 Winter 2008 |
As winter approaches here in the US, many people are breathing a major sigh of relief. Just three short months ago, the price of crude oil was at historic highs.
Americans first felt the impact of high oil prices to their wallets in the price of gasoline. As the price of gas rose, people began to drive fewer miles in order to budget appropriately.
Looming in the distance, however, is the winter season.
 Starter Package |
At the Energy Superstore, we have started a campaign titled “Project Green 2008″ in order to help our customers go green in 2008. We are trying to make an impact by showing the importance of making the switch to Compact Fluorescents.
To make it easy on you, we are giving you all the resources that you need to make our world a little greener one light bulb at a time. We strive to not only help our environment, but to help our customers save energy, time, and money.
 Energy Savings Calculator |
Here is a neat little tool that is rigged up over at the Energy Superstore. Plug in your numbers and see how much you can save by switching from incandescent lighting to compact fluorescent lighting.
Here is the link to the Energy Superstore’s Advanced Energy Savings Calculator.
One of our recent clients plugged in her numbers for the weekly household usage of 5 lamps in her upstairs and downstairs. By switching to compact fluorescent screw-ins, she will be saving 436.8 kWh per year with a return on investment of 163.7%.
So our question to you is this: when it is time to replace your light bulbs why not just pick up compact fluorescent bulbs instead of incandescent, and save yourself hundreds or thousands of dollars a year?
Here’s that link one more time: Advanced Energy Savings Calculator.
 Broken Light Bulb |
The incandescent light bulb was invented in about 1802. Practical incandescent light bulbs were not invented until 1878 when tungsten was used for the filament. In many respects the technology hasn’t changed much after the initial refinements. First let me explain how an incandescent light bulb works.
Electricity goes through a thin strand of material called a filament. The material gives off light after it is heated in a process called incandescence. The filament is tightly would like a spring so that there is more length to give off light. Being enclosed inside a glass shell protects the filament. The excessive heat produced by the electricity would cause the filament to burn up if it were exposed to the oxygen in the air. Incandescent light bulbs are usually filled with an inert gas such as nitrogen to prevent the filament being exposed to oxygen. To better project the light outward a pear shaped bulb is usually used.
 LED Light Bulb |
Light-emitting diodes (LEDs) are becoming far more common for indoor lighting solutions due to their human and environmental safety, cost, and longevity. An LED is a solid-state semiconductor diode that emits light when an electrical current is applied in the forward direction of the device, as in the simple LED circuit. The effect is a form of electro-luminescence where incoherent and narrow-spectrum light is emitted.
LEDs are widely used as indicator lights on electronic devices and increasingly in higher power applications such as flashlights and area lighting. An LED is usually a small area light source, often with optics added to the chip to shape its radiation pattern and assist in reflection. The color of the emitted light depends on the composition and condition of the semi-conducting material used, and can be infrared, visible, or ultraviolet.
 Halogen Light Bulb |
The history of light has not reached its end as of yet. In fact, it has been revolutionized by the new compact fluorescent bulbs now in the market. These new fluorescent bulbs give consumers an alternative to the old halogen light bulbs. Halogen light bulbs are variants of the original incandescent light bulb invented by Thomas Edison. Like incandescent bulbs, halogen bulbs are outdated and grossly inefficient. They are also very hazardous, although they are cheap and therefore convenient; they have the ability to create costly damages.
The reason halogen bulbs are so ineffective and dangerous is in how they make energy. Like incandescent bulbs, they generate energy to create light. The problem, however, is that all the energy they create is not used effectively. Most of the energy created actually causes the bulb to emanate heat reaching extreme temperatures, which can cause burns or even ignite fires, instead of being used for lighting purposes. This in turns means that most of the energy used is wasted, dangerous, and ineffective.
The fluorescent bulb on the other hand solves all three issues. Compact fluorescent bulbs do not use heat to produce lighting but instead use a variety of gasses and electricity. This in turn means that they don’t heat up as much as their counterparts and are safer to use. In fact, several Universities have opted to use these bulbs over the halogen bulbs to prevent accidents.
Not only do these bulbs produce light more effectively but they are more cost effective. Their initial cost may be higher but their long term cost saves money in the end. For example, a halogen bulb can last up to two years whereas fluorescent bulbs have a life of up to five years!
When the two bulbs are compared, it becomes obvious which one is superior. Yet, as life has it, everything does have its advantages and disadvantages. The fluorescent bulb does hold one consequence: mercury. One of the gasses found in these bulbs is mercury, a contaminant. To this one problem, the fluorescent bulb has two pros though, by being more energy efficient it should reduce the amount of mercury production and can serve as an option to going green, a step to prevent global warming.
The Energy Superstore sells fluorescent light bulbs at discount prices for your convenience.
Making improvements to your lighting is one of the fastest ways to cut your energy bills. An average household dedicates 11% of its energy budget to lighting. Using new lighting technologies can reduce lighting energy use in your home by 50% to 75%. Advances in lighting controls offer further energy savings by reducing the amount of time lights are on but not being used.
Use tube fluorescent and energy efficient compact fluorescent lights (CFLs) in fixtures throughout your home to provide high-quality and high-efficiency lighting. Fluorescent lamps are much more efficient than incandescent (standard) bulbs and last about 4 to 10 times longer.
Today’s CFLs offer brightness and color rendition that is comparable to incandescent lights. Although fluorescent and compact fluorescent lamps cost a bit more than incandescent bulbs, they pay for themselves by saving energy over their lifetime. Now available are dimmable fluorescent light bulbs, which operate much like incandescent fixtures.
Many homeowners use outdoor lighting for decoration and security. When shopping for outdoor lights, you will find a variety of products, from low-voltage pathway lighting to fluorescent motion-detector floodlights. Some stores also carry lights powered by small photovoltaic (PV) modules that convert sunlight directly into electricity; consider PV-powered lights for areas that are not close to an existing power supply line.
By implementing some of these tips and strategies, you will save both energy and money. In many cases your home will also be safer due to the decreased fire hazards. Sick of replacing light bulbs and paying high energy bills? Switch to compact fluorescent lighting and you won’t ever go back.
