Green Choices for Interior Lighting; From CFLs to LEDs

Everybody knows that electricity is an expensive resource for powering items in your home. We all see our bills going up and wonder if there is anything that can be done. Well, its unlikely that you are going to see your electric bill amount drop in the future ever, unless you make upgrades to your home that reduce your electrical needs.

Industry analysts have stated time and again that electricity prices will continue to rise on a yearly basis. There seems to be no way to get away from these price increases. Similar to the rising water bills that home owners are faced with on a yearly basis, electricity has become exceedingly expensive.

In fact, every bill in the home has gone up over the years leading consumers to try to find every possible way to save every penny they can. There are many methods to use to reduce your electrical needs, but perhaps none are easier than changing all of the bulbs in your home to a more efficient type.

The century old incandescent bulb that we all know has really met the end of its useful life. Not that it is inherently bad, it's just plain inefficient. The incandescent bulb takes electricity in and converts about 30% of that to light and the other 70% to wasted heat. Talk about a waster of energy.

Fortunately, several "green" lighting options have become increasingly affordable and common in home improvement stores. These bulbs are more efficient at producing light and can cut electrical consumption by 70% or more. Replacing every bulb in the average size home with new CFLs of LED lights can save the homeowner about $200 per year in electricity costs.

Compact fluorescent bulbs or CFLs have gained widespread popularity in just a few years. They reduce your electrical needs by providing more light per watt than incandescent bulb. For example, a 23 watt CFL replace a 100 watt incandescent bulb yet still output as much light as the higher wattage bulb netting you a 77 watt savings on one bulb. The benefit of this technology is obvious, and the costs of these bulbs have dropped significantly in the past two years and they are now affordable enough for everyone.

The other new lighting technology which reduces your electrical needs even mopre than CFLs is a newer type of bulb called LED. LED bulbs draw just a fraction of the power of an incandescent. For example a 5 watt LED could replace a 100 watt incandescent netting you a saving of 95 watts for a single bulb. The LED bulb is bright and very efficient, but also costly at this time. The bulb will run around $10 per replacement, but is rated to last most homeowners an entire lifetime.

As with any home improvement project, money must be spent up front first. But most "green" home improvement projects pay you back in the long run. By replacing old incandescent bulbs with CFLs or LEDs you will see a reduction in your electrical bill and conserve electricity at the same time. It's a win win home improvement project that fits virtually any budget and can be completed in a matter of minutes. So give it a try and you will immediately see the benefits of this light bulb replacement project.