Investing in Compact Flourescent Lightbulbs?
You should. Most people will make this change… after a while.
If we
The best way to show that you should not wait to make this simple change is through a simple math problem… SIMPLE, bare with me.
The normal cost of electricity in Los Angeles is $0.07288 per kilowatt hour.
The CFLs use less wattage than their incandescent equals while providing the same amount of light.
A typical incandescent light bulb uses 60 watts, while its CFL counterpart uses 12 watts (1000 watts = 1 kilowatt)
A 12 watt CFL lasts about 10,000 hours and costs $4.51 (they are actually a lot cheaper in local stores because of subsidies).
A 60 watt incandescent light bulb lasts about 1,000 hours and costs $0.36 (because of the low initial investment people are still purchasing these).
In order to run the CFL for 10,000 hours it will cost: $13.2556
[math: 12 watts x 10,000 hours x $0.07288 = 8.7456 + 4.51 (1 light bulb)]
In order to run an incandescent for 10,000 hours it will cost: $47.328
[math: 60 watts x 10,000 hours x $0.07288 = 43.728 + 3.60 (10 light bulbs)]
$47.328 - $13.2556 = $34.0724
You save $34.0724 after 10,000 hours. You actually save ~30% more after you factor in the increase in cost of energy during peak hours. Not to mention the hassle of changing 10 light bulbs [insert bad joke here].
Anyway, unless you want to actively destroy the environment AND pay to do so, CFLs are a worthwhile investment.
I have a small 2 bedroom apartment and have changed 17 light bulbs… $250–> my pocket.
Filed under: Main on July 22nd, 2007