Facts:

A couple of our team members recorded a podcast discussing the Make The Switch project.... Click here to listen. (December 2006)

Did you know? 

• Compact fluorescents emit 90% less heat than incandescents, last ten times longer, and use only one quarter of the energy.

• Compact fluorescent can last up to 10000 hours.

• Compact fluorescents can save $25-$45 over the life of the bulb.

• A 60-watt incandescent bulb and a 15-watt compact fluorescent appear to be the same brightness.

• According the Energy Star, using a compact fluorescent instead of incandescent will translate into at least $30 in savings over the life of the bulb.

• Switching just one incandescent bulb to compact fluorescent saves 60 pounds of coal and prevents the release of 166 pounds of CO2 emissions, and 1.5 grams of mercury emissions into the environment.

• Fishman, Charles. “How Many Lightbulbs Does it Take to Change the World? One. And You're Looking At It.” Fast Company Issue 108 (Sep ’06): p74

• “If every one of 110 million American households bought just one ice-cream-cone bulb, took it home, and screwed it in the place of an ordinary 60-watt bulb, the energy saved would be enough to power a city of 1.5 million people. One bulb swapped out, enough electricity saved to power all the homes in Delaware and Rhode Island. In terms of oil not burned, or greenhouse gases not exhausted into the atmosphere, one bulb is equivalent to taking 1.3 million cars off the roads.”

Conversions:

• 60 watts incandescent = 15 watts compact fluorescent
• 75 watts incandescent = 20 wattscompact fluorescent
• 100 incandescent = 26-29 watts compact fluorescent                          
• 150 incandescent = 38-42 watts compact fluorescent
• 250-300 incandescent = 55 watts compact fluorescent
•  Conversions website: http://www.gelighting.com/na/home_lighting/ask_us/faq_compact.htm

Things to note:

*These bulbs are not to be used outdoors or with dimmers. There are special compact fluorescent bulbs specifically for that, but the typical ones cannot be used for these purposes.

*Please note that on the IDEAS brochure, it says a 20 watt compact fluorescent bulb is compatible to a 60 watt incandescent. Normally, a 60 watt incandescent is compatible to a 15 watt compact fluorescent. We had a few concerns about the brightness not being the same, so we stepped up the wattage to the next level in order to counterbalance the difference in brightness. If a 20 watt is too bright for you, try using a lower wattage bulb, such as a 15 or 18 watt.

www.OneBillionBulbs.com