How Many Lightbulbs Does it Take to Change the World? One. And You're Looking At It.

Submitted by Bill St. Clair on Thu, 31 Aug 2006 11:41:29 GMT  <== Gadgets ==> 

Charles Fishman at Fast Company - compact flourescent lightbulbs (CFLs) have gotten cheaper and better. If you use them to replace your incandescent bulbs, not only will you save energy, you'll save money. Lots of it. [cafe]

Last year, conversations started in Wal-Mart around the potential of swirls to save customers money on utility bills. "Somebody asked, 'What difference would it make if we changed the bulbs in the ceiling-fan display to CFLs?'" says Kerby. A typical Wal-Mart has 10 models of ceiling fans on display, each with four bulbs. Forty bulbs per store, 3,230 stores.

"Someone went off and did the math," says Kerby. "They told me we could save $6 million in electric bills by changing the incandescents to CFLs in more than 3,000 Wal-Marts. I couldn't believe it. I didn't know I was paying $6 million to light those fixtures. I said, that can't be right, go back and do the math again." The numbers came out the same the second time: savings of $6 million a year. "That, for me, was an 'I got it' moment."

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You will save money on CFLs

Submitted by Kristopher on Thu, 31 Aug 2006 15:30:55 GMT

You will save money on CFLs ... until your state monopoly power company complains about CFL bulb users "destroying" their revenue, and get State approval to jack up their rates in the face of lower demand.

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