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Entry bubble You Light Up My Life

By: Sommer | September 28, 2007 | Category: Home and Family

According to the U.S. Department of Energy, if every household in the United States replaced just ONE regular incandescent light bulb with an Energy Star approved compact fluorescent bulb (CFL) we’d 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.  Now that’s all well and good, but come on, let’s be realistic here. How does that really apply to you and me?

I used the Energy Department’s lighting cost calculator* to see how much money my family might save if we replaced all our light bulbs with CFL’s. I tried to do a rough count in my head and I think we have around 25 light bulbs in our townhouse. So, after the cost of new light bulbs (estimated at $3.50 each) we’d save about $134 in the first year.

Now, I have to be honest that I was a little disappointed by that small dollar amount. Especially since we live in a housing co-op and split our utility bills with the other 159 homes in the neighborhood. Our family won’t directly see any of the benefit so what’s the use, right? There has to be a way we could save some money from this, though, so next I calculated the cost difference if all 160 homes in our community replaced their estimated 25 incandescent bulbs with new CFL’s, too. If everyone changes their bulbs we’re bound to see a difference, right? Right! After the first year, our co-op would save more than $35,000 just in electric bills!!! Now that seems like a bargain! Even if the co-op coughed up the money and purchased all 4,000 CFL’s for the homes to make sure everyone switched them out we’d still save around $21,000 the first year. Even better, over the estimated 6,000 hour lifetime of the 4,000 CFL’s we’d save $158,000! And that’s just in our little corner of Falls Church, VA. Imagine the impact we’d have if all 100 million households in the U.S. chipped in and did their part. The results would be astounding – maybe even $600 million dollars!

*The calculator is a Microsoft Excel document so if you don’t have Excel you won’t be able to open the link.

| Post a Comment | View Comments [21] | envelope E-mail This Entry | Tags: conservation   energy   home   money   sommer  

Comments (21):

blue comment bubble Posted by librarian on September 28, 2007 at 10:41 AM EDT

I'd like some help with the controversial aspect of the mercury in these lightbulbs. Proper disposal could certainly mitigate that but how do you get users of these bulbs to also do proper disposal?

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blue comment bubble Posted by Scott Casper on September 28, 2007 at 02:27 PM EDT

I was motivated by _An Inconvenient Truth_ to start investing in fluorescent bulbs but quickly hit a practical snag -- most fluorescent bulbs available for sale by the big chain stores are too big! Not that the screw-in end is the wrong size, but that the bulb is too long to fit under the glass covers on my ceiling light fixtures. Any ideas why fluorescent bulbs would have to be made larger than incandescent bulbs?

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blue comment bubble Posted by Sommer on September 28, 2007 at 02:41 PM EDT

Thanks for bringing this up Librarian. You’re right; CFL’s do contain a small amount of mercury – about 5 milligrams in each bulb (enough to cover the tip of a ball point pen). Although mercury is an essential component in these bulbs, manufacturers are currently taking steps to reduce the amount.

Some communities have laws banning disposal of CFL’s in the regular trash and therefore require recycling or disposal with hazardous waste. In communities that don’t ban CFL’s in the regular trash, the Environmental Protection Agency recommends wrapping the used bulb in two plastic grocery sacks and then disposing them with your other household waste.

I found a couple additional resources with information about bulb disposal.
1. The Environmental Protection Agency offers a site that lists local recyclers of mercury-containing bulbs [http://www.epa.gov/bulbrecycling/].
2. Energy Star also offers a fact sheet with proper disposal and tips on clean up in case of a break [http://www.energystar.gov/ia/partners/promotions/
change_light/downloads/Fact_Sheet_Mercury.pdf].

I hope this additional information is helpful.

- Sommer

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blue comment bubble Posted by Sommer on September 28, 2007 at 02:58 PM EDT

Mr. Casper,
I've not experienced the bulbs being too large for my fixtures. The bulbs come in various shapes and sizes -- even ones that look exactly like incandescent bulbs. Good luck on finding ones that work for you!
- Sommer

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blue comment bubble Posted by christine on September 28, 2007 at 05:25 PM EDT

I hate those bulbs. Can't use them in a ceiling fan (they instantly burn out, we found), and although they are advertised as lasting longer than old-fashioned bulbs, in our house, at least, they always seem to die quicker.

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blue comment bubble Posted by Hmmmer on September 28, 2007 at 10:20 PM EDT

So you want the people to do the heavy lifting eh?

By changing light bulbs? Why not walk for treats?

Instead of driving to buy ice cream, walk.

How about industry, those lit up office towers, decorative lighting, swimming pools, and my least favorite of all, those arrogant garish Christmas decorations everywhere. Now that's a pure waste!

Not just the houses but each and every one anywhere, should have a one hundred percent Carbon tax.

So if you buy any incandescent lighting for say $10.00 you pay $10.00 carbon tax on top of any other taxes.

Look at this;
http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/ene_coa_con-energy-coal-consumption

United States — Population: 301,139,947 (July 2007 est.)

World = 6.7 Billion now !!! On track for estimate!

This means that about 5% of the worlds population is the second largest consumer of coal to make.

Why?

Things that make you think hmmm?

Sommer, why do you focus on money?

Focus on breathing, good luck.

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blue comment bubble Posted by debra on September 29, 2007 at 10:52 AM EDT

While CFLs are definitely better than they were, the light from them still seems "not as bright." and I still have adjusting to the color difference. I also can't read by them (just cannot get enough wattage).

That said, I have replaced "just lighting" lamps with CFLs, so about 1/4 of the ones in the house. As they improve to be more functional as task lights, I will domore. But I will never fully replace incandescents/halogens as long as they are available until the quality of light in CLFs improves. Living in Calfornia, that means in several years annual trips to Oregon or Nevada to buy them, I know.

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blue comment bubble Posted by bechamp on October 02, 2007 at 11:28 AM EDT

I also have had problems with the quality of light from CFLs, but you can buy CFLs with different wavelengths and intensities of light. There really is a difference between different bulbs. I'd suggest going to someplace like Menards that has a lit display of CFLs. You can compare the qualities of light and get some idea of what works for you. Take some examples home and put them in rooms where the lighting is not crucial - basements, bathrooms, etc., and live with them for a while. There are some that are supposedly full-spectrum/sunlight quality.

We started out with the cheaper 6 pack from a big-box store, and they were no good. I refuse to have them in the main areas of the house since the light quality (or lack thereof) gives me headaches. I can barely stand to do laundry to them. But I have hopes for some of the others we've bought.

It also helps, of course, to just turn off your lights when you're not using them. An incandescent bulb that's not on is not using any energy. Cooking dinner and leaving the kitchen for 5 minutes? Turn off the lights.

Bechamp.



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blue comment bubble Posted by Conservative Edge on October 03, 2007 at 09:02 AM EDT

Wow....CFL's are going to save the day? "Wrap the bulb in two plastic bags" is the recommendation on how to deal with the mercury? That makes as much logical long term sense as most other hairbrained liberal ideas.

I do agree that office buildings need to watch their power consumption. Its a waste and unwise to light those buildings for no other reason than to see them at night and marvel at their beauty. Pretty lame excuse. I do think they help in keeping airplane navigational (pilots use them as landmarks) but there are others that have no need to be used in that manner.

Back in the energy crunch of the 70's (when I was a wee lad of 10-14... yeah we had 2 "crisises") we turned down the thermostat and turned off lights when we left the room... Not only is it tough on the nation as it wastes energy and gives more power to the OPECS and Chavez' of the world, it hurts the wallet.... You'd think it'd be an obvious easy solution, but I continually have to hound (not reallly but u know what I mean) my kids and wife (she was raised at the same time but didn't get the message) to conserve power and turn the lights out of any room as they leave...."But we might go right back in there" the kids say...."ARRRGHHHH" is all I can do. LOL....
Anyways....We have CFLs in our house, I''m a conservative...I like the idea of having bulbs that freeking last..Then a yr later I find out about the mercury...."arrrgggghhhh"

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blue comment bubble Posted by David C on October 03, 2007 at 09:37 AM EDT

How about giving all Americans a government subsidy towards the purchase a home wind turbine to sit on top of the house? - these cost around $1000 at the moment - seach for wind power home. Or even solar panels? It would be like building an infrastructure, similar the road system. Now, if the subsidy was something like - "whatever you do not use for 2 or 3 years feed it back into the system... after that time, you are free to sell the unused electricity", then not only would it save us on electricity cost, but we would also need to burn a whole lot less fossil fuel...

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blue comment bubble Posted by The Butler on October 04, 2007 at 08:18 AM EDT

I'm with Christine above. I hate those bulbs too. Not only do they burn out quickly but they have a delayed start time - about 5 seconds, then "Let there be Light". How about those Halogen light bulds - what's the deal with not touching them? How else are you suppose to insert?

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blue comment bubble Posted by PennsyNut on October 07, 2007 at 12:59 PM EDT

I bought these bulbs/13 watt = 60 watt from Home Depot Sep 2006. To date, 3 have burned out. I was told to not use them with timers. I was told to not leave them burning night and day. Etc. If we can't use them the same as incandescent, why bother? As to brightness and reading, I did find some 23 watt = 100 watt and they work fine for me. Also, in metal bullet shaped shades like on desk lamps, they are vastly cooler. So when I'm on my PC, I don't have all that heat and can get the lamp closer to my head/eyes to read. So there are advantages and disadvantages just like anything else. Please do not refer to these bulbs as Liberal versus Conservative. I'm sick of politics and wish we'd all be a little more tolerant. As stated about cool vs hot, I use them for ME! Conserving energy is nice, and even may save money in the long run, but that's not why I do these things. I do them to benefit ME! Heat while working on a PC is not a comfortable thing to have.

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blue comment bubble Posted by Giacomo on October 18, 2007 at 04:50 AM EDT

Hi im very interested on these argument...so, i'd like to quote this post on my blog (from italy): http://luxemozione.blogspot.com
can I?
thanks in advance
bye bye

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blue comment bubble Posted by Sommer on October 19, 2007 at 04:50 PM EDT

Giacomo,
Sorry for the delay in posting your comment! Thanks for sharing the information with your Italian friends!!
Sommer

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blue comment bubble Posted by Dick C. Flatline on October 30, 2007 at 11:51 AM EDT

Repeat after me. L. E. D. !! Stop pushing Big Chem's lighting "solution". Oh, that's right, I forgot. It can't *possibly* be good for bidness unless it's expensive AND needs periodic replacement.

(In the short term, however, we *could* simply harness the spinning motion of Thomas Edison's corpse to power the entire Eastern Seaboard.)

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blue comment bubble Posted by ilker on July 17, 2008 at 06:24 PM EDT

I hate those bulbs. Can't use them in a ceiling fan (they instantly burn out, we found), and although they are advertised as lasting longer than old-fashioned bulbs, in our house, at least, they always seem to die quicker.



<a href="http://crea.web.tr">web tasarim</a>

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blue comment bubble Posted by Sinema on July 28, 2008 at 09:34 AM EDT

problem is not light bulb i think, problem is the think of humanity. they saves energy in their house but not in public places.

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blue comment bubble Posted by libya on October 13, 2008 at 01:26 PM EDT

blue comment bubble Posted by ole Frank on November 30, 2008 at 01:48 PM EST

My, my! Change the old lights with CFLs to save the planet. Yet, it takes two plastic bags to dispose of them and the bags never degrade. The CFL lights don't last as long in reality(contrary to the ads), and when the bags do breakdown, there'll be hazardous material to deal with. Hummmm! Sounds like another money maker (change all your light bulbs) for light manufacturers, a great marketing scheme, and liberals gone wild. In the end, the cure is worse than the disease.

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blue comment bubble Posted by George Wilson on December 02, 2008 at 06:24 PM EST

I looked up on the computer that the new compact fluorescent light bulbs a marine heard about them and got some but when she was putting one in it broke a month later the room was covered with plastic and the mercury in it spread and now she needs to cover it in plastic until she could pay 2,000 dollars to clean it up.

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blue comment bubble Posted by Gole on March 19, 2009 at 05:24 PM EDT

CF Lights are not all they are cracked up to be. I've reached that decision after using them for over 5 years (I was an early adopter). In addition to the mercury problem, they burn out quickly if a dimmer in used. Plus, for some reason, they trigger migraine headaches in my sister in law. Put her near an incandescent, she's fine. Stick her under a CF Light and her head starts hammering.

--Gole
hppt://antiquefloorlampblog.com

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