Compact Fluorescent Bulbs Today

The New York Times just published a story about Wal-Mart’s push to sell 100 million compact fluorescent light bulbs by 2008.  It’s an ambitious goal - not only from a profit standpoint, but from an environmental one.  If Wal-Mart succeeds, it will result in “saving Americans $3 billion in electricity costs and avoiding the need to build additional power plants for the equivalent of 450,000 new homes.”

For those of you who aren’t familiar with compact fluorescent lightbulbs (CFLs), the benefits of usage are immense.  Compared to a standard incandescent lightbulb, they produce the same amount of light with 75% less energy.  They also last about five times as long as a standard incandescent.  The downsides?  One is they’re slightly more expensive to purchase.  But over the life of the bulb, the energy savings and longevity of the bulb make up for the initial expense by far.  The second is that there is a tiny amount of mercury in each bulb, so if they break there is mercury pollution.  Yet the amount of mercury released into the environment from a power plant running a standard bulb is much greater.  Overall, these bulbs are the biggest win-win solution out there.

Yet Americans aren’t buying them in large numbers.  In 2005, only 40 million CFLs were sold, compared to 350 million incandescents.  Why?  I believe it is because the average American consumer can’t comprehend (or are too lazy to think about) a long time horizon.  Recent studies show much of America’s population hasn’t planned for retirement.

I don’t understand why someone wouldn’t be able to think five years in advance.  You can either pay $0.60 for a lightbulb today plus $10 in electricity and extra lightbulbs you’ll need to replace the current one with over five years, or pay $2.00 for a CFL plus $2.50 in electricity costs.

There is one situation where an incandescent lightbulb should be used: on a dimmer switch (because CFLs do not work on a dimmer switch).  But in every other situation, you should buy CFLs.  Please save yourself some money and save the environment at the same time.  It’s a win-win.