So, you haven’t yet made the switch yet to compact fluorescent CFL bulbs in your home yet? Why don’t you? Are you believing that sticking with cheap light bulbs instead of purchasing the more expensive ones is a ‘savings’? It is in the short term, but over the medium and long run, using CFLs could save you money.
About 36 months ago I converted half my home’s bulbs to CFLs. My energy bill did drop a little bit monthly because of that – my estimate was which it went down around between $2 and $3 per month. I needed fairly predictable bills, along with a predictable life routine, and so i was pretty confident that this is a moderately accurate assessment. I do believe I’d switched over 8 or 10 bulbs at that point. Obviously my usage patterns may be distinct from yours, but even this modest change would mean around $25/year savings. Granted, the higher costs of CFLs meant that I’d paid more than the $25 in initial outlay, but the bulbs have lasted these past 36 months, and can last another year or so. This is superior to buying and replacing cheap light bulbs more often than once annually (which was my average before).
CFLs use a couple of downsides. The first is the cost I said earlier – an average CFL 60 watt bulb might run you $1.50-$2.50 in 4 packs ($6-$8 4 packs are typical within my local Target store), whereas an average incandescent lamp might just be 60 cents (again, comparing to 4 or Six pack pricing). Going through the original shock with the in advance cost, you must concern yourself with disposal. CFLs contain mercury, and require being disposed of in a certain manner. Many local municipalities and a few major retailers have CFL recycling programs, but it is something different you have to consider when it comes to CFLs.
One last drawback some people recognise will be the light color is different from what we’re used to with traditional incandescents. Early CFL technology could have been called a little ‘colder’ then traditional bulbs, but more recent CFL technologies are more difficult to differentiate from the old-fashioned bulbs. I can’t tell an improvement any more, with the exception of my electricity bill.
On the up side, because CFLs be more energy efficient (typically only 20-30% around regular bulbs), additionally they emit less heat. What this means is less cooling in the summertime time (though it does mean a bit more work for your heat in the winter months).
Let’s perform a quick recap with the pros and cons: Pros: CFLs have longer life, use less energy and emit less heat. Cons: Higher initial cost, contain hazardous mercury requiring professional recycling, light color is not as natural with a people.
So July fades into August then before we know it the summer months are over and we’re over a one way head on collision with winter by way of a brief stop over in autumn. The leaves that once adorned the trees and broke the light from its fall have gone to ground as well as the twisted arms with the tress simply hang lifeless within the breeze. The clouds are all around now, with grey and dark grey to be the favoured colour; cold winds drive the rain from the walls of our own homes and fill the environment having a heavy feeling of foreboding for that coming months.
But the worst thing may be the slow decline from the sun and our friend daylight; they sneak slowly away until we’re made to alter our clocks simply so we could save a little every now and then. Now could be the dawn with the ages of the radiator, the electric fire, the woolen socks and most importantly the budget bulb. You are able to barely remember using lights during the summer time, there is just there is no need, of course, if whatever you needed darker curtains! But the light has gone away, so it is time for you to flick, twist, pull change on those lights and fill your cvwkhp using the warming illumination it has been craving. This can not be achieved without cheap lights. Below the sink, in the cupboard above the beds, under the stairs are locations where it’s possible to store an affordable lamp or two or three or maybe more.
Often needed but little considered, cheap light bulbs will be the lighting solution for that cash rich, time poor folk of the era, working on the philosophy that if you buy enough cheap lights then you’ll definitely never exhaust cheap light bulbs, as you will invariable pass by some down the road and grab other cheap bulbs, in the event. This “nuclear bunker” kind of thinking keeps sales of cheap bulbs on the up. Specially in the cold dark winter time which, especially in this country, you probably know this, we appear to have a lot of!
If you have not even joined the CFL revolution, give it a try. Try switching just a couple of your standard bulbs in the subsequent week and find out if you don’t watch a difference. The only real difference you *should* notice is in *your* utility bill.