How Fluorescent Bulbs Can Save You Cash

190135 Resource 178435 178982 178982 1195531984083 1195533008421 Controlled Save Home Energy Costs Without Sacrificing Quality With the New Compact Fluorescent Lamps

Dollar-Savings on Utility Bills Should Motivate Homeowners To Use CFLs

The cost of using old incandescent bulbs to light your home may now outweigh the cost of using the initially more expensive energy-efficient compact fluorescents. Retail stores are offering "compact fluorescent lamps" or CFLs in multiple-unit packs for a fraction of their former price. In July of this year, one national retailer, for example, offered a pack of four 13-watt CFLs -- providing the same illumination as a standard 60-watt bulb – at $7.97 or less than $2 each. Five years ago, a single bulb cost $7.97. <a title="Real Estate Journal Link" href="http://www.realestatejournal.com/homegarden/20070705-ransom.html" target="_blank">According to a Wall Street Journal report earlier this year</a>, the Energy Federation, a not-for-profit company that distributes energy-efficient products, said the average price of a CFL is around $3, down from $9 in 2000 and $20 in 1990.The compact fluorescent lamps no longer come in only twisted, funny-looking shapes. You can get them in a variety of shapes that will fit in bathroom light fixtures, in recessed ceiling cams, and in some track lights. Not yet available are halogen light equivalents where you need high-powered spots. <a href="http://www.realestatejournal.com/homegarden/20070914-fialka.html?refresh=on">GE and the two other big light bulb makers, Philips and Osram Sylvania, also are looking at light emitting diodes, or "LEDs," as new sources of residential lighting.</a>Compact fluorescent lamps can be cheaper than traditional bulbs when the CFLs' longer lives and low energy consumption are factored in. CFLs last, on average, eight times as long as incandescent bulbs, according to a spokeswoman for the Environmental Protection Agency's Energy Star program.  This is good because one downside of using the CFL’s is the environmental hazard they pose at disposal because of the small amount of mercury that each bulb contains (about 4 milligrams) – always recycle them at a hazardous waste depot!Huge savings on energy costs result from use of compact fluorescent lamps in a home. Replacing one 60-watt incandescent with a 13-watt CFL might save you about $30 in energy costs over the life of the CFL, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. Imagine the savings from replacing every bulb in your home! I admit that I’ve only made it to about 50% of the bulbs in my home, but I’ve already noticed a difference in my electric bill. Some people are concerned about the light quality with the fluorescents. They are not like the old-time flickering fluorescents. Some installations do take a few seconds to get to full power, and that does take some getting used to. Personally, I found that I adjusted to the slow rising brightness in about a week. You have a choice, start saving now, or <a title="Real Estate Journal link" href="http://www.realestatejournal.com/homegarden/20070914-fialka.html?mod=RSS_Real_Estate_Journal&rejrss=frontpage" target="_blank">wait for the 100-year old technology represented by incandescent bulbs to be withdrawn from the market in a few years.</a> 9 application/xml false CFL Energy-savings Flagstaff Ecobroker green homes light bulbs How Fluorescent Bulbs Can Save You Cash Real Estate Journal Report on Savings from CFL use, including charts from EPA calculations http://www.realestatejournal.com/homegarden/20071001-openshaw.html?refresh=on It May Be Lights Out for Old Bulbs U.S. Drive to Conserve Energy May Include Mandates and Products Withdrawn From Markets http://www.realestatejournal.com/homegarden/20070914-fialka.html?refresh=on Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 7.0; Windows NT 5.1; .NET CLR 1.1.4322; .NET CLR 2.0.50727) 127.0.0.1 127.0.0.1 aheitland 24.121.32.9 false true false false true 178975 false false true false false false true 178435 blog blogsite/BestFlagstaffHomes/web