Energy-Efficient Light Bulbs: Are they really saving you money?

You've heard all of the buzz about energy-efficient light bulbs, but with the cost per bulb, you're not too sure you believe they can REALLY save you money. Well, the truth is, they can.

Compared to traditional incandescents, energy-efficient light bulbs, such as halogen bulbs, compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) and light emitting diodes (LEDs), use less energy and last much longer.

How Can I Save?

While the initial price of energy-efficient bulbs is higher than traditional incandescents, newer bulbs cost less to operate, saving you money over the life of the bulb. Since many of the newer bulbs last significantly longer than traditional bulbs, so you won't need to replace them as often.

By switching over one standard 60W incandescent to an equivalent energy-efficient bulb, you can:

• Save about $6 a year in electricity costs and can save $120 over the life of the energy-efficient bulb.
• Use your energy-efficient light bulb up to 25 times longer.
• Cut energy costs associated with home cooling because theses bulbs produce about 75 percent less heat.

Not to Mention the Environment

Not only does saving energy help you save money on utility bills, it also protects the environment by reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

If every American home replaced just one light bulb with an energy-efficient light bulb, we would save enough energy to light 3 million homes for a year, save about $600 million in annual energy costs and prevent 9 billion pounds of greenhouse gas emissions per year, equivalent to those from about 800,000 cars.

See What You're Saving

Use our helpful guide:

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