Approximately one-third of a home's electrical use is spent on lighting. A standard incandescent bulb uses only 10% of the power consumed to create light, the rest is burned off as heat waste. Incandescent literally means "to glow with intense heat", so for every $1.00 spent on light,  $0.10 is actual light/cost an $0.90 is heat!. But you have the choice to use more energy efficient bulbs like the compact florescent lamps (CFLs). They use only about 25 percent of the energy of incandescent bulbs to deliver the same amount of light, and last 10 to 13 times longer.

This chart compares the costs of a single 75¢ 75-watt incandescent bulb to a $20.00 18-watt CFL and illustrates how these savings add up:

	Incandescent	CFL
Watts Consumed	75W	18W
Rated Life	750 hours	10,000 hours
# of bulbs used in 10,000 hours	13	1
kWh used in 10,000 hours	750 kWh	180 kWh
Cost per kWh (average)	$0.083	$0.083
Electricity cost per 10,000 hours	$62.25	$14.94
Bulb cost per 10,000 hours	$9.75	$20.00
TOTAL COST PER 10,000 HOURS:	$72.00	$34.94

Think about that: if you replaced just 4 commonly used bulbs in your house that is an extra saving of over $100.00 per year! Wow, fatten your wallet and help the environment by using less energy. Essentially you are getting paid (by conventional standards) to be environmentally conscious. It's win win and you get to make a difference. 

There's An Environmental Payday, Too
• The average CFL lasts 10,000 hours, more than 13 times longer than incandescents. This reduces natural resource consumption and keeps more bulbs out of landfills. Americans throw away over a billion incandescents each year. CFLs could reduce this number to 77 million.

• CFLs prevent pollution. Over their lifetimes, they'll prevent the release of between 1,000 and 2,000 lbs of carbon dioxide from coal-fired power plants; the production of approximately 25 milligrams of deadly plutonium from nuclear plants; or the use of 1.25 barrels of oil. Read more at Gaiam 

    You've probably heard about how efficient compact fluorescent light bulbs are compared to regular incandescent bulbs. Another efficient lighting option you may not have heard about is low voltage direct current lighting. DC lighting uses much less power than standard AC bulbs. Read more about energy efficient lighting at Gaiam

This look at the economic and environmental advantages of energy efficient lighting examines the appreciable savings you can realize by using compact fluorescent light bulbs at home. Additionally, you'll learn tips to help maximize your investment in this technology and achieve the most cost-effective results. Read more at Gaiam