If every American home replaced just one light bulb with and Energy Star qualified bulb, we would save enough energy to light more than 3 million homes for a year, more than $600 million in annual energy costs, and prevent greenhouse gases equivalent to the emission of more than 800,000 cars.

Why switch to CFLs?  Switching from traditional light bulbs to CFLs is an effective, accessible change every American can make right now to reduce energy use at home and prevent greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to global climate change.  Lighting accounts for close to 20 percent of the average home's electric bill.  Energy Star qualified CFLs use up to 75 percent less energy than incandescent light bulbs, last up to 10 times longer, cost little up front, and provide a quick return on investment.

Where can you use a CFL?  Energy Star qualified CFLs provide the greatest savings in fixtures that are on for a substantial amount of time each day.  At a minimum, Energy Star recommends installing qualified CFLs in fixtures that are used at least 15 minutes at a time or several hours per day.  The best fixtures to use qualified CFLs in are usually found in the following areas of your home: family and living room, kitchen, dining room, bedroom, and outdoors.

How do I to choose the right CFL?  Matching the right CFL to the right kind of fixture helps ensure that it will perform properly and last a long time.  For recessed fixtures, it is better to use a reflector CFL than a spiral CFL since the design of the reflector evenly distributes the light down to your task area.  If a light fixture is connected to a dimmer or three-way socket fixture, you'll need to use a special Energy Star qualified CFL designed to work in these applications.  Simply look for CFLs that specify use with dimmers or three-way fixtures.  You should also check the lumen rating to find the right CFL.  The higher the lumen rating, the greater the light output.

Would you like to get started in conserving energy and helping our environment?  Please send us your name, address and email to inquiry@longelectric.com.  Together, we can move in the right direction.