Shine a Light on Saving With These Energy-Efficient Bulbs

Yuma sees a lot of sunlight. In fact, with 11 hours or more of sunshine on approximately 90 percent of our days here, the annual average of 4015 hours of sunshine makes us the sunniest place on Earth. Nonetheless, we still need electric light, so a potential savings of $50 per year just from changing to energy-efficient bulbs – that’s what the U.S. Energy Department predicts – is worth investigating.

Out With the OldShine a Light on Saving With These Energy-Efficient Bulbs

Traditional incandescent – filament – bulbs wasted 90 percent of the energy they consumed. They’re no longer manufactured in the U.S., and have been replaced by energy-saving alternatives that save money with no loss in performance (light output).

There are three commonly available choices, but regardless of what type you opt for, always look for the Energy Star mark of excellence.

Compact Fluorescent Lamps

Compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) are the now-familiar coiled adaptions of linear, long-tube fluorescent lights. After nine months of typical use, these bulbs have saved sufficient energy to have paid for themselves; they then start saving you money.

A good quality CFL uses only a quarter of the energy consumed by an incandescent equivalent, yet lasts 10 times as long, and numerous colors – including warm white tones – are now available.

Halogen Incandescents

Halogen incandescent bulbs look just like their traditional cousins, but have an internal capsule that traps halogen gas around the filament. This increases bulb efficiency, while still allowing their use with dimmer switches (although CFLs that can be dimmed are arriving on the market, and they use less energy than halogen equivalents).

Light Emitting Diodes

Light emitting diodes (LEDs) employ semiconductors to convert electricity into light. The technology uses only around 20 percent of the energy consumed by an incandescent, similar to the performance of a CFL, but enjoy working lives that may be as much as 25 times longer than their traditional equivalents. They’re also between eight and 25 times more longer-lived than halogen incandescents, and use perhaps 30 percent less energy.

To learn more about energy-efficient bulbs, and the federal Energy Star program in general, call on Hansberger Refrigeration & Electric Co., your Yuma area specialists.

Our goal is to help educate our customers in Yuma, Arizona about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about energy-efficient bulbs and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.

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