Smells like Team Spirit

Today I made a difference.

I was at Target to pick up some odds and ends that I couldn't get at the grocery store, one of which was a 75-watt compact fluorescent bulb for the garage. Lo and behold, CFLs were on sale this week -- up to 50 cents cheaper than normal. So I bought them out of 60-watt mini-twists and 40-watt globe lights. All told, I bought 31 CFLs -- and yes, it was a big outlay (about $175), but since we have 55 light bulbs on our 2nd floor alone, the energy savings should be exponential.

Just replacing the 10 globe lights in the kids' bathroom should save us nearly $50 this year alone. The 21 mini-twists should save us $147 over the next year. That's a pretty good combined savings. In fact, I am feeling motivated to replace even more bulbs, like down in the basement where we have a gazillion lights which the kids never turn off. CFLs have an additional bonus: they run 75% cooler than incandescents, which means they won't make the rooms as hot this summer. Should mean that the air conditioner won't have to work quite as hard. I'm keeping my fingers crossed on that one. The CFLs might not make our power bills go down this year, but they might keep them from going up.

I've been flirting with CFLs for a while now, but have always balked at their size and the cold nature of their light. However, the mini-twists were labeled "soft light" and once installed, they are considerably warmer than the old CFLs. That being said, the globe lights are definitely a cooler light, but not so bad that you feel like you're about to undergo surgery.

If you're wondering about CFLs and aren't sure whether they really make that much difference, this article on WalMart and the Fluorescent Bulb Revolution was a good read. Not that WalMart should be the yardstick for anyone's behavior, but kudos to them for doing something not designed to screw people for a change. The part of the article where they discuss their own savings as a result of switching to CFLs in their stores (and just a tiny portion of the store at that) is impressive. The government has a site that also explains the benefits of CFLs which I found mildly helpful, especially where they delineate the shapes, sizes and types of bulbs available and which works best where. Also, they explain quite clearly why you can't just chuck CFLs in the trash when they burn out in 8 years or so (mercury) and what to do if one should break in your house (special clean up procedures).

So here's the deal -- if everyone just put one CFL in their home somewhere, we'd save an absolutely ridiculous amount of energy. Enough energy to close down two coal powered energy plants (or prevent two from being built). If you just loathe them, as I did for a long time, consider putting them where you won't be bothered by them: an unfinished basement, the garage, your porch light. Put them in your closets, if your closets have lights. Find a place where you can use one -- just one. And then feel good about yourself for the next 8 years.

Saving the world, baby. Not bad for a Monday.