Start saving energy with this bright idea: Replace your bulbs.

So, you’re thinking about updating your home’s light bulbs. Good for you! That’s a great way to help lower your home’s energy usage. But, choosing the right bulb can sometimes feel like alphabet soup. Here’s a quick way to remember the benefits of updating your light bulbs with ones that use 75 to 85 percent less energy:

Light-Emitting Diode bulbs (LEDs)

• Outperform and use slightly less energy than CFLs
• Instantly brighten, indoors and out, despite cold outdoor temperatures
• Longer lifespan than CFLs, regardless of frequently turning them on and off
• Low heat emission, thereby not raising the room’s temperature
• Fully dimmable
• Direcational light source, meaning LEDs emit light in a particular direction

Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFLs)

• Long life
• Use less energy than incandescent and halogen bulb
• Soft white light available
• Contains minor amounts of mercury
• Most CFLs do not work with dimmers

Other benefits:
Better for Our Planet. According to EnergyStar.gov, if every home in America replaced just one incandescent light bulb with an ENERGY STAR qualified CFL, we would save enough energy every year to light 3 million homes and prevent greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to those from about 800,000 cars.

More affordable now. Energy-saving lighting can feel more expensive at checkout when compared to the cost of incandescent bulbs. But, keep in mind that the overall cost of LED bulbs and CFLs have significantly declined in recent years — down 85% since 2007. Plus, you won’t replace them as often as incandescents.

 

Sources:

• http://www.energystar.gov/ia/products/fap/purchasing_checklist_revised.pdf?207c-5b46 
• http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=cfls.pr_cfls_mercury 
• http://www.cflfacts.com/ 
• Consumer Reports: “Light bulbs that want to change your mood.” Jan. 201