#927 Replacing an old light bulb with a new CFL bulb is a bright idea

As I get older and mature both physically and intellectually, I find myself becoming more aware of the environment and how we as people have squandered some of our precious resources. If we do not intervene, like we have with the panda bear, we will soon find ourselves without thing such as water or electricity. So what am I doing to help save the world?

I am progressively changing out my incandescent light bulbs with CFLs.

cfl light bulb balloon

No, I am not talking about the Canadian Football League. I am talking about compact fluorescent lightbulbs or CFL. These are those bulbs that look like curley fries or a pig’s tail as opposed to those round bulbs Thomas Edison invented way back when. If you are not familiar with these, and you live in America, read on and get used to them because in 2012 the Department of Energy required manufacturers to stop producing and importing 100-watt incandescent bulbs followed by 75-watt bulbs in 2013 and 60 and 40-watt bulbs in 2014. I was recently at Home Depot and did not see any incandescent bulbs on the shelves at all.

So what is a CFL lightbulb and what makes them so special? When you compare the CFL to general-service incandescent lamps giving the same amount of visible light, the CFL will use one-fifth to one-third the electric power and should last eight to fifteen times longer. Although a CFL currently has a slightly higher purchase price than an incandescent lamp a CFL can save over five times its purchase price in electricity costs over the lamp’s lifetime.

This works out for several reasons. A typical 60-watt incandescent bulb costs what? $1.50? It will last about 1,200 hours. I recently bought 6 CFL light bulbs for something like $13 which works out to just over $2 per. But get this- these bulbs put off the equivelent of 100-watts but only consume 23-watts of energy so I am using 37-watts less and getting a brighter light with my CFL bulb plus the CFL will last for about 10,000 hours. Seems like a no brainer to me.

cfl light bulb many

Today I am only talking about CFL lightbulbs. As technology advances and prices come down I believe LED lights will be even better saving energy and resources we are already stretching thin. LED bulbs are more power-efficient than compact fluorescent bulbs and offer lifespans of 30,000 or more hours. In fact I hear that at some Wal-Mart locations prices for LED bulbs have been under $1. The LED lamp market is projected to grow more than 12-fold over the next decade, from $2 billion in the beginning of 2014 to $25 billion in 2023.

Saving money and saving the world. Two ideas I can definitely get behind and ideas that certainly make me smile.

It is a bright idea each of us should embrace.

cfl light bulb thought

Are you using CFL or LED lights yet? Which do you prefer? Let us know in the comments.

38 Replies to “#927 Replacing an old light bulb with a new CFL bulb is a bright idea”

  1. Hey Troy,

    I personally hate those bulbs for a couple reasons. 1) They do NOT give off the same type of light that they claim and 2) they are hard to dispose of. I was watching a documentary probably a couple months ago and they were explaining what was going on with our world and the climate change. How it was affecting everything and what we really needed to do in order to turn things around. They also said and I quote that “using the CFL light bulbs is not saving the type of electricity that they are claiming”. I was happy to hear that since I refuse to waste my money on any more of those.

    That’s my thoughts and I’m sticking to it!

    ~Adrienne
    Adrienne recently posted…You Lose Traffic And Credibility When You Ignore These Easy StepsMy Profile

  2. Hmmm. Interesting. I wonder if you remember the documentary you saw? Thing is we hear a lot of stuff out there. I wonder who made the documentary? Perhaps the Electric Company or someone else who profits from the sale of ‘traditional’ light bulbs?There is a lot of sketchy information out there and it is hard to know who to believe. Penn and Teller, who are very smart and hang out with very smart people, had a show called Bullshit. They talked about stuff like how recycling costs more in resources than it saves. Hmmm… You can watch the episode here- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rExEVZlQia4
    Troy recently posted…Negative ion power balance bracelet is a scamMy Profile

  3. I agree with you in opinion
    Because LED lights are the latest technology in the field of lighting, where anyone is designed for indoor lighting, “whether,” it is for corridors, stairs, kitchen, bedroom, bathroom, balcony, living room, living room, or for lighting in open spaces, “whether,” for office space, shops, etc.
    led ceiling lights recently posted…white LED strip reviewMy Profile

  4. wow, what a grate idea to Replacing an old light bulb with a new CFL bulb is a bright idea. nice article. Thanks for sharing with us..

    • Right? The challenge is I wanted to put some dimmable CFL bulbs above the dining room table but I had to change the dimmer control box first and that cost $20 then the bulbs where $10 each so $30 there so the project was $50. But… good for the environment I keep having to tell myself.
      Troy S. recently posted…Basics to Build a Pond in Your Yard or HomeMy Profile

  5. The CFL’s I found very convenient because it is compact and energy efficient. I use it in the room in my house. And now I began to use LEDs for the garden in my house. It creates a good light source for the development of my vegetable garden.
    Thanks for your interesting article.

  6. Hi all,,,

    This is indeed an interesting article !
    Solar technology possesses remarkable potential being a future alternative connected with delivering power and there are strong reasons to recommend it. Having coal and gas, you will find there’s reliance upon natural reserves to create electricity and most of these sources will probably at some point exhaust.

    Solar technology sides away various other environmentally friendly electricity resources. Having solar panel systems is more advantageous to people right under the sunshine. Installing solar panels is an expensive but one time investment.

    You need to keep yourself well-informed regarding the number of ways to effectively spend less electricity. Studying is actually the first step, the next step is to make use of that which you find in a proper way. You should know the advantage of using environmentally friendly electricity.

    The conventional electricity resources that any of us currently get pleasure from will not likely last forever, we should instead take action currently and start adopting environmentally friendly electricity resources like water, the wind, and solar technology.

    Thanks in advance !

  7. Such a nice article on LED. LED Lights are easy to fit and use. LED bulbs are more power-efficient than compact fluorescent bulbs and its lifespans. I agree that LED is the future of lighting, the cost savings from the energy efficient bulb is a huge benefit to consumers

  8. what about replacing it with a SOLAR powered light ?

    these lights are getting very popular by each passing day. its really good choice for your outdoor lightning.

  9. I agree that LED will overtake CFL when (i believe) cost permits. But I for one look forward to it as the light is instantaneous as with the CFL it will take a while for it to get to full light output, or is it just the bulbs I am buying. Great article by the way.

  10. Very Informative idea to Replacing an old light bulb with a new CFL bulb, I Lovevthese new CFL bulbs they looks to work much better than old fashioned things. This is really effective for us. Thanks for the shearing.

  11. We definetley need to replace our old light bulb with a new CFL bulb Because CFLs use less electricity than traditional light bulbs, and CFLs contain a very small amount of mercury. Thank you for sharing a wonderful article.

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