This DIY cut monthly electricity costs article is just the beginning when it comes to easy ways to save you money on your power bills. You could purchase some new green products or maybe even use the extra money to buy yourself a little vacation.
CFL is what's called a Compact Fluorescent Lamp or a circular fluorescent bulb. A CFL does not generate light the way incandescent bulbs do.
Since Thomas Edison's invention of incandescent light bulbs they have pretty much worked the same way. When electricity is connected to both of the sides of a carbon filament, it gets hot and light is produced. CFLs and normal fluoro tubes contain a closed glass tube with a fluoro coating that glows when current is applied to the argon and mercury vapour inside.
Although you may have heard how these bulbs work, no matter how cheap they are, if you are turning them on more than about twice a year you are wasting your money. Green products can help you save your money. Compared with an incandescent bulb the newer Energy Star CFL bulbs can save around 75% in costs. In a period of 6 months A CFL bulb will pay for itself and save you about $30 per bulb over the period of its lifetime!
The CFL bulb has come a long way these days giving us a much wider choice of light spectrum that is omitted. The mood of the rooms in your house, office or any other rooms can be greatly changed. The CFL color choices vary from a daylight blue to a warm yellow. Choosing a warmer colored light would be the right choice if you prefer incandescent bulbs. Be aware that the daylight or bluer light comes across as very harsh white light and can have negative effects on people that are sensitive to light.
Take a look on the packaging for a number that ends in K which stands for Kelvin, it gives you the temperature of the bulb. If you see a K rating of 2700K-3000K you will be getting a warm/yellow bulb. If you're looking for a cool white bulb look for a rating of 3500K-4100K. And if you wanted the Daylight Blue bulb look for a Kelvin rated bulb of 5000K-6500K.
To replace 40 watt incandescent bulbs, use 9-13 watt CFL bulbs to get the same results. Use a 13-15 watt CFL to replace a 60 watt incandescent. Replace a 75 watt incandescent with an 18-25 watt CFL. And to replace 100 watt incandescents use 23-30 watt CFLs.
Please remember to recycle all compact fluorescent bulbs. Some states forbid mixing used bulbs that contain mercury with solid waste trash. They do this as about 5 milligrams of mercury is in each CFL bulb.
Places such as ACE Hardware, Orchard (OSH), IKEA and Home Depot will take your used green CFL products and dispose of them responsibly.
If you are looking for decorative lights, Energy Star qualified light emitting diode bulbs (LED) are a great alternative. These bulbs create the exact same amount of light as their equivalent incandescent bulb and use up to 90% less energy! It has been said that you can power 140 LEDs with the power required to burn one single 7 watt incandescent bulb!
So it's a good idea to use CFLs inside and outside you could try the LEDs. The bulbs will help the environment and keep lots of money in your pocket at the same time.
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