The Revolution of the Light Bulb | Alternative Energy Secrets

 

The Revolution of the Light Bulb

By ken • October 2, 2008

“If I find 10,000 ways something won’t work, I haven’t failed. I am not discouraged, because every wrong attempt discarded is another step forward”.
Thomas A. Edison said this in reference to testing the filaments of his famous lightbulb. That lightbulb was incandescent, and the incandescent bulb has been the standard until only past few years.

Compact flourescent lamps (CFLs)are now taking over as the new standard for energy efficiency, and for good reason. Sure they cost more, a CFL costs $3 compared to a 50 cent incandescent. The CFL has a 10,000 hour lifespan, so so you need 10 incandescents that only live 1000 hours to match it. You end up paying $5 in replacement costs; more expensive in the long run than the CFL. But the big difference is in kilowatts, the incandescent costs $80 to operate over its lifetime while the CFL costs $22.

What we are seeing here is a big ENERGY SAVING SECRET: the electricity to turn-on a lightbulb costs much much more than the lightbulb itself; 5 dollars to buy, and 80 dollars to operate for incandescents versus 3 dollars to buy and 22 dollars to operate for a CFL.

Compact Flourescent Lamp bulbs are ONE THIRD the cost to light than Edison’s incandescent. Another often overlooked ENERGY SAVING SECRET of the CFL, is that they produce 75% less heat, reducing cooling costs requirements during Summer months.

Now that really is a step forward!

The Revolution of the Light Bulb | Alternative Energy Secrets