ENERGY STAR CFLs Save Energy, Time, and Money
ENERGY STAR compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) use about 75 percent less electricity than incandescent bulbs. The average U.S. household has 30 to 45 light bulbs—replacing that number of 75-watt incandescent bulbs with CFLs could save nearly $160 per year.
If every American home replaced just one light bulb or fixture with an ENERGY STAR CFL, every year, we would save enough energy to light more than 3 million homes, representing more than $600 million in energy costs, and prevent greenhouse gases equivalent to the emissions of more than 800,000 cars!
Modern CFLs typically have a life span of between 6,000 and 15,000 hours, whereas incandescent lamps are usually manufactured to have a life span of 750 hours or 1,000 hours.
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While the purchase price of a CFL is typically 3 to 10 times greater than that of an equivalent incandescent lamp, the extended lifetime (less lamps to replace) and lower energy use will compensate for the higher initial cost in most applications.
Because the wattage of a CFL bulb is much lower than that of an incandescent, you can use a higher wattage CFL to provide the equivalent light of a higher wattage incandescent. For example, if your fixture specifies not to exceed 60 watts, you can use a 15-watt CFL to get the same amount of light as a 60-watt incandescent bulb or use up to a 42-watt CFL to increase the amount of light.
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