OK, you probably already know that CFLs (compact fluorescent light bulbs) save lots of watts while delivering comparable brightness, and though they might take some getting used to, you also might have come to expect that they are the future of residential lighting (I explained why LED bulbs are not, here). If you don't already use CFLs wherever possible, perhaps the prospect of putting money in your pocket might help you speed up the transition you know you'll make someday anyway.
I did a quick audit of all the light bulbs in my house -
every bulb (garage, balcony, patio, closets, etc.) - counted up the combined wattage - then determined which bulbs I could replace. After spending about $140 on CFL replacements, and removing some dimmers attached to ceiling floods (I miss you, dimmers, but I know you waste too much electricity and don't work with my new bulbs!), a sum of the wattage afterwards showed that I had cut my total potential usage (if I turned on every bulb simultaneously)
from 2,795 watts down to 1,279 watts (a 54% drop). When taking into account the CFL replacements for only the lights I use
most often, the reduction was actually around 65%!
Estimating that lighting contributed to about half my normal electricity usage (before the bulb replacements), and that the lighting cost equalled, on average, about $30 per month, at 50% savings, I should be able to pay back the cost of the bulbs in about 9 months, years before they start burning out. As the bulbs get cheaper and energy prices continue to rise, though, the payback period will only decrease.
Your neighbors have solar-powered LED Malibu-type "landscape lights" driven into their front yards. Heck, probably a quarter of the people on your street do. On store shelves from your grocery store to Target, there are a dozen or more types and designs to choose from, and prices sure have come down in the last two years.
But you know they don't work, because on your way to dinner they are lit up but when you get home they're not. And even when they're on, the 2 or 3 LED lamps inside hardly offer to light up even the grass 4 inches from it. Even in sunny Southern California, there are enough trees in my yard to make it difficult to place a half-dozen lights in enough direct sunlight to last a couple hours. And it's unclear who's worse off - those who chose the yellow/amber LEDs, or those who picked white/"blue-ish". The pair of Ni-Cd AA's inside wears out in 7 months, and they become dim beacons in your local landfill.
Arg. Yet people are still buying them in droves - isn't there a better solution? Traditional Malibu lights are bright with their halogen bulbs and relatively inexpensive, but if you're like me, you're looking for an elegant solution that uses less electricity. A set running all night every night could cost $50 or more per year to power.
It seems there is a better way. If you don't mind stepping back 30 years in terms of an entire afternoon required to install a proper set of Malibu lights, there are some great new products on the market that hit the spot.
Option 1: If you have existing, traditional Malibu lights installed, replace their bulbs with new LED bulbs.
Replace the halogen bulbs with adapted LED bulbs for a lifetime of bright light. Sites like SuperBrightLEDs.com (and eBay of course) sell replacement LED bulbs for your existing fixtures. Pull out the old bulb, plug in a new LED bulb, and you're all set. They offer a variety of colors too (including warm white, which is much less garish than "cool white"), and are powered by more current and proper voltage for the LEDs to shine their brightest. Caveat: Manufacturer recommends you test your existing DC power supply first to ensure it's not delivering greater than 12VDC. If it is, you'd want to replace it with a regulated 12VDC supply.
Option 2: Purchase a new wired system that uses LEDs out of the box
Manufacturers have started to produce wired versions of traditional lights that employ LEDs as the only source of light. Parts can be purchased as a set or a la carte, and the cost is surprisingly low. I haven't been able to track down photos or links yet, but I'd seen a nice selection at Lowes stores last week. Even the 12VDC power supply is only around $15.00. They market the product as "Run the set for $5 a year" which sure sounds like it will pay itself back in only a few years. Caveat: The ones I've seen only have "cool white/aka blue" LEDs in them, so if you're looking for "warm white" like I am, you can:
- wait till they are manufactured, or
- buy warm white LEDs from eBay and replace them in the fixtures yourself, like I'm planning on doing.
FastCompany published a great article in its Sept. '06 edition about the energy-saving effects of Compact Fluorescent Lightbulbs (CFL's). You probably know what they are, but do you realize how far they've come and more importantly, how immense their impact can be?
"If every one of 110 million American households bought just one [CFL] and used it to replace an ordinary 60-watt bulb, the energy saved would be enough to power a city of 1.5 million people. One bulb swapped out, enough electricity saved to power all the homes in Delaware and Rhode Island. In terms of oil not burned, or greenhouse gases not exhausted into the atmosphere, one bulb is equivalent to taking 1.3 million cars off the roads."
And according to Chevron, this one bulb in every home would save 500 pounds of coal and over a 1/2 ton of CO2 emissions (per bulb, per home)!
Pass the word - Lead the pack of those you know - speak out about CFL's and other easy ways to save energy.
