Conserving Energy with florescent bulbs
Now more than ever we must do everything
we can to conserve energy and help the environment.
The new energy bill signed in December 2007 makes it
official.
When 2012 hits, stores can no longer sell the cheap but
inefficient incandescent light bulbs that are a stable in most homes.
With that said, why wait?
New Energy Efficient florescent
bulbs are available now.
On Saturday, April 12, 2008 United Illuminating-(UI) is celebrating Earth Day.
They will have their Smart Living
®
Centers
Annual Earth Day Celebration.
It will be held from 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM.
One of the things they offer is ENERGY STAR
®
Bulbs.
Please allow me to give you my opinion about these bulbs.
With the exception of three of my fixtures that have
dimmer switches every one of my
incandescent light bulbs has been replaced with
Compact Fluorescent Lights, “CFLs”.
I even replaced the light bulb in the outdoor
fixture at my front door.
Now before you ask: Why didn’t you replace the bulbs in the
fixtures with dimmer switches?
Well a representative form UI told me in January
even though they had that style of bulb available would I mind waiting because
an even better one will be out in April.
The standard CFL bulbs that are available now work great,
however you should choose them according to the style you like.
If you prefer a standard amount of lighting match
the correct wattage equivalent. The CFL lights will get brighter once they are
on for a few minutes.
If you want more light than equivalent, then: “kick
it up a notch”.
Your ceiling light calls for two 60-watt bulbs put
in two 75-watt equivalent CF lights.
Trust me you will see the difference between the
two.
Another thing you should look at is the dimensions of the
bulbs.
Some of the fixtures you have might need a smaller bulb.
Regardless of its size you get plenty of light.
I had to use the smaller sized CFLs
on one of my fixtures.
When I went to purchase CFLs for a member of my family I had called
Smart Living
®
for some information and
the gentleman there told me about a few places to go on
line to compare CFL types, styles and prices.
Some of the best prices were available from the
Smart
Living
®
Catalog.
However,
I give him credit for offering those
options
for me to compare.
Be sure you set up an account and then you will see
the difference in price.
As conservative as I am with electrical usage my
bill has gone down two months in a row and that is fine with me.
I used their suggestion and purchased from
Energy Federation
Incorporated-(EFI) which is located in Massachusetts.
Check out:
www.smartlivingcatalog.com
www.energyfederation.org/consumer/default.php
On the left side you will see ITEMS and click on lighting,
then under MANUFACTURERS select a company and see the types of bulbs brands
available.
When choosing a bulb, be sure to click on it or ITEM NAME
to get the full information about it including the dimensions.
That is just one of many places the
Energy Efficient florescent
bulbs are available.
Shop around and find the style and price you are
comfortable with.
If you are concerned about esthetics you
have a quite a few styles of bulbs from which to choose.
However, the globe style bulbs take about a minute
to come up to full brightness but believe me with the money you will save it is
worth the short wait.
I should know I have that type in my master
bathroom.
The three way bulbs are pretty much the same too but if you
are fussy get the ones with a larger wattage.
I truly hope what I have offered will help you with your
decision.
Please click on the link to get further information about
Compact Florescent Bulbs.
www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=cfls.pr_cfls
The Earth Day 2008 Celebration on Saturday,
April 12, 2008
will be at:
Smart
Living ®
Center
297 Boston Post Road
Orange, CT 06477-3537
(203) 799-0460
EFI:
Energy Federation Incorporated
Consumer Division
40 Washington Street
Suite 2000
Westborough, MA 01581-1088
(800) 379-4121
(508) 870-2277, Extension 2