Tight For Money This Summer?
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by: MichaelEdwards | Total views: 74 | Word Count: 607
Take a look at the energy saving ideas and new green products in this and the next few articles, and see how many you can use to save your hard earned cash. Then use the savings to fund a short vacation or a trip to Disneyland.
Replace Bulbs with Compact Fluorescent Bulbs
A Compact Fluorescent Lamp (or CFL) is a small circular fluorescent light bulb used to replace incandescent bulbs. They typically take the same amount of space as an old incandescent bulb, and screw right into the same socket.
CFLs produce light differently than incandescent bulbs. In an incandescent bulb, electricity runs through a wire filament and heats the filament until it starts to glow. In a CFL, an electric current is driven through a tube containing argon and a small amount of mercury vapor. This generates invisible ultraviolet light that excites a fluorescent coating (called phosphor) on the inside of the tube, which then emits visible light.
You have heard this before, but unless you are only going to turn on that incandescent bulb a couple of times a year, you are wasting money (no matter how cheap the bulb is). Green products help you save money. One of the new Energy Star compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFL) saves around 75% over an equivalent incandescent bulb. In one year, that could add up to a $30 savings - per bulb!
Many of the newer CFLs are available in a wide variety of shades of white light. The color varies from very warm (yellowish) to a bluish white light. This allows you to use the color of the CFL to set the mood of a space or room. Many CFLs come in "warm" colors to match the light of the old incandescent bulbs.
Be aware that the daylight or bluer light often appears harsh and can have a negative effect on light sensitive people. You will notice they squint or avoid sitting/standing near this color light. If so just change it out for one of the warmer colors.
Look on the package for a number that ends in K. This stands for Kelvin or the "temperature" of the bulb. A Kelvin rating of 2700K-3000K is a warm/yellow bulb. A Cool White bulb has a rating of 3500K-4100K. A rating of 5000K-6500K is a Daylight blue bulb.
When you are replacing a 40 watt bulb, use a 9-13 watt CFL; for a 60 watt use a 13-15 watt; for a 75 watt use an 18-25 watt CFL, and for a 100 watt use a 23-30 watt CFL.
Nevertheless, do not forget to recycle all CFLs. California law for example forbids the disposal of any lamps containing mercury in the regular solid waste trash. Even though a CFL is one of the most convenient green products, it does contain about five milligrams of mercury - one-fifth of the amount of mercury in an average watch battery.
Many retailers in your area like ACE Hardware, Home Depot and Orchard have recycling programs that will accept your used CFL green products.
For decorative lights, consider choosing Energy Star qualified light emitting diode (LED) bulbs. The LED units are great green products and use up to 90% less energy than an equivalent incandescent bulb to produce the same amount of light. I have been told that the power required to burn a single seven-watt incandescent bulb could power up to 140 LEDs! So wherever you used incandescent bulb in the past, replace them with a new CFL, and for outside lighting use the new LED decorative lights. This will save you money and reduce your carbon footprint.
One of the next green products will look at is small appliance power supplies.
Michael
About the Author
Michael Edwards has more interesting article on going green, checkout his green energy
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