Calculate how much you'll save by switching to CFL bulbs

[George P Burdell]

http://www.onebillionbulbs.com/

At the bottom-right, there's a calculator that tells you how much you save in energy costs by switching to CFL bulbs.

Even though most of the lights in my apartment are CFL, I tried the calculator for lights in my bedroom and bathroom only, and my result was $49.35/year SAVED.

Try it out, and share your results

 

[LikeLinus]

The only thing I hate about the bulbs is the warm up time. It takes a few minutes for them to provide full light.

 

[Chaotic42]

$29. I work nights, so the sun is my light when I'm awake.

 

[chuckywang]

Cool, as soon as I get rid of all my bulbs, I'll change them to CFL's.

 

[archcommus]

Tempting but it's hard to bring myself to do it when the bulbs are $19.99 and an equivalent incandescent GE bulb is a quarter.

 

[nakedfrog]

I just replaced the 4 bulbs in my ceiling fan light with these. Looks like they'll more than pay for themselves in the first year.

 

[ElFenix]

Originally posted by: archcommus
Tempting but it's hard to bring myself to do it when the bulbs are $19.99 and an equivalent incandescent GE bulb is a quarter.

$20 you are getting ripped off. you can get them for about $2 to $3 each at lowe's or home depot. i'm sure walmart is similar.

and of course you'd have to buy 5 of those cheapies to get the life of a CCFL bulb.

 

[edro]

CFLs are more expensive, are not as bright, have a warm up time, and they never last the 8 years they say on the package.

I'll happily pay $50 extra per year to have good quality light.

 

[archcommus]

Originally posted by: ElFenix

Originally posted by: archcommus
Tempting but it's hard to bring myself to do it when the bulbs are $19.99 and an equivalent incandescent GE bulb is a quarter.

$20 you are getting ripped off. you can get them for about $2 to $3 each at lowe's or home depot. i'm sure walmart is similar.

and of course you'd have to buy 5 of those cheapies to get the life of a CCFL bulb.

Then what are the small bulbs I saw at Wal-Mart that looked like that thick spiral thing and were like 25 W and were $19.99? Can't think of what else that would've been.

 

[bobdelt]

0!!

my utilities are included in rent...

 

[bignateyk]

Originally posted by: archcommus

Originally posted by: ElFenix

Originally posted by: archcommus
Tempting but it's hard to bring myself to do it when the bulbs are $19.99 and an equivalent incandescent GE bulb is a quarter.

$20 you are getting ripped off. you can get them for about $2 to $3 each at lowe's or home depot. i'm sure walmart is similar.

and of course you'd have to buy 5 of those cheapies to get the life of a CCFL bulb.

Then what are the small bulbs I saw at Wal-Mart that looked like that thick spiral thing and were like 25 W and were $19.99? Can't think of what else that would've been.

Beats me. I got mine at walmart for a few $$ a piece. Even the 150watt equivalants are like $8 for a 3 pack.

I replaced a bunch of light fixtures with these for the convenience of not having to change them as much. The 150watt ones are very bright...

I think ive got about 15 of them in use right now.

 

[thomsbrain]

Originally posted by: archcommus
Tempting but it's hard to bring myself to do it when the bulbs are $19.99 and an equivalent incandescent GE bulb is a quarter.

they're like $0.50-$1.00 each at Costco or your local asian market. i feel sorry for you if you can only get them for $20. i think they're great. i finally had my first one die after 5 years of porch-light duty at 4 different residences. not too shabby. i carry a batch with me from apartment from apartment. i take out the bulbs that are already there and save them, to put them back when i move out.

 

[K1052]

CFL's are pretty cheap when you buy them in the big packs. I changed my mom's house over to these a while back since she always leaves the lights on (in 20 or so fixtures).

According to the calc that saves her about $800 a year.

 

[psteng19]

First time hearing about CFL bulbs.

Can those who have experience with these comment on them?
Other than the warm up time, how are they?
Do they really last that much longer than the conventional bulb?
What about in environments where the light is turned on and off constantly?

 

[elektrolokomotive]

the quality of the light still sucks. It looks dingy. I'll happily pay the extra and keep using GE Reveals.

 

[codeyf]

I bought 10 @ $1 a piece at my local Fred Meyer. I believe they are either 75 or 100w equivalents. The warm up time is noticable, but 99% of the time it doesn't bother me. I swapped the lights we use most, front porch, living room lamps, downstairs entry. Kitchen uses halogens.

archcommus, i'll make you a deal. I'll sell you 5 bulbs for HALF PRICE of what they're charging local. I'll even ship them for free

 

[Slick5150]

You can get a 4 pack of CFL lights for free after rebate at Lowe's right now..

The expensive (~$20 per) bulbs are LED bulbs, which while nice, are still way too expensive for practical use. A good CFL bulb is definitely the way to go, and even the good ones only cost $3-$4 tops.

 

[Pepsi90919]

Originally posted by: Chaotic42
$29. I work nights, so the sun is my light when I'm awake.

that makes no sense

 

[AgaBoogaBoo]

They don't ever last as long as they say and that gets annoying fast

 

[mercanucaribe]

I've seen some that provide a warm light, more like an incadescent bulb. Where do you find those?

Even those, I'd probably just want to use them outside, not in living areas.

 

[BillGates]

Originally posted by: Pepsi90919

Originally posted by: Chaotic42
$29. I work nights, so the sun is my light when I'm awake.

that makes no sense

makes sense to me

 

[sswingle]

Someone in Colorado was busy according to that map.

 

[Raduque]

Originally posted by: bignateyk

Originally posted by: archcommus

Originally posted by: ElFenix

Originally posted by: archcommus
Tempting but it's hard to bring myself to do it when the bulbs are $19.99 and an equivalent incandescent GE bulb is a quarter.

$20 you are getting ripped off. you can get them for about $2 to $3 each at lowe's or home depot. i'm sure walmart is similar.

and of course you'd have to buy 5 of those cheapies to get the life of a CCFL bulb.

Then what are the small bulbs I saw at Wal-Mart that looked like that thick spiral thing and were like 25 W and were $19.99? Can't think of what else that would've been.

Beats me. I got mine at walmart for a few $$ a piece. Even the 150watt equivalants are like $8 for a 3 pack.

I replaced a bunch of light fixtures with these for the convenience of not having to change them as much. The 150watt ones are very bright...

I think ive got about 15 of them in use right now.

Yep, I paid $6.99 for a 3-pack of 100W-equivelent CFLs.

The ones I have take about 3 seconds to fully come on, and they provide more light then 100w incandescents, they last longer, and they're more power efficient. I'll bite on them. Trying to get my parents to switch over, too.

 

[nakedfrog]

Originally posted by: elektrolokomotive
the quality of the light still sucks. It looks dingy. I'll happily pay the extra and keep using GE Reveals.

The first one I bought does have a kind of yellowish light to it, but it's in a frosted globe so that helps a little. The 4 that I just bought are Philips Soft White, and they are very comparable to the GE Reveals (which is what I was using before)

 

[sswingle]

Originally posted by: AgaBoogaBoo
They don't ever last as long as they say and that gets annoying fast

They still last longer than normal bulbs. I also read that the more you turn them off and on the shorter life they have.