Sometimes we need to turn on our intellectual light bulb to illuminate the smartest spending decisions that aren't obvious. Such is the case with the light bulb itself - specifically, compact fluorescent bulbs.
Using compact fluorescent lamps, or CFLs as the energy-efficient bulbs are called, in home light fixtures is absolutely a good idea. You'll save money, both on the bulbs and on electricity costs. In fact, each bulb will save you at least $30 over its life compared with incandescent bulbs, according to Department of Energy estimates. It's a saving that adds up fast.
Although using CFLs is mostly a no-brainer, for the uninitiated, it requires using your brain.
Many a consumer has stood in the lighting aisle of the hardware store with a CFL in one hand and, in the other, an incandescent that costs five to seven times less. The immediate thought is, "Sure, the CFL will save money on electricity, but will it save enough to make up for such a higher initial price?"
The short answer is yes. With traditional incandescents, cheaper isn't really cheaper. The bottom line is that consumers are wasting money by purchasing traditional bulbs for all their fixtures. In fact, it can pay to remove perfectly good incandescent bulbs and replace them with CFLs.
Note that this is not the environmental argument for using compact fluorescents to save energy. This is the cold, hard cash argument.
Here are financial reasons to buy compact fluorescent bulbs:
Savings math. Every product that runs on energy has two price tags, the upfront purchase price and the operating cost. CFLs win on both counts.
CFLs last eight to 15 times longer than incandescents. Although one CFL might cost $3.50 and one regular bulb is 50 cents, you would have to buy, say, 10 regular bulbs at a cost of $5 before one CFL goes dark. So, over time, CFLs win on initial purchase price.
Second, throughout its life, the CFL uses a quarter of the electricity of a traditional bulb. If bulbs were cars, that's like replacing a car that gets 20 miles per gallon with one that gets 80 mpg.
That translates to real money. If you swapped in five CFLs for fixtures used six hours a day, you would save $172 over the life of the compact fluorescents. Those figures are according to the federal government's EnergyStar program, which has a spreadsheet calculator to figure out your savings. Go to www.- energystar.gov and search for CFL calculator.
