Change a Lightbulb, Change the World
Posted on Mar 10, 2009 - 09:34 AM
By: Amy Roth
There is something about “springing forward” into daylight savings time that makes me want to jump head first into spring. For me, this usually means spring cleaning, but also a time to start fresh; an opportunity to turn over a new green leaf.
This spring, my husband and I are embracing the “less is more attitude” and are decluttering our apartment in preparation to move to a smaller place later this year. Despite living in a modest, 720-square foot 1 bedroom apartment, we realized that we could still do more to decrease our footprint and have a smaller impact on the planet.
With less square-footage to heat, cool (and clean) we’ve found a perfect way to not only live more green, but save more green - in our wallets - at the same time, too! And in this economy, that’s never a bad thing.
For some, this move would seem a drastic – even impossible – change to make, all in the name of being “green”. And while many people are looking at the faltering economy as an opportunity to embrace a more simplistic lifestyle, the good news is that you don’t have to give up prized possessions and precious square footage to live a greener life.
So short of living like a pauper, what can you do?
Well, you could change a light bulb. If every household in the U.S replaced just one regular incandescent light bulb with a compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulb, it would reduce pollution by an amount that’s equivalent to removing one million cars from the road.
Right, right, you’ve heard that before, and it sounds hard to believe that something as simple as changing a light bulb could have such a dramatic impact on our environment. We all know that cars cause pollution, but what difference can a light bulb make? How does replacing just one light bulb reduce pollution?
The largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States is from the production of electricity. Lighting accounts for 20-25% of electricity consumption in the U.S., most of which comes from highly inefficient incandescent light bulbs. A typical light bulb actually only converts about 10% of the electricity it uses to actual light. The rest is lost to heat.
Because compact fluorescent bulbs use 75-80% less energy and last 10 times longer than a standard light bulb, replacing just one bulb can have a positive impact.
- -If every household replaced its most commonly used incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescent light bulbs, electricity use for lighting could be cut in half.
- -In turn, this could lower the annual carbon dioxide emissions from electricity production by about 125 billion pounds.
- -Replacing one incandescent light bulb with an energy saving CFL bulb reduces carbon monoxide emissions to the atmosphere by 1,000 pounds.
- -By replacing four standard bulbs with CFLs, you can prevent the emission of 5,000 pounds of carbon dioxide.
If reducing pollution isn’t enough to sell you on compact fluorescent light bulbs, perhaps this will convince you. A single 100-watt incandescent bulb, used 5 hours a day at $0.08/kWh would run you $14.56 a year in electricity costs. If you have 10 lamps or fixtures that use this type of bulb, you will spend $145.60 just to operate those bulbs.
However, if you replace the incandescent bulbs with a 30-watt CFL operating under the same conditions, your yearly operating expenditure will only be $4.38. With 10 bulbs replaced, that’s a yearly savings of over $100! And who couldn’t use an extra $100 a year?
Some may argue that the expense of a CFL makes bulb replacement cost prohibitive. Others think CFL’s are not attractive in an exposed fixture or prefer a light that’s dimmable. The latest generation of CFLs have come a long way. Today’s bulbs are much more cost competitive especially when you consider how long the bulbs last and the cost savings on your energy bills.
If aesthetics are a concern, many CFL bulbs now have the look of a more traditional light bulb with a globe covering the trademark “squiggle” bulb and some CFLs can now be used on a dimmer or even in a three-way light!
If you are still not convinced that a small change can have such a big impact, let’s look at it this way: If every person in America donated 10 cents to a cause or organization, that cause/organization would have about 30 million dollars in donations. A dime doesn’t seem like very much money to one person, but when everyone chips in, that small donation or effort can have a tremendous impact.
Maybe that sounds like a lot of hype or is hard to believe, that you, one person, can have such a positive impact on climate change from simply changing a light bulb. But it’s true - change a light bulb, and maybe change the world.
Sources:
http://www.energystar.gov
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