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They use 20 - 30% of the electricity that a comparable incandescent bulb uses. They cost more, but they last a whole lot longer. Over the life of the bulb the savings in electricity and replacement bulbs adds up. In the summer the reduce the load on your A/C as a bonus.
id say ive seen maybe a few dollars a month savings, after about 6 mo, id say ive now paid the differance in what it cost me to purchase these new bulbs.
id almost say my long flourecent bulbs are runnen me cheaper, and light better.
i have to agree with others here, the new bulbs are ok, but lighting is dim, ive actually had to add lamps in rooms for more lighting, and so now i dont see how thats going to save me much beyond a buck or 2 eachmonth since i got to run more lights to see.....lol
i also did the "unplug" what you dont use trick...each day, unplugged the coffee maker, microwave, puter, power cords, phone chargers, etc, cuz they say they all draw power still, welll, gave it 2 months, maybe a drop of few bucks in power bill if that...so i gave up, but then did start it again, wether i save or not, i feel better doing my part in conserving for all, maybe the fewer watts i use will mean someone else wont experiance a rollen power outage this summer somewhere else it all adds up
The human eyes are susceptible to a fairly narrow range of light. The color of the bulb means a lot but the lumens is also important. The el cheapo bulbs are just that for the time being. Give the market place time and good quality bulbs will be cheaper.
If 13 watts isn't enough the 23 watts will blind you. I could have no clue at all about math and still know they have saved me money. I haven't "needed" to replace one in 4 years. I'm a strong proponent of work smarter not harder. Changing light bulbs is a drag.
Just use a mixture. CFLs go great in places that need to be lit for extended amounts of time, whereas incandescents work great in places where you need instant light (like bathrooms and closets) for a short amount of time.
This is correct. CFL's are great in areas where lights are turned on and left on for long periods of time. They are great energy savers, BUT--like any fluorescent lamp--their service life is severely shortened if they are frequently turned on and off.
The next wave in lighting technology will be LED lamps. LED's have very long service lives, are very energy efficient, and are not compromised by frequent on/off duty cycles. Their disadvantage right now is very high initial cost, but I think that will come down over time, just as the initial cost of CFL's has come down.
As others have noted, the biggest electrical energy hog in any house is mechanical air conditioning. I predict that, within a few years, electrical rates will reach the point that many lower and middle class folks will no longer be able to afford to run mechanical air conditioning. We are going to be a lot hotter and sweatier society in a few years hence.
they use 1/4 of the energy of a regular bulb.
a 60 cf bulb use 13 watts , so you can save some money, i have .
my electric bill is $70.00 per month for a 2500 sq ft house with 2 people.
Hello, Do the CFL light Bulbs save money ? I have them throughout my home and I did not notice a large reduction on my Electric bill. Has anyone else noticed a change ? The lighting is a little dim also and I thought about changing them out if I dont notice a big change in my electric bill. Thanks for any help you can give me. Bradshaw
I've bought several CFLs. They make a noticeable saving, but some bulbs failed in less than one week. One bulb lasted only 36 hours. It was not on constantly. I'll guess they have a 20-30% defect rate. Conventional bulbs are cheaper in price although they use more current, but they work. The higher price for CFLs and the higher rate of failure sure doesn't do much for saving money.
Aha! My new investment plan....incandescent light bulbs. I too will be stock piling once we here of the demise of the manufacture of these bulbs. I have a mix of incandescent bulbs and halogen floodlights throughout my home. The halogens are in my recessed lighting cans. I have only two light switches in my house that aren't on dimmers. I know they make CFLs for dimmers now. But they are really expensive and I HATE fluorescent lighting. I hate it so much that I don't turn on my office light at work except for late afternoons in the winter months or on cloudy days. After living in my home for 10+ years now, my highest electrical bill was $42. And for the past three years, my average monthly electrical bill was less than $27. I don't have central air conditioning so I think that's a big help on my lower costs. I have a swamp cooler to cool my home. People who are watt waster might like the idea of saving money with CFLs. I just know I can't stand the lighting and will hold out switching until I run out of incandescent bulbs.
How DO you properly dispose of lightbulbs? I've always wondered.
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still debating this one
id say ive seen maybe a few dollars a month savings, after about 6 mo, id say ive now paid the differance in what it cost me to purchase these new bulbs.
