Why Choose CFLs?

•  •  Save $30 or more over the life of the bulb.
•  •  CFLs Produce 70% less heat and use 75% less energy.
•  •  CFLs last up to 10-15 times longer than a standard incandescent bulb.

What Makes CFLs Different?

Regular incandescent bulbs create light by heating a filament until it becomes white-hot, producing the light that we see. A large percentage of the energy used goes into heating the filament, which is ultimately wasted. A compact fluorescent bulb (CFL) contains gas that produces Ultraviolet Light (UV) when it is introduced to electricity. When the electrified gas comes into contact with a white coating inside the fluorescent tubes (phosphor) it becomes light. Because fluorescent bulbs don't need to create heat (like the incandescent bulbs), all the energy expended is used to produce light, making them 4-6 times more energy efficient.

How DO CFLs Actually Lower Your Energy Costs?

In Washington State the current average cost of electricity is $0.0754 per kilowatt-hour (kWh). One kWh is measured as 1,000 watt-hours. To put this simply, a 100 watt standard incandescent bulb will consume 1,000 watts in 10 hours to make 1 kWh. The average lamp life of a 100 watt incandescent bulb is 1,000 hours, which equals 100 kWh. This means that over the life of the bulb (100 kWh), each 100 watt incandescent bulb in your home will cost $7.54 to provide light.

An equivalent CFL uses only about 23 watts to produce the same amount of light output (measured in lumens). This means that a CFL will run for a full 43.5 hours before consuming 1 kWh. Additionally, the lamp life of a CFL is 10,000 hours, which equates to an average cost of $17.33 over the life of the bulb. Taking into consideration that one CFL replaces 10 incandescent bulbs, a CFL costs $5.81 less in energy per every 1,000 hours used, which is a total of $58.10 over the life of the CFL, as compared to the energy consumption of 10 incandescent bulbs.

But aren't CFLs more expensive? Yes, while it is true that the initial cost of a CFL is higher (about $5), suppose a 100 watt incandescent light bulb costs $0.50, and consider that you'll have buy 10 standard bulbs just to equal the life of one CFL - this means you can expect a total expense of $5 in light bulbs alone. As you can see, investing in one CFL actually pays for itself!

Now consider that a typical U.S. home contains between 50-100 light bulb sockets, just imagine the savings you'll see if you replace all 50 light bulbs in your home - at a difference of $58.10 over the life of each bulb, your total savings could be as high as $2,905!

Today's CFLs are available in warm and cool color tones, produce no sound, and illuminate instantly through improved internal ballasts, making them much more practical and efficient.

To learn more about how to choose the right CFL for your lighting needs, please refer to the following CFL Equivalency Information Page.

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