Switch to Fluorescent

Everyone needs light bulbs in just about every single room in the house. However, we often don't think about this energy guzzler when trying to reduce energy.

If you have incandescent light bulbs currently, consider switching them for fluorescent ones. According to the U.S. Department of Energy:

"If every American home replaced just one light bulb with an ENERGY STAR qualified bulb, we would save enough energy to light more than 3 million homes for a year, more than $600 million in annual energy costs, and prevent greenhouse gases equivalent to the emissions of more than 800,000 cars."

That's pretty amazing, isn't it? And just think of how much we could save if we replaced more than one light bulb. I'm in my dining room right now, and I see that the chandelier has 9 light bulbs. It really wouldn't be much harder for me to switch all of those light bulbs rather than just 1, would it?

Energy Star qualified compact fluorescent light bulbs use 75% less energy than standard bulbs, and they last up to 10 times longer. That means you can save 30 dollars or more over each bulb's lifetime. Seriously, these bulbs pay for themselves. I do not know of an easier way to save money than this.

I read somewhere that incandescent light bulbs are so inefficient, 90% of its energy is wasted as heat, while only 10% of the energy used is actually used for the lighting. So, what are you waiting for?

Here's the government's website about CFLs. It's extremely helpful in providing guides and tips for what kind of bulb to buy depending on what you are using now.

This image is from Daily Danny.

Switch Your Holiday Lights

In keeping with the holiday theme, I wanted to share with you what I learned in an article in the magazine Better Homes and Gardens. Basically, conventional string lights use a lot of electricity, especially when you keep them on all night and use a lot of them, like this crazy decked-out house from Decorated Houses.


So, this fun holiday tradition consumes both a lot of your electricity bill, and fossil fuels to produce the brightly-shining lights. Well, the magazine introduced me to light-emitting diodes (LEDs) which use 80% to 90% less electricity than traditional models, and also can last up to 20,000 hours. They are also very safe, because they are cool to the touch. This year's lights have a lot of improvements over past models. There are many difference choices of color, size, and shape.

The article tells you not to wait for a sale because, "Stores report that they're one of the first holiday items to fly off the shelves, even when they're stocked way before Thanksgiving."

It's really strange that in my neighborhood, people are already starting to put up their lights! Well, I guess it is December now, and the holiday spirit is starting to come out. However, it was not even cold this past weekend - up to 60 degrees on Saturday, so it does feel a bit out of place.

I have a bunch of neighborhoods around me that have competitions to see whose home will be the most outrageously decorated. The homeowners do such a good job that people are lining up in the cars and causing traffic jams just to tour their streets. There are even bus tours arranged to view all these houses. Any wacky holiday traditions in your locale?