Cool It!

Energy Consumption

The US consumed (2004) 3,717 Billion Kilowatt-hours for its 300 million citizens, while Canada consumed 522 Billion Kilowatt-hours for its less than 30 million citizens, which is about 40% more per capita than the US (data from the Energy Information Administration). France and Germany use about 30% less per capita than the US does.

The average US home consumes 938 kilowatt-hours (kWh) at an average cost of $88.60 monthly. Artificial lighting consumes almost 15% of a household's electricity use (according to US Dept of Energy), which is about 141 kWh.

One regular 60-watt light bulb consumes anywhere between 1 to 12 kWh of electricity while a compact fluorescent (60W equivalent) consumes 1/4^th that.

Using Compact Fluorescent bulbs could therefore reduce the 141 kWh to 35 kWh (theoretically) for a total savings of 106 kWh per household. There are 138,367,159 customers (total, EIA data), which then give us 14.6 Billion Kilowatt-hours in energy savings each month for a total of 175 Billion Kilowatt-hours per year. The calculated reduction (3,717 - 175 = 3,542) is about a 4.7% savings in energy use for all of the United States. Year-to-year (2003 to 2004) increases are about 60 Billion Kilowatt-hours.

The average household can save $159.48 in a year; however acquiring the CF's will cost you plenty. I have about 25 light bulbs in my own little bungalow, so at around $10 each, it would cost me $250. I buy regular bulbs at .99, 4 in a pack, so let's say .25 each. They are rated for 1,000 hours of life, versus 10,000 of life for a CF bulb. I can buy 40 bulbs for the price of 1 that can last 10 times the length of the other. Whether or not you get 1000 hrs and 10,000 hrs is the same variable for both, so that doesn't matter.

Because Compact Fluorescent bulbs contain mercury, they cannot be disposed of so easily. They must be disposed in the same way you would dispose of hazardous waste. If your community incinerates its waste and does not provide recycling service, you must look up web sites and call 1-800 numbers to find out how to dispose of them. (Source: Energy Star)