All
of us at WattBusters are versed in ways to save energy, but that's nothing
new. We let you know that compact fluorescent bulbs are energy efficient and
will save you money. Well it's time to show you our cards. I've pulled my last
4 electric bills so you can see what the savings amount to in a real-world
situation.
First a little background. I live near Detroit and I
rent a small
home with a basement. I replaced the bulbs that were most
used. I had 60-watt, dollar-store incandescent bulbs throughout the
house. Cheap, but a major pain since they burn out so often. I
never even figured in how much energy they used because I figured I was
getting them for next to nothing.
I have a son who has not mastered the art of turning the lights off
although he's great at turning them on. I replaced the three 60-watt bulbs in
his room with three Greenlite 13-watt bulbs. I used bright white 15 and
20-watt bulbs in the entrance, laundry area and basement. Two 13-watt
bulbs in the hallway fixture and a couple 15-watters in the living room.
I needed very small bulbs for the kitchen and bedroom nightstand so I picked
up a couple 14-watt mini TCP compacts. I replaced a total of 16
bulbs.
I realize that it's warmer now and it stays light outside longer but
after looking at the breakdown of my last 4 electric bills, I was fairly
stunned. The kilowatt and money savings averaged more than 25%.
I attribute some of the savings to working at WattBusters. I'm more
aware of energy in general and I often turn off lights when I leave a room.
Here's some of the info from my electric bills since January of
2004. I installed most of the Compact Fluorescent bulbs
on Feb 19, 2004. The regular KWH rate is .08286 per kWh.
| Billing Information Jan 6, 2004 - Feb 11, 2004 - 36 Days Billed - 956
KWH Used - $91.42 |
| |
Current Month |
Last Month |
Year Ago |
Average Daily
KWH
Usage |
25.6 |
26.7 |
27.7 |
|
Change |
|
0
% |
- 4% |
|
Billing Information Feb 11, 2004 - Mar 10, 2004 - 28 Days Billed -
560
KWH Used - $51.18 |
| |
Current Month |
Last Month |
Year Ago |
Average Daily
KWH
Usage |
20.0 |
26.6 |
27.4 |
|
Change |
|
- 24
% |
-
27% |
|
Billing Information Mar 10, 2004 - Apr 7, 2004 - 28 Days Billed - 522
KWH Used - $47.84 |
| |
Current Month |
Last Month |
Year Ago |
Average Daily
KWH
Usage |
18.6 |
20.0 |
23.3 |
|
Change |
|
- 7% |
-
20% |
|
Billing Information Apr 7, 2004 - May 7, 2004 - 30 Days Billed - 507 KWH Used -
$39.64 |
| |
Current Month |
Last Month |
Year Ago |
Average Daily
KWH
Usage |
16.9 |
18.6 |
23.3 |
|
Change |
|
- 9% |
- 27% |
It's plain to see that the energy/money savings are real. The hidden gem in
all of this is that the replacement bulbs are rated at 5,000 and 10,000
hours. I won't have to visit the dollar store for bulbs now and I won't have
to keep climbing up the ladder to replace burned out incandescents. I'm
a happy camper!
You can contact me about this article, at:
Mark Potvin - Wattbusters Customer Service
Website: http://www.wattbusters.com
Email: customerservice@wattbusters.com
Phone: 800-460-9211 Ext# 208
