Swap your incandescent bulbs for compact fluorescent light bulbs! Changing out your incandescent light bulbs for more efficient compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs can save you money on your power bill every month. When incandescent bulbs burn out (and they will), it is an opportune time to change them out for a new CFL. Recently, one of the incandescent bulbs in my residence went out. I saw this as a great opportunity to walk the walk and follow my own quick tip! Read below for the story.
Yesterday evening, as I walked into my bathroom, I noticed that one of my light bulbs above my bathroom mirror was out. Upon further inspection, I found an incandescent bulb that burned out from normal usage.
The burned out incandescent bulb is rated at 67W. I picked up some fancy new compact fluorescent light bulbs (aka CFLs) for about $1.69 each to replace my current incandescent bulbs. The new CFLs are rated at 13W, which use about 80% less energy than my 67W incandescent bulbs. Since I had an excuse to climb onto my bathroom counter and replace one bulb, I figured I might as well replace all 3!
Because I replaced three CFL bulbs rated at 67W, my energy savings will increase threefold in comparison to the old incandescent bulbs. The total wattage of my bathroom lights before was 201W (67 x 3 = 201). After replacing all three bulbs with CFLs, the total wattage of my bathroom lights is now 39W (3 x 13 = 39)!
The lumen output is about the same, and I’ll be saving energy with my new CFLs compared to my old incandescent bulbs. A quick calculation shows that each CFL bulb will save me about $51 dollars a year! After a few months, the power bills and energy savings will speak for themselves. Changing out your incandescent bulbs for compact fluorescent bulbs is a really easy and simple way to save energy and money!
