The savings in your pocket book may be difficult to gauge when trying only one or two compact fluorescent bulbs in your home. The best way to really see the impact is by changing your top 10 most-used bulbs over to CFLs. The following example gives a clearer explanation of just how much of a savings impact CFLs can offer:

1- Select the top 10 most-used bulbs in your home and replace with CFLs.

2- The average use for bulbs is 4 hours per day, totaling 120 hours per month.

3- Assume you want to change all 10 bulbs to 100W equivalents (which would be equivalent to 26W CFLs).

The operating cost for ten 100W bulbs over the course of 1 month = $12.00 (based on an energy rate of $0.10/kWh).

The operating cost for ten 26W CFL bulbs over the same period = $3.12
This represents a monthly savings = $8.88
This represents a yearly savings = $106.56

Consider that these savings will be repeated each year for the life span of the bulb (up to 5 years). This is a potencial savings of over $532.80!

Calculate your energy savings

*Energy rates will vary by region. As an average, 0.10/kWh is generally used for calculating energy costs. To best understand your true savings over a given period, consult your electrical bill to find out your kilowatt per hour (kW/h) rate and use the formula above.