The energy and cost saving story on compact fluorescent bulbs is quite impressive. They use about one quarter as much electricity as a conventional incandescent bulb and they can last up to 10 times as long.
In other words, you would have to purchase more than 13 standard incandescent bulbs to equal one compact fluorescent.
Now some folks have said to me that they object to compact fluorescent lights because of the color, but that technology has gotten a whole lot better. Now they're available in three colors — soft white for bedrooms and living rooms, bright white for bathrooms and kitchens and daylight for reading or any time you want to see fine detail.
Now compact fluorescent used to come in just one shape but all that's changed too. These covered versions look pretty much like any ordinary bulb. So just how much can a compact fluorescent bulb save you? Well, over its lifetime, which is 10,000 hours, this 100-watt bulb could save between 80 and 150 dollars when compared to standard incandescent bulbs.
Gone too are the days when compact fluorescence flickered to life. Today's versions come on instantly. If every American home replaced just one incandescent bulb with an energy star-qualified compact fluorescent bulb, we'd save enough energy to light two and a half million homes for an entire year.
