Sweet Orange

Earlier this year, we all turned our clocks back one hour to observe daylight savings time. Daylight savings time was first adopted in the U.S. to conserve resources and, therefore, aid the war effort during World War I.

Today, with the development of fluorescent light bulbs, we have another way to conserve our resources–and money. According to the EPA:

Lighting accounts for close to 20 percent of the average home’s electric bill. Changing to CFLs costs little upfront and provides a quick return on investment.

If every home in America replaced just one incandescent light bulb with an Energy Star-qualified CFL, it would save enough energy to light more than 3 million homes and prevent greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to those of more than 800,000 cars annually.

So, in addition to saving resources on the national level, using CFLs can save money on the personal level. Although the CFLs cost more upfront, the cost of the monthly utility bill will be lower, and the result will be a net savings.

Statistics from the EPA back this up:

An ENERGY STAR qualified compact fluorescent light bulb (CFL) will save about $30 over its lifetime and pay for itself in about 6 months. It uses 75 percent less energy and lasts about 10 times longer than an incandescent bulb.

Note: This is a rework of one of my Redfin posts.