Save energy, money with compact fluorescent light bulbs

Published 12:51 pm Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Were you to visit a shop in Europe, you might see the proprietor switch on the ceiling light as you enter, and turn it off before you get out the door. Europeans aren’t cheap or impolite. They are simply energy conscious.

Though you might not want to switch lights on and off as your guests travel from room to room, you can do something else to save on your light bill.

Each energy-saving compact fluorescent light bulb, called a CFL, has its own starter as opposed to the tube type where the starter is within the fixture.

CFLs are more readily available than ever before and they provide soft, even lighting. Though they’re more expensive, they can last 10 to 20 times as long as conventional incandescent bulbs. In the long run, you save by using fluorescent bulbs. They will save you about $30 or more in electricity costs over each bulb’s lifetime.

A 20-watt CFL provides light equal to that of a conventional 75 watt bulb. That’s an energy savings of 73 percent for the same amount of light.

Plus, a CFL produces about 75 percent less heat, which can save still more energy by cutting cooling costs. CFLs provide the greatest savings in fixtures that are on for a long time each day.

You can save even more by installing controls such as timers and photo cells that save electricity by turning lights off when not in use. Dimmers save electricity when used to lower light levels. Be sure to select products that are compatible with CFL bulbs; not all products work with CFLs.

The average life of a $2 incandescent bulb is about 1,000 hours. With fluorescent bulbs, $14 gets you at least 10,000 hours and in some cases 20,000 hours.

By the way, CFLs do contain a very small amount of mercury sealed within the glass tubing. So, please dispose of them responsibly.

For tips from James and Morris Carey, visit their Web site at www.onthehouse.com or call the 24/7 listener hot line, 800-737-2474. The Careys are also on KRKO (1380-AM) from 6 to 10 a.m. every Saturday.