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Take a look at the energy saving ideas and new green products in this and the next few articles, and see how many you can use to save your hard earned cash. Then use the savings to fund a short vacation or a trip to Disneyland.

Replace Bulbs with Compact Fluorescent Bulbs

A Compact Fluorescent Lamp (or CFL) is a small circular fluorescent light bulb used to replace incandescent bulbs. They typically take the same amount of space as an old incandescent bulb, and screw right into the same socket.

A CFL does not generate light the way an incandescent bulbs does. Incandescent light bulbs have worked essentially the same way since Thomas Edison invented them. When electricity is connected to both sides of a carbon filament, it gets hot and produces light. In CFLs (as with the older fluorescent tubes), a closed glass tube is coated with a fluorescent coating that glows when a current is applied to the argon and mercury vapor inside.

You have heard this before, but unless you are only going to turn on that incandescent bulb a couple of times a year, you are wasting money (no matter how cheap the bulb is). Green products help you save money. One of the new Energy Star compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFL) saves around 75% over an equivalent incandescent bulb. In one year, that could add up to a $30 savings - per bulb!

Many of the newer CFLs are available in a wide variety of shades of white light. The color varies from very warm (yellowish) to a bluish white light. This allows you to use the color of the CFL to set the mood of a space or room. Many CFLs come in “warm” colors to match the light of the old incandescent bulbs.

Be aware that the daylight or bluer light often appears harsh and can have a negative effect on light sensitive people. You will notice they squint or avoid sitting/standing near this color light. If so just change it out for one of the warmer colors.

If you are confused about the “color temperature” and how it will look, it is really pretty simple. On the bulb package, the temperature will be listed in Kelvins (K). The higher the Kelvins, the bluer the color. So a 2700K-3000K is a warm/yellow, similar to a Soft White bulb, whereas a 3500K-4100K is like a Cool White bulb, and 5000K-6500K is a blue Daylight bulb.

A 9-13 watt CFL will replace a 40 watt incandescent bulb; use a 13-15 watt to replace a 60 watt incandescent bulb; for a 75 watt incandescent bulb use a 18-25 watt CFL; and use a 23-30 watt CFL to replace a 100 watt incandescent bulb.

Don’t forget that even though a CFL is one of the new green products, it cannot be thrown in the regular trash. In fact some states have laws that forbid this. I am told that a CFL contains about five milligrams of mercury, and should not be put in landfills.

Many retailers in your area like ACE Hardware, Home Depot and Orchard have recycling programs that will accept your used CFL green products.

A host of new green products for outdoors, poolside, garden, and sidewalk lighting are moving to light-emitting diode (LED) bulbs. The new LED bulbs are 90% more efficient than an incandescent bulb. I would recommend using an Energy Star compliant system; you will usually have a longer time between bulb replacements. However, stock up on replacement bulbs - the manufacturers seem to change the design every couple of years, and then it becomes hard to find replacement parts.

We will look at more green products that help you reduce your energy bill next time.

Michael