Earth Day, Every Day - Tip # 4

See The Light

Switch from traditional incandescent bulbs to energy-efficient compact fluorescent bulbs (CFLs) or LED bulbs. Each CFL can save you up to $30. a year, with LEDs savings even more per year, plus a longer bulb life, and no mercury.

To give a comparison:
A regular 60 watt bulb lasts about 6 months and will use about $10 in electricity which means it will cost about $20 a year to light (plus the cost of two bulbs).

An equivalent CFL lasts about 3 years and will use about $16 in electricity which means it will cost about $5.50 a year to light (plus the cost of the bulb).

An equivalent LED lasts about 17 years and will use about $34 in electricity which means it will cost about $2 a year to light (plus the cost of the bulb). LEDs are absolutely the best long term savings, despite the larger upfront cost.

Please note that CFLs as well as all fluorescent bulbs do have a small amount of mercury so be sure to recycle them at Home Depot or another qualified recycler.

Living Green 101

Often people think they have to go green all at once. I didn't and I'd venture to say that most go green gradually. It's a process. You start with one thing and then add another, and another.

Perhaps step one will be to flip out the light when you leave a room, turn off the water while you brush your teeth or replace a few incandescents with CFLs. Next you unplug energy hogs (like your TV) when not in use. I've purchased power strips for my elctronics and just flip them off when they're not being used.

I'd next encourage you to purchase an organic version of a food you're already buying. If you choose carrots or celery the cost difference is minimal.

Once you've done that, replace one or two regular cleaning products with non-toxic versions.

Before you know it, over time you'll have gone green and although some things may have cost you a bit more, others should have saved you some green.