures—that’s a lot of opportunity to save. Buy some CFL bulbs now and slowly replace your incandescent bulbs as they burn out, or go ahead and replace some frequently used incandescent bulbs now to start saving money immediately. And don’t forget to subscribe to The Current blog to catch next month’s tip to help you save money on your electric bill.
1http://www.energy.ca.gov/efficiency/lighting/
2Based on 1.35 lbs/CO2 per 1kWh. Source: US EPA 2005 Texas emissions data.
you might also want to include in this article the astronomical cost of cleanup and the related health hazards if these bulbs break because of the mercury content. while they may be great for saving a few bucks on the bills is it worth it knowing that you and your family could be exposed to toxic mercury if one should get broken and that your home will have to be quarantined (or at least the room the bulb broke in) in order for a professional hazmat cleaning crew to handle the broken light bulb?
Thanks for sharing your concern. While CFLs do contain a very small amount of mercury (about 4 mg), there is no risk of any exposure unless one breaks. Should that happen, there are some very simple steps one can take to remove the risk of exposure to mercury vapors- no hazmat suits required. It’s also interesting to note that using CFLs over incandescent light bulbs reduce the overall amount of mercury in the environment, by using less energy. And don’t forget to recycle your old CFLs to even further reduce harmful environmental impacts. All of that being said, you should use whatever light type best suits the needs of your family. Hope this information helps.
Here’s a link to some facts from energy star
http://www.energystar.gov/ia/partners/promotions/change_light/downloads/Fact_Sheet_Mercury.pdf
And here are some cleanup tips from the EPA
http://epa.gov/cfl/cflcleanup.html