Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs vs. Traditional Light Bulbs

Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs vs. Traditional Light Bulbs

What is the Real Value?

While listening to a webinar on Green Building Technologies by Keller Williams MAPS program we learned about all the different aspects of what Green really means when talking about homes. There are many different aspects to look at such as the way to orient a home, build a home or replace items in a home. There are different levels of expense and also ranges of savings.

One thing I thought was an instant correlation to savings is with the light bulb switch. We have all heard it, we have seen the free compact fluorescent light bulbs being given away, and we have all heard other say you save a lot....but really how much? Well here is a good break down I learned on the webinar. The compact fluorescent bulbs do use 75% less energy than traditional bulbs.

One Traditional light bulb (100 watt) costs about $0.35. (you will need 10 of these to last as long as the compact fluorescent bulb)

If you burn the Traditional bulb for 24/7 for 1 year it will cost around $87

So total cost $90.50

If you buy a new compact fluorescent bulb for about $8 it will last about 10 years. (not dimmers)

Run this bulb for 24/7 for 1 year and the cost is about $22 per year.

So a net of $30.

Savings will be around $90 - $30 = $70/year net!

Ok, so who is going to switch to new light bulb this week? I know I will be switching out more of mine in the near future. And yes they do have some light bulbs with a softer glow so it is not a harsh light in your family room or bedroom.