It’s the difference between pedaling a bicycle in high gear versus low gear. Both methods will move the bike, but low gear requires considerably less energy.

Now, let’s apply the same thinking to light bulbs.

Generating light from a traditional light bulb is similar to pedaling in high gear — it requires a tremendous amount of energy just to create some light.

In fact, 95% of the energy spent to run an “old” light bulb is lost to heat — it’s not even used in making light.

By contrast, compact florescent lightbulbs (CFL) are equivalent to pedaling in low gear.

In generating the exact same amount of light, a “green” light bulb loses just 20% of its energy to heat. That’s a major difference and it lowers the monthly energy bill for your home.

Of course, those savings come at a cost. At least at first.

CFLs are more expensive than a traditional bulb, sometimes by $2-3 per bulb. But, once you get past the sticker shock, it’s important to remember that CFLs can last up to 10 years and that means 10 years of pedaling in low gear.

Over time, the energy saved is immeasurable and a homeowner (or renter) will more than recoup their original investment in the energy-efficient bulbs.

This entry was posted on Friday, May 11th, 2007 at 4:22 pm and is filed under Cincinnati Real Estate News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.