Green Living Experiment #1
Green living experiment #1 – Changing a light-bulb
Consistent with my earlier post, I am working to reduce the overall power consumption in my apartment and, ultimately, reduce my carbon (and sulfur) emissions. My first attempt in doing so is to change my light-bulbs from standard incandescent bulbs to compact florescent light-bulbs (CFLs). I think my overall power reduction is impressive, and I’m anxious to see the results.
I haven’t yet replaced all the light-bulbs in my apartment. Since the cost of doing so would present something of a “sticker shock,” I decided to focus on the changing the bulbs in the light fixtures I use the most. Even by doing so, I’m impressed with the (calculated) reduction in power demand.
Here are the lights I’ve changed:
- Kitchen Lights
- Living Room Lights
- Bathroom Light
- Totals
My apartment has a lot of overhead track lighting. I think it’s pretty ugly, and having that many lights seems wasteful. Nevertheless, I have the lights on in my kitchen all the time, since it also illuminates my “dining area” as well.
Old light bulbs: 3 – 75W flood lamp bulbs, 1 – 50W flood lamp bulb (some sort of black sheep, I suppose.)
New light bulbs: 4 – 14W (50W “equivalent”) CFL flood lamp bulbs.
Reduction in Power Demanded: 219W.
Cost: $6.97 each, $27.88 in total.
Estimated reduction in electric cost: $3.94/month
I have two sets of lights in my living room. One is a set of track lights that I don’t use very often, since they are a bit bright. I also have one table lamp that I use all the time, so I decided to change that bulb. I might get around to changing the bulb in the track lights, depending on how my experiment works itself out.
Old light bulb: Standard 60W bulb.
New light bulb: 9W (40W “equivalent”) CFL light bulb.
Reduction in Power Demanded: 51W
Cost: $4.97
Estimated reduction in electric cost: $0.92/month
My bathroom has one overhead flood lamp. This was a simple swap, but I’m using a more expensive bulb. It is supposed to last longer than all of the other bulbs I purchased, so I’m hoping the accounting cost will work itself out.
Old light bulb: Standard 65W flood lamp bulb.
New light bulb: 16W (65W “equivalent”) CFL light bulb.
Reduction in Power Demanded: 49W
Cost: $11.99
Estimated reduction in electric cost: $0.30/month
Total Reduction in Power Demanded: 319W
Cost: $44.84
Estimated reduction in electric cost: $5.15/month
I’m hopeful that I’ll see a significant reduction in my electric bill. If my estimates are correct, I should see about a 15-20% reduction in the cost of my electric bill. I need to sit down and figure out how much less carbon my usage will be.
Check back to see how well the experiment goes.
UPDATE: I did some digging online and found that coal-powered power plants generate about 2.3 pounds of carbon dioxide per kilowatt-hour. Using this coefficient, I calculated that I will reduce my carbon emissions by about 132 pounds per month just by having switched to CFLs, or about 1580 pounds per year.
