Light Bulbs: Small Investments Can Pay Big Dividends

Buy energy efficient compact fluorescent bulbs for your most-used lights. Although they cost more initially, they save money in the long run because they use only 1/4 as much energy as ordinary incandescent bulbs, while lasting 8 to 12 times longer. And fluorescents put out an equivalent amount of bright, attractive light.
Only 10 percent of the energy consumed by ordinary bulbs generates light; the rest just makes the bulb hot.
If every U.S. household replaced one standard light bulb with a compact, energy-efficient fluorescent, we could save the same amount of energy as a large nuclear plant produces in a year. In a typical home, one compact fluorescent bulb can prevent the emission of 200 pounds of CO2 per year.