Do The Light Switch

By Van O'Cain

They’re funny-looking light bulbs. But compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) can save you serious bucks on your energy bill. One bulb will save an average of $30 over its lifetime. Switching to CFLs in your home’s most used light fixtures will save you even more money. And those bulbs will last 6–10 times longer than a standard incandescent bulb.

Less energy, more savings

The reason CFLs save money is because they use about 75 percent less energy than ordinary incandescent bulbs. If every household in South Carolina changed just one ordinary bulb to a CFL, they would save up to 83 million kilowatt-hours of electricity each year — enough energy to light all the homes in Columbia for a year.

Saving energy is important to the electric cooperatives of South Carolina. Demand for electricity is growing as population increases. Without new power generation, demand could soon exceed supply and cause shortages. One solution is to encourage energy efficiency. An independent study conducted for electric cooperatives reveals that the number-one measure South Carolinians could take to curb energy use is to replace standard lighting with energy-efficient lighting. That’s where CFLs come in.

The state’s electric cooperatives have set a goal to place CFLs in the home of every cooperative member in the state, roughly seven million bulbs, within 10 years. Beginning this month and continuing through the end of June, each co-op family in the state will receive two free CFLs in the mail from their co-op as part of a new “Do the Light Switch” program. Most co-ops will offer a free CFL to each member who registers at the annual meeting this year. During this first year of the program, the co-ops expect to place 1.2 million CFLs in members’ homes.

“We’re encouraging our members to ‘do the light switch’ and switch their incandescent bulbs to these free twisted bulbs,” says Ron Calcaterra, CEO of Central Electric Power Cooperative, which is heading up the energy efficiency program. Central is a generation-and-transmission cooperative that procures wholesale power for the state’s distribution cooperatives, which deliver power to members. “By helping our members reduce their energy use, we can reduce the cost of generating energy and pass those savings on to our members,” says Calcaterra.

Earth-friendlier lighting

CFLs use less energy and reduce the amount of greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere. One bulb will prevent more over its lifetime. That’s like preventing nearly 200 pounds of coal from being burned to produce power.

CFLs do contain a very small amount of mercury sealed within the glass tubing — an average of five milligrams, which is roughly equivalent to an amount that would cover the roller tip of a ballpoint pen. No mercury is released when the bulbs are intact or in use. By comparison, older thermometers contain about 500 milligrams of mercury. It would take 100 CFLs to equal that amount. Mercury enables the bulb to be an efficient light source. Many manufacturers have taken significant steps to reduce mercury used in CFLs. Like many household products such as paint, pesticides, motor oil and batteries, CFLs need to be disposed of properly.

Member empowerment

“By distributing CFLs to our members, we’re making them part of the solution to challenges such as climate change and rising energy prices,” says Mike Couick, CEO of The Electric Cooperatives of South Carolina Inc., the state association of electric cooperatives. “Together, we can make a difference.”

Giveaway at-a-glance