Most inexpensive 60 watt bulbs carry a live of 500hrs, occasionally 750. CFLs typically have lives of 6,000 to 13,000 hours. Crank that into your calculations.3 years ago I purchased 30 CFLs, (13watt bulbs that are equivalent to 60 watt incandescent) for $45. Today, you can buy them at Lowes at $24.98 for 18 bulbs. Thats $1.38/bulb not $5.They have a long way to go and what they do have available is exorbitantly expensive. Fuck if I'm going to pay freakin $5 or even $3 for a God damn light bulb.
I posted the large bolded above in an earlier post . . . in a few years the cheap incandescents will be gone from store shelves and the 'cheap' option will be the $1+ per bulb cfls. Are haz mat instructions included in the packaging?
The companies were developing all of these more efficient light bulbs but the government didn't feel they were moving fast enough so they forced the issue. By doing so they eliminated choice --- the choice to buy a cheap bulb -- and are forcing folks to either a) buy the cfls because they will be the cheapest thing around or b) pay through the nose for the more expensive bulbs. There won't be any other option available.
And who is this going to hit most? Hmmm, hmmmm .. . . . .
I wonder . . . can you buy cfl's with food stamps?
Shop Lighting & Fans : Light Bulbs : Fluorescent Light Bulbs : Multipurpose Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs at Lowes.com
So far after 3 years I have not replaced a single bulb.
You dont need anybody to tell you how much these bulbs save you. Just multiply the total wattage you use times the hours you use them times the rate for your electricity. In my case:
We pay 11.1 cents/kwh.
I estimate we run an average of 5 60watt bulbs (13watt for CFLs) 10 hours a day
To determine to the cost multiply bulb wattage (13w) x avg. hours used/day x number of bulbs. Then divide by a thousand and multiply by the rate. That gives you the cost/day. Multiple by 365 for cost per year.
In my case the cost is (13w x 10 hrs. x 5 bulbs)/1000 *.11 *365 = $26.09/yr for CFLs
The cost of using incandescent bulbs is 4.6 times the cost of using CFLs (60w/13w) or 4.6 x $26.09 = $120.01
Summary:
Cost of the bulbs = $45
Cost of using incandescent = $120.14/yr
Cost of using CFLs =$26.09.
Cost savings/yr = $75.14. After 3 years I have replace no bulbs. Not a bad investment.
Isn't it nice that you got to choose to use the cfls? I don't like cfls and wouldn't use them no matter how much they saved me. It should be my choice if I want to pay $26/yr or $120/yr. for my bulb usage.
I picked up a pack of 4 75W incandescents for a buck (.25 per bulb). But now I get to pay $1.38 per bulb? That's over a 400% increase!! No thanks. Oh, I forgot. I got my bulbs on a bogo sale so they only cost me .125 per bulb. So the increase is . . . omg. SRSLY??
You paid $45 for 30 cfl's. I paid $3.75 for 30 regular incandescents. I paid about $40 less than you did so deduct that from your $75/yr savings. For $35/yr savings for shitty cfls light bulbs that require special clean-up when they burn out or break and need to be separately disposed of??
Again, from the article: But the cheapest such bulbs are likely to disappear from store shelves between 2012 and 2014, driven off the market by the governments new standard. Compact fluorescents, which can cost as little as $1 apiece, may become the bargain option, with consumers having to spend two or three times as much to get the latest energy-efficient incandescents.