Change Your Light Bulbs, Change the World: Save Money with Compact Fluorescents

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Out with the old, in with the new: this month, replace incandescent lightbulbs with energy-saving Energy Star bulbs.
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Here's your chance to take one small step that will help protect the environment, save energy and save money. The

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Change A Light, Change The World campaign encourages Americans to replace a conventional bulb or fixture in the home or workplace with a compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulb that has earned the government's Energy Star label for energy efficiency.

If every American home changed just five of its most-used light fixtures to Energy Star bulbs, each family would save about $60 every year in energy costs ? and together we'd save about $6.5 billion each year in energy costs and prevent greenhouse-gas emissions equivalent to those from more than 8 million cars.

Energy Star qualified bulbs and fixtures use one-third the energy of traditional models, last up to 10 times longer and reduce utility costs. In fact, consumers can save up to $30 in utility costs over the lifetime of one bulb. And the less energy we use, the less energy electric utilities must generate, and less demand means fewer greenhouse gas emissions.

These bulbs are readily available at home improvement stores, discount stores and many other retail outlets. And current bulbs are much brighter, easier on the eyes and less expensive than previous versions of the CFL.

The 'Change a Light, Change the World' campaign is an annual effort by the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Energy, and this year, the Department of Housing and Urban Development joined the campaign to extend its reach. It started in early October and runs through November.

Make your own commitment to change the world today! Just take the Energy Star Change a Light Pledge to replace any number of standard lightbulbs. You also can sign up to receive energy-saving tips quarterly from Energy Star. Individuals who pledged during last year's campaign will prevent greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to nearly 3,000 vehicles and save $2 million in energy costs. Learn more about Energy Star light bulbs and fixtures.


Comments

  • Ed Zyskowski 5/12/2007 12:00:00 AM

    WJEffries has it right. There needs to be very close scrutiny of
    CFl's before any law regarding light bulbs is passed anywhere else.
    Look at the obvious component makeup of the bulbs. An incandescent
    actually is cheaper to produce. A glass globe, stainless steel,
    filament, usually an aluminum base and a touch of lead free solder.
    Now look at the cfl. It requires special manufacturing techniques
    for the glass spiral. The ballast is of electronic components that
    pose a problem in recycling. The base is usually made of plastic
    and where do plastics come from. Any oil involved here? Now onto
    the KEY ISSUE.... Mercury. We are allowing one problem to be solved
    by creating another even more toxic, MERCURY !!! During the initial
    start up phase, a cfl has no savings at all. It may actually use
    more electricity until the bulb is excited and that takes about 23
    seconds for it to come to full brightness. This leads into another
    important aspect that WJEffries mentioned. The light these bulbs
    give off is not the same and the spectrum is way out of whack for
    comparison. How many have replaced a regular bulb with a cfl only
    to see that the light is not bright enough or yellow. Even the
    supposed daylight don't come close. I believe there is a need for
    better illumination but the present day cfl IS NOT THE ANSWER ! It
    posses more risk and is a serious health hazard. Until another bulb
    is created without the dangers involved, no laws requiring a switch
    should be allowed. The danger and differences are real but like I
    stated..... Why create a bigger problem when trying to solve
    another.

  • JEFF SMITH 3/8/2007 12:00:00 AM

    LED light bulbs still seems to offer the most promise for
    significantly reducing electricity usage. www.DonsGreenStore.com
    has some of the best prices around. You can replace a couple bulbs
    around the house and start to make a difference!!!!

  • Zach Gragg 2/20/2007 12:00:00 AM

    I buy my compact fluorescents at http://www.1000bulbs.com
    .

  • MELVIN din 12/15/2006 12:00:00 AM

    here at Energy Technology Educartion Centre, Pukekohe, New
    Zealandwe are educationig people to make energy efficien lighting
    modules made from BRIGHT WHITE OR BLUE LEDs. A module with 10-16
    LED will hardly use 80mA at 12v and very bright too. No enegty
    losses in form of heat.LOT better than any lighting module.Time for
    the LED lighting module is catching the attention.I am in Chicago/
    Wuekagan IL and will run few full hands on workshops on this DIY
    topic.I am anle running two hands on workshops on Making Biodiesel
    in NEW ZEALAND way. a way easier than any other way.warmlymelvin
    din

  • MELVIN din 12/15/2006 12:00:00 AM

    Here at ETEC, PUKEKOHE New Zealand we are educationg people to
    make thier own LED lighing modules.These LED mode hardly use 80mA
    at 12 V and will alst at least 20 years.at least 95% the electrical
    enegy in converted into light energy not into heat.I am running few
    full hands on workshops on this DIY topic from Wuakegan,Antioch,
    Chicago IL on 20 Dec and 30 Dec.Making LED\cmodule is funand they
    are not that costly. A charged car battery can run them for weeks.
    A small solar charger coupled with the car battery will take care
    of the lighting needs on an energy educated house.contact me at
    8478381569 or email melvindin@varsity.co.nz OR do the google search
    about these workshops by typing in myemail address.warmlymelvin
    din

  • JEFF SMITH 12/15/2006 12:00:00 AM

    Forget CCrane their LED light bulbs cost $30 to $40. If you are
    looking for a much better price to give this new lighting option a
    try, www.shop.donsgreenstore.com has comprable LED bulbs for under
    $15.

  • GLENN KAUFMAN 12/8/2006 12:00:00 AM

    Great points regarding CF bulbs. I don't believe the rhetoric
    that the efficiency of CFs more than makes up for the small amount
    of mercury in them. The enlightened parent whose kids are exposed
    to the mercury from broken compact fluorescent bulbs won't want to
    swallow the efficiency pill either.Individuals need to be
    considered in addition to society as a whole. Unlike other parts of
    the world, America protects the rights of individuals and not just
    society at large.If companies or lawmakers wish to promote or even
    subsidize CF bulbs, they also need to create a system to make it
    easy to recycle them. The warning label on CF bulbs is so insincere
    and so indicative of Americas current legal yet unethical policy of
    disclosure, "As long as I disclose, I'm not responsible". Most
    people toss CF bulbs (along with various batteries NiCad, Gel
    cell/lead acid variant) in the garbage. A legitimate study on the
    effects of mercury in CF bulbs would be helpful. But, what are odds
    that the study will be funded by a responsible group that doesn't
    have a conflict of interest?If anyone has any suggestions on how to
    bring these points to the general public, please let me
    know.Glenn

  • buhler 11/22/2006 12:00:00 AM

    Just one bit of advice for those of you with boys who like to
    play ball in the house ... If you decide to slowly replace your
    light bulb with compact fluorescents in order to spread out the
    cost, Don't start with floor lamps that can be hit by flying
    footballs. Broken bulbs defeat the long term energy savings payback
    you get from the more expensive bulbs.

  • PEP cruells 11/16/2006 12:00:00 AM

    As GLee says, use the sun like the chickens do. I did that for 2
    years and I've never felt better!

  • GLENN Lee 11/14/2006 12:00:00 AM

    http://www.otherpower.com/otherpower_lighting_leds.html this is
    a start in the right direction. Build your own LED lighting
    circuits. This teaches you how to build your own lighting with the
    new bright LED's. The only problem with LED's is that they are very
    directional with their light. However, if you have lots of them in
    a group or a bundle then the light angle appears to be a little
    better. You will never get LEDs to shine like incondescents or
    fluorescents do. When it comes right down to it, you get about the
    same energy out as you put into any of them. With incondescents you
    get lots of heat from them and not so much heat with fluorescents
    but still they get hot too and I think the heat is what cuts down
    on their longivity that is claimed (5 YEAR WARRANTY) for them.
    Maybe if you used them in a freezer they would probably last
    longer, but then again, they don't work good in the cold either.
    You'd be better off to use a kerosene lamp or a candle. Better yet,
    take lessons from the chickens and use the sun. Go to sleep when
    the sun goes down and get up when the cock crows.

  • GERALD Julian 11/10/2006 12:00:00 AM

    You can find LED blubs
    @http://www.ccrane.com/lights/led-light-bulbs/index.aspx

  • Sharon Barnes 11/9/2006 12:00:00 AM

    Readers need to keep in mind that when these bulbs go out, that
    they need to dispose of them at a hazardous waste facility since
    the bulbs have a minute amount of mercury within the
    bulbs.

  • JERRY Grabigel 11/9/2006 12:00:00 AM

    I have no evidence but I really wonder if fluorescents are
    cheaper. Purchase costs of one fluor. would probably purchase more
    then a dozen incandescent bulbs. They cost more to make, have
    mercury in them, you can't just throw it away in a landfill. And I
    haven't had one last more then 3 years..... Cheaper and more
    environmentally friendly? I think not...

  • JEFF SMITH 11/9/2006 12:00:00 AM

    Yes there is a very small amount of mercury in CFL bulbs, but it
    is less than what is saved by not burning all that coal to keep an
    incandescent bulb burning. Why don't you go one step better and
    look into LED light bulbs for applications where you don't need
    much light. They last 50,000 hours and don't contain any mercury
    usually.

  • KIRK Barsanti 11/8/2006 12:00:00 AM

    I can't understand why we (the USA) don't outlaw incandescent
    lightbulbs like we did with leaded gas. The amount of savings in
    polution and energy would be incredable.

  • VERNON Haltom 11/8/2006 12:00:00 AM

    We've absolutely got to cut our electricity usage--to both cut
    greenhouse gases and to reduce demand for coal. Mountaintop removal
    coal mining is devastating Appalachian communities, environment,
    and economy (see www.ohvec.org or www.ilovemountains.org). Too big
    of an issue to cover here, but it's the big dirty secret in the US,
    in 2006 covered by Orion, National Geographic, Vanity Fair, O
    (Oprah) Magazine, and the American School Board Journal.Compact
    fluorescents are at least a step in the right direction. Does
    anyone have information on LEDs available for use in the
    home?

  • JASON Aakhus 11/8/2006 12:00:00 AM

    I felt a need to comment on this topic and, lo and behold,
    WJeffries has already stated my opinion.The alleged problem with
    incandescent bulbs is that they are essentially a heater that
    happens to produce light.Well, I'm in NW Minnesota where, other
    than about two weeks out of the year, we are not really concerned
    about generating a bit of extra heat with a light bulb.
    Furthermore, we heat our house with electricity, so it make no
    difference whether the heat is produced by a light bulb or an
    electric baseboard heater.I echo WJeffries' sentiments and would
    like to add that compact fluorescents, judging by their price, most
    likely have a higher cost in terms of energy to produce.This
    campaign, by the know-it-alls in DC, is just another
    one-size-fits-all approach that does not fit all.

  • Walter Jeffries 11/7/2006 12:00:00 AM

    This is a bit of questionable economy. There are problems that
    the "change your bulbs" crowd don't address.1) most florescent
    bulbs are manufactured with mercury which is bad.2) florescent
    bulbs are manufactured with other toxic chemicals which is bad.3)
    By law you must dispose of the florescent bulbs properly to avoid
    polluting the environment because of #1 and #2 above yet in many
    places there is no way to do it right. So people throw them in the
    regular trash and thus the landfill and that is bad.4) Incandescent
    bulbs are not actually wasting energy. Here in our northern climate
    of Vermont they are helping to keep our home warm. The energy is
    not wasted. It is emitted in the IR portion of the spectrum.
    Florescent bulbs on the other hand generate more in the UV portions
    of the specturm and that is bad.5) A great many florescent bulbs
    and fixtures flicker, strobe, whine and scream. Even better quality
    electronic ballasts have this problem. More over I have had two
    very high quality electronic ballasts for florescent bulbs burst
    into flames. I've never had a problem like any of that from
    incandescent bulbs.6) Florescent bulbs do not actually last as long
    as is claimed in my experience, they have problems at low
    temperatures, have lower quality spectrum in all too many cases and
    are not an all around replacement for incandencent bulbs.7)
    Throwing away a perfectly good incandescent bulb to replace it with
    a florescent bulb is a bad choice for all these plus more
    reasons.All that said, yes, I use florescent bulbs, but think about
    it before you proclaim that changing bulbs will change the world.
    It won't. Be realistic.

  • PAUL Cross 11/7/2006 12:00:00 AM

    I'm not going to change my lightbulbs because I don't care about
    the environment.

  • GERALD Julian 11/7/2006 12:00:00 AM

    You might want to look at LED lighting. They do cost a bit more!
    I installed two flood lights and have been very satisfied with
    their operation / energy cost.

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