1 of 19

Write now Article Tools

As a lighting designer I deal with light bulbs on a daily basis. It is my job to put the right light bulb in the right place! I've lit everything from a baseball fields to clothing stores and a thousand homes. I live and breath these things. If it illuminates I am required to know how brightly, with what color and at what cost. Halogen bulbs. Compact fluorescents. LED's. You name it. My biggest frustration and concern on a daily basis is the Compact Fluorescent. The term green and CFL is thrown around with much excitement. I have many thing I want to say on this subject but I will limit this to those related to "money savings".

How much will you pay for the bulb? How much does it cost to operate? How long will it last?

Every light bulb has an "average life" rating. It may say 1,000 hrs or it may say 7000 hrs. It might even say 30,000 hrs! The thing to know is that this is truly an average life rating. Manufacturers will literally plug in 100 light bulbs and wait for the fiftieth one to burn out. At that point they have an average. You can get a brand new bulb that last 3 months and you can get one that lasts ten years. Buying a quality bulb helps, sometimes, but you can't tell which one you are going to get by looking at it. We have all had that bulb in the kitchen we've replaced twice in the last year and the one next to it has been there longer than we've been in the house.

The second thing to consider is how much electricity actually costs. Most everyone is aware of how much the electricity bill was last month but I'm amazed at how few people know how it breaks down.

You are charged by the kilowatt hour. What this means is you pay a set amount for every 1000 watts you consume in an hour. Do you know how much you pay a kilowatt hour? To make the math fairly simple I'm going to say I pay $.07 cents for every 1000 watts I use in this set time. For the following scenario I will use these numbers:

1. $0.07 per KWH
2. "Standard" 100 watt light bulb at $0.54 ( approx. 1700 lumens)
3 CFL 23 watt "equivalent" at $3.99 (approx. 1700 lumens)

I read for an hour every night before I go to bed. Usually between 11pm and 12 pm. I use a standard 100 watt bulb in in my bedside lamp. Calculating with the above numbers I spend $.007 a day to read at night. My reading costs me roughly 20 cents a month.

Now what if I replaced my standard 100 watt bulb with a 23 watt CFL? I would now spend $.001610 a day to read. It would cost me $.05 a month to read at night.

The CFL will cost me approximately $3.50 more but I will save 15 cents per month. How long will it take me to recoup my investment at 15 cents a month? If my math is correct I will break even just before the two year mark. This is of course assuming my CFL will last that long. Will it? If I have to replace it before then it will now take 46 months to recoup my investment.

Most studies say you will save thirty to forty dollars a year by switching to compact fluorescents. How much will it cost to replace all the bulbs in your house and how long will it take you to recoup that investment?

*The bulb prices were average from several online sources. Bulb prices flux 20 to 40 percent*Write your article here

Learn more about this author, Shane Cook.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.

Add your voice

Know something about How to save on lighting?
We want to hear your view. Write now!