Let There Be Lightbulbs - Part I

There are a lot of new technologies in the lighting business.

Part I

Compact – fluorescent bulbs give off very nice light, require one fourth the power, and last from four to sixteen times as long as a standard incandescent light bulb. They cost about $4 per bulb.

A 100 Watt incandescent bulb that you run for three hours a day, costs about a dollar a month in electricity. An equivalent fluorescent bulb costs you about a quarter. That doesn’t sound too impressive. But then – the incandescent will burn out sooner.

So, a fluorescent bulb running for 3 hours a day every day will last about four years. During that time, you’d have to change the incandescent light bulb about four times. So that’s an additional two dollars or so you save, assuming an incandescent costs about fifty cents apiece. (Not including the inconvenience of changing a light bulb).

Since the fluorescent light bulb is going to last four years, it makes sense to see how much less energy the fluorescent is over four years compared to the incandescent. That’s about $.75 * 12 months * 4 years. That comes out to $36. Now, if you consider the extra cost of replacing 4 incandescent over that time, that’s $2, but we have to take away the extra cost of the fluorescent to begin with, so that reduces our savings by $2. Still with me?

The bottom line is, over the course of four years, a fluorescent costs about $34 less compared to a standard.

Well, that’s really something now. Thirty four dollars for a light bulb? Who knew. And that’s just one light bulb. And - the total savings over the life of a bulb is the same regardless of how often you use it, but the more you use a light, the faster you’ll save.

I dunno about you, but I'm done with incandescents.