L=Laziness

You must take into account the Laziness factor when calculating the savings cost.

At least in my household.

I agree with Lisa z - there are definitely some newer CFLs that have a better color than the original “harsh white ones.” I reviewed two bulbs and found that Bright Effects 23 watt looked a lot like an incandescent, particularly under a lampshade.

Jennifer,

It would be nice to find a good use for all the incandescents. What’s interesting is that incandescents even make heat inefficiently (as opposed to say, a heat pump type mechanism that extracts heat from even the coldest of air). I still find incandescents have a use in places where you need “instant on” action, like a closet or laundry room. That’s where we’re using ours.

That being said, most of our incandescents burned out within 6 months ot a year of buying the house. We did them as they burned out, which is just about how fast we could afford to replace them. So, it was economics, too.

Another thought on usefulness of incandenscents removed…
they throw off a lot of heat. What about using them to add heat and light to a cold workbench (like the one in my unheated garage!)… or if you have a barn cat(s), make asmall wooden box with a door, and add a light socket and bulb for an incredible amount of warmth.

What else could we do with incandescents that makes USE of their inherent inefficiency… the production of heat?

I would love to trade links! I’ve been enjoying reading your blog. (Plus the useful information).

I’m glad you mentioned this light bulb issue and broke down the costs. I too have struggled with this. Not so much because of costs but because I hated to throw away perfectly good light bulbs!

We have gotten over it and replaced most of our bulbs, though. And we’re seeing definite elec. savings.

Aimee, I thought I liked incandescent light better but with the new ones I’m not minding the light color. Maybe because I’d gotten used to the whiter light of some full spectrum incandescents. Maybe because our lamp shades are creamy and the CFLs still look “golden” glowing from under the shades. Give it a try…

Lisa in MN