Looking for ways to save on your average electric bill?  While Compact Fluorescent Lightbulbs (CFLs) have definite advantages over standard incandescent bulbs when it comes to electricity usage, money savings and longevity, they pale in comparison to the new Light Emitting Diode (LED) bulbs.   That’s right.  The new CFL is the LED.

LED bulbs use less electricity than CFLs, and they last 25 times as long as a standard incandescent bulb.  They’re also great for outdoor use because they stand up to all types of weather.  The cold doesn’t even seem to bother them.

Of course, this sort of energy efficiency comes at a price.  Some LED bulbs sell for close to $80.00 online.  But, with a lifespan of about 50,000 hours, you’re looking at almost six years of constant light.  And, since the LED equivalent to a 60 watt incandescent bulb only uses six watts, you can see how that would save on your average electric bill over time.

Over 50,000 hours of usage, a series of 25,000 (assuming an average lifespan of 2000 hours) 60 watt incandescent bulbs will use 3,000,000 watts – 3,000 kilowatts – of electricity.  Let’s say you bought those bulbs in bulk, and only paid $0.50 each.  That’s $12,500 spent on light bulbs to equal a single LED bulb.  And, that’s not even taking into consideration that the LED bulb is only using one-tenth of the energy that the incandescent bulbs and doesn’t emit nearly the amount of heat.

The only problems with LED bulbs, other than the prohibitive cost, is that they shine light in one direction and the color temperature of the light is a bit stark and cold.  This does make them ideal for use in spotlights outside, since you are looking for light to be in a certain direction and color temperature isn’t really a concern.

LEDs are also great for lighting up the landscaping around your home.  Their directional light can produce some very dramatic effects, and they stay cool, so they won’t harm any delicate plants that they may be placed near.

Right now, based on cost and energy usage, CFLs are still the clear winner, but as technology advances and LEDs become cheaper to produce and can generate a warmer, more flattering light, look for them to take the lead.  And, get ready to go for years, maybe even decades, without changing a light bulb.  That’s where the real savings shine.

One of the easiest steps you can take to reduce energy consumption in your home starts with your lights. Think about how many individual light bulbs are in your house. Now, think about how often those lights are actually used on a daily basis. Reducing global warming won’t happen over night, but reducing your energy bill is a great place to start.

Traditional incandescent light bulbs use heat to produce light. If you’ve ever changed a recently burnt out bulb, you’ve probably felt the heat that one bulb produces. It’s hot to the touch! Not only does the incandescent bulb use large amounts of electricity, but it also produces large amounts of heat. That’s a double whammy to your energy bill and the planet.

Compact fluorescent bulbs, on the other hand, generally use 75% less energy than traditional light bulbs. A fairly recent trend, compact fluorescents are easily recognizable by their swirl of white tubes. Once thought to be too obtrusive for traditional light fixtures, manufacturers have adopted a more traditional “light bulb” shape. Still using the swirled tubes, compact fluorescents now look and feel like your energy hogging incandescent bulbs. However, they use far less energy and produce almost no heat.

According to ENERGY STAR, a joint venture between the EPA and Department of Energy, “If every American home replaced just one light bulb with an ENERGY STAR qualified bulb, we would save enough energy to light more than 3 million homes for a year, more than $600 million in annual energy costs, and prevent greenhouse gases equivalent to the emissions of more than 800,000 cars.”

Now, not every fixture in your home will be able to use compact fluorescent bulbs. That’s likely to be your track lighting or chandeliers. However, if you changed all of your overhead fixtures, lamps, and ceiling fan bulbs to compact fluorescents . . .

When it comes to energy efficiency, many of the ideas and programs from our energy companies are in their infancy. However, the ability to remain flexible and adapt at home will help lead us to energy independence and efficient use of our current technologies. Today’s energy companies recognize we’re ready to help and are working to bring new products to every market. We’re all in this together and together we can make a difference. It’s up to us to make the small changes now, so we can make a big impact later.

There are several easy things you can do to make your home more energy efficient.

• Use caulk and weather stripping to properly seal windows and doors. This will reduce drafts, heat loss, and over air conditioning.
• Use ceiling fans in the summer and winter. A counter clockwise rotation will provide a breeze in the summer, while a slow, clockwise rotation will push heat down in the winter.
• Regularly replace your furnace air filters. A clogged air filter makes your furnace and air conditioner work extra hard to deliver hot or cool air to the rooms of your house. Routinely replacing your furnace air filter removes the blockage, letting the air flow through more easily.
• Replace energy wasting incandescent light bulbs with energy saving compact fluorescents. Compact fluorescents typically use 75% less energy and produce far less heat than traditional bulbs.

It all starts in the home. It all starts with you. The energy companies are the driving force behind the research to make a better future, but it’s up to us to embrace energy efficiency right now. It might not seem like we’re doing much, but if everyone completed the four easy steps above we’d be in a much better place than we are today.