Simply
Changing a Light Bulb Can be the
First Step in Going Green
The
federal Energy Star program Website states: “If every
American home replaced just one light bulb with an
ENERGY STAR qualified bulb, we would 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.” http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=cfls.pr_cfls
Imagine
how much money we could save if every home replaced
every light bulb. If
that thought makes you want to run out and replace every
light bulb in your home—wait a second.
Before you replace every light bulb in your home,
you should understand a few facts about energy efficient
light bulbs.
There
are two types of energy efficient light bulbs.
The first are compact florescent bulbs also known
as CFLs. These
are those funny corkscrew-looking light bulbs that are
popping up everywhere. However, CFLs can be found in
many different shapes, sizes, and colors of light.
CFLs
do best when they are installed in lights that are
turned on for a substantial amount a at least 15 minutes
at a time or that are left on for several hours per day.
In the average home these lights are usually
found in the family room, kitchen, and bedrooms and
during the warm months, the outdoors.
Compact
florescent light bulbs do cost slightly more than
incandescent bulbs, but CFLs use approximately 25% less
energy and last about 2 years or about 10,000 hours.
Despite the fact that CFLs cost more, it is estimated
that they actually end up paying for themselves with
reduced energy bills after approximately 500 hours of
use. Other benefits offered by CFLs are that they
release less heat, making them safer to use, and because
they do burn approximately 75% cooler, they reduce the
cost associated with home cooling during the summer.
As
wonderful as compact florescent light bulbs sound, they
do have one disadvantage.
CFLs, like every other type of florescent bulb
are that they contain small amounts of mercury, and must
be disposed of properly, meaning they cannot simply be
thrown in the trash. To learn how to properly dispose of
your CFLs, contact your local municipal solid waste
agency directly, or go to http://www.lamprecycle.org
and click on “State Lamp Recycling Regulations &
Contacts” to learn about local recycling options.
The
second type of energy efficient light bulbs is LEDs or
Light Emitting Diodes, which are completely mercury free
and longer lasting.
LEDs utilize a type of technology, which allows
light bulbs to be very long lasting as well as energy
efficient.
It
is true that LEDs are more expensive than CFLs, but LEDs
can reduce energy consumption by as much as 80-90% and
they last approximately 100,000 hours.
Today
the majority of LED lights are sold as a complete unit,
meaning that the lamps have the LED bulbs already built
into them. However, companies such as Ledtronics, Mule,
and Enlux do produce screw-in bulbs. For more
information, please visit their websites.
Ledtronics:
http://www.ledtronics.com/
Mule:
http://www.trankin.com/
Enlux:
http://www.enluxled.com/
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