How Many Light Bulbs Does it Take for a Father to Change a Daughter?
One of the greatest guys in my life is my dear step-father, Jim Ream. Actually, this man is more than a step-father; I call him my “other father,” to convey that he’s not just the man who is married to my mother (and has been for 27 years, lucky gal!), he’s also been a parent to me in the truest sense of the word - offering acceptance, guidance and inspiration through life’s highs and lows, and the patches in between. Towards the end of this summer, inspiration came from Jim in the form of a photograph documenting his latest project at the family farmhouse, a place that I have been spending summers, since I was three months old. The picture shows a pile of incandescent light bulbs - maybe 50 of them, their round white heads tattooed with technical information, interspersed with ones blackened by use and age. Jim didn’t wait for these dinosaurs to burn out: he made the choice to replace those energy suckers with compact florescents.
Jim was so enthusiastic about his project that he called me right away to report on the details, his voice oozing with purpose. He told me of trips to the store and the growing pile in the old pantry. He elaborated his new brainchild idea of city dwellers displaying window stickers or yard signs declaring their commitment to reduced energy use through CFLs - an eco version of “keeping up with the Jones.” While I wasn’t sold on one more visual distraction on my or anyone else’s real estate, his enthusiasm was catching, and I found myself planning my own bulb change out project.
I had been slowly replacing my own old style energy hogs here and there, but Jim inspired me to be more thorough. I came up with a Home Light Bulb Inventory (LINK TO PDF HERE), and after inspecting my light fixtures and bulbs, discovered that I had 12 candidates for CFLs to add to the 10 CFLs I already had in place. For those, I knew what to do - change was easy. And then I had 15 bulbs on dimmers, mostly in recessed ceiling lights - my challenge. I had heard that dimmable CFLs were coming to market soon, but I hadn’t seen them at the hardware store. After some online research, I discovered that there are some, most notably produced by GE and Philips, and I decided to try one out.
The upshot is that while I’ll continue to use my one dimmable CFL for now, I’m not in a hurry to change all the others in similar locations. Due to the nature of the heating and lighting element, the CFL dims only within a narrow range so it doesn’t go as low, and because the bulb is rather exposed in the fixture, you do get some of that florescent glow, and I’d rather not have a roomful of that. In addition, we have dimmers because we like those lights turned down low, which conserves energy anyway
Even so, I consider my light bulb change out a success, with almost half of all our household lights now being the most energy conserving kind. Most importantly, the lights we use most often - or that stay lit the longest, especially the ones in the kitchen and living areas, the exterior entry lights and lights on self timers, are florescent. And I’ve had the pleasure of making my “other father” proud of me.
- Take stock. Investigate what you have and identify bulbs you can change to compact florescent, making note of features, shape, and wattage of the current incandescent. The lights that you use most often will have the biggest impact on energy saving, so make note of the five most “on” fixtures in your home and change those first.
- Shop smart. There are many product choices, and you’ll want to pay special attention to some of the details on the compact florescent bulb packaging, especially color and wattage equivalent. For most lighting in your home, warm temperature range (2700-3600) will bring the best results. Cooler temp ratings give off a blue hue, which doesn’t look as natural. If you are replacing bulbs in outdoor fixtures, be sure to find a compact florescent rated for the elements.
- Don’t wait! With compact florescent bulbs using just one quarter the electricity of incandescent bulbs, you’ll save energy, which equates to lower carbon emissions and utility bills.
Want to learn more? Check out these sites:
This one is another good general lighting information
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Annie Barnes - Ecoist
Annie is a co-Content Editor for EcoPerks, with a background in education and publishing. She is on a mission to raise her two boys with a keen environmental awareness, which often entails discussing global warming over dinner, and occasionally bursting into the “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle†song her son learned at school. Her passion for fresh organic food means that she can often be found at the local Farmers’ Markets and tending her home garden in Los Angeles, California.
Tags: cfl's, dimmers, energy-efficient lighting, florescent lighting, home light bulb inventory