节能荧光灯—何乐而不换？

Here are two things that nobody wants to see increase: your power bill and pollution.  Boo! We're going to show you a small step you can take that can turn these arrows the other way. Yay!

We're focused on your friendly household light bulb, the incandescent kind. The chances are, there is one within a few feet of you right now.  Go ahead! Look around! That light bulb is not cool anymore.  It's the VCR of light bulbs and it's quickly becoming obsolete and for good reason.  It's being replaced by a new kind of bulb.  It's called a compact fluorescent, or CFL and it's an easy way for you to make a big difference.

Here are two reasons why.

The real problem is coal which is used to create over 50 percent of our electricity.  When you turn on a light bulb, most of the electricity that powers that bulb comes from burning coal.  When it's burnt in power plants, CO2 and other pollution is released into the air. More burning coal equals more pollution. Not cool at all.

If that wasn't enough, coal also costs money.  The more you burn for electricity, the higher your power bill.  So the ultimate goal is to burn less coal by using less electricity.

Here is why new light bulbs matter.  If you replace that old light bulb with a new CFL, you can save money and help prevent pollution at the same time.  Consider these three big points.

First, let's say you have a lamp in your house that you leave on for one full year, 24/7. You start with a 750-hour incandescent bulb.  That lasts about a month.  This means that over a year, you'll use about 12 bulbs for the lamp.  At 60 cents a bulb, that's about 7 dollars and 20 cents.  Now compare that to a single CFL that costs about 4 dollars.  A CFL in the exact same lamp will last 10,000 hours. That's about the same as 13 regular light bulbs.  This should be clear - less hassle, less money.

But the last two points are the big ones. Lighting accounts for, on average, about 20 dollars of 100 dollars monthly power bill and CFLs use one quarter of the power compared to an incandescent bulb.  This means that using CFLs can lower a 100-dollar power bill to 85 dollars a month. That's cool.

And finally, switching to CFLs can prevent hundreds of pounds of CO2 pollution each year. That pollution is a cause of global warming.  So you can see the point: CFLs are simply a smarter way to light your home.  If you're still not convinced, note that these aren't the buzzing blue tube lights from the kitchen of your past.

CFLs have come a long way lately. Popular Mechanics did a blind study with new CFLs and participants preferred the CFL light compared to incandescent bulbs and they fit in the same fixtures. The question to ask is: Why not switch to CFLs? The next time you are at the store, pick up a four pack of CFLs and replace the bulbs that are on the most, maybe the porch lights. Then ask your friends, "Why haven't you switched? Are you still watching movies with a VCR?"