Efficient Vermont Helps Vermonters Save Energy and Money
4/18/09: No longer the dreary, flickering office tubes of yesteryear, florescent lighting is experiencing a renaissance with the compact florescent light, or CFL. The main selling points of the CFL are its longer lifespan (under average lamp conditions, a bulb can be expected to last around two years) and its greatly decreased energy usage. For example, the enormous CFL in the picture above was roughly the size of a pineapple, and gave off the equivalent light of a 300 watt bulb, while using as much energy as a 100 watt bulb. It's because of this reduced energy usage that retailers nationwide are gradually phasing out sales of conventional incandescent lightbulbs. To help consumers adjust to the change, Efficiency Vermont is running a “new bulb in town” campaign (complete with CFL in cowboy hat) to educate the public about use and recycling of CFLs, as well as distributing reduced price lightbulbs at events such as the 2009 Vermont Home and Garden Show, where I met with Phil Beckel, Kate Salerno, and Bob Murphy manning Efficiency VT's table.
Efficiency Vermont itself is a non-profit organization founded in 2000 by the Vermont state legislature to provide energy efficiency services to local homes and businesses, and to take over that function from local utility companies. Funded by an efficiency surcharge in every VT electric bill, its goal is to help owners conserve energy. One of the easiest ways to save energy is to replace those lightbulbs. As Bickel said, “what we like to say is changing lighting is the simplest and quickest way. You screw them in, and that's it.” This “set it and forget it” method is often easier for people to make than sweeping lifestyle changes, or more time and labor-intensive projects like entirely retrofitting a building. The savings are measurable and show up on the next energy bill. For example, Murphy said his electric bill went from $90 to about $75.
To get the most out of a CFL, he recommends placing them in high-use locations first, such as kitchens and bathrooms. Bulbs generally do best when given a chance to warm up, as they may take a minute or two to achieve maximum brightness. They also do better when used in solid blocks of time, but Salerno mentioned that it is always best (energy-wise) to turn the light off when leaving a room. LED lights were also on display, though they haven't been developed much yet for household use. LEDs are directional light, so while they might even live longer than CFLs, they're not appropriate for your bedside lamp. They do much better as accent lighting, providing x-mas lights that are cool to the touch which last for years.
Like many of the other exhibitors I talked to, Bickel and Salerno mentioned that increased fuel costs have increased interest in efficiency. “As things get tighter, it seems like a deeper level of people look at us,” said Bickel. “Some people are interested in energy savings and efficiency, [but] everybody wants to save on bills.” However, no matter what their motivation, Efficiency Vermont is ready and willing to take all comers on the road to a cleaner, greener Vermont.
Efficiency Vermont is online at www.efficiencyvermont.com
