Lighting Your Home: Change Those Bulbs!

The sooner you replace your incandescent (regular) light bulbs with compact fluorescents (CFL's) the sooner you start to save money on your hydro costs.  One CFL bulb usually costs $2-3 and lasts around 10,000 hours.  During its lifetime, it uses only about 27 kilowatts to generate as much light as a 100 watt regular bulb. The $3 CFL uses about $22 in hydro so the total cost is $25.

In comparison, the regular bulb costs $.50 and will only last 1000 hours. You'll need $5 worth to last the 10,000 hours and it will use 1000 kilowatts of electricity during its lifetime, around $80 worth.  When you do the math, CFL's will give you considerable savings and are more eco-friendly due to their reduced hydro usage.

Start by replacing your most used bulbs first, gradually replacing all of them around your home.  It won't be long before you start noticing a difference in your bills and the added bonus is that you won't have the inconvenience of changing light bulbs nearly as often.  No matter which kinds of bulbs you are using, everyone in you family should get in the habit of turning off any lights that are not needed. You should also consider using lower watt bulbs in areas that do not need a great amount of light.  Think Green!

Sandy Stinson
(250) 749-6000