Conserve Energy With More Efficient Lights

You may have tightened down your electrical habits to conserve energy, become more aware of phantom energy that could be leaking from you home, but if you haven't switched out your standard light bulbs for those that are more efficient you could still be finding yourself coming up short as an ethical consumer. Don't worry, you don't need to berate yourself with words of disgust and disappointment; instead you can take a moment to oust the old and replace them with those that are much better for the environment. In turn you will also be saving yourself some money when it comes times to paying that electrical bill; but of course Mother Nature comes in more important, right?!

When it comes time to swapping out your old conventional light bulbs for ones that are better apt to conserve energy you will be met with two different kinds. There are compact fluorescent lamps, also known as CFLs, and light emitting diodes, coined LEDs. While both will be worlds ahead of the standard ones they each have a few different traits, benefits, and drawbacks to consider.

CFLs are going to be 75 percent more efficient at cutting power usage than a traditional bulb. This is a big improvement if you consider just how much you use the lights in your home, and while they will cost you more upfront (about $2.67 compared to $1.52) that will be made up for and then some in the amount you'll save on utilities and also the fact that their lifespan is much longer. So CFLs are a step forward but the problem with them is that they contain mercury which if you don't properly dispose of and recycle will leak out and can cause both environmental and health problems

So then LEDs are able to conserve energy better around your home and do not contain any such poisonous mercury in them. They are much more efficient than even CFLs, needing somewhere between 2 and 10 watts less for every bulb. They have an amazingly long life span and could be left continually lit for 40,000 hours straight, but that isn't exactly very energy efficient should you just keep the light lit. The only problem with these though is that the way they are made they don't emit the same sort of bright, white light you may be used to. They look a little bluish in tint and work better for downward lighting fixtures and as night lights. Still, technology is improving and there is already headway being made in an LED that will burn brighter and then be able to be used in more traditional lightly instances.

So if you are just now jumping the band wagon to conserve energy, and you should, chuck those old light bulbs and screw in some CFLs and LEDs. Of course make sure you properly recycle your old light bulbs first, and then you can rest easy knowing you are being a more ethical consumer. In closing, one can't help but fall to temptation: "How many ethical consumers does it take to screw in a light bulb?" For all of you with a quick quip and amazing wit, feel free to leave your answer as a comment!