Let There Be Light

Once derided for their harsh glow and odd shape, CFLS now come in a range of designs and lighting styles.
Once derided for their harsh glow and odd shape, CFLS now come in a range of designs and lighting styles.

[This article contains a table. Please see hardcopy of magazine.]

INCANDESCENT BULB VS. COMPACT FLUORESCENT LIGHTBULBS (CFL)

Power use

INCANDESCENT BULB

60 watts

Amount of electricity used to light a common incandescent bulb

COMPACT FLUORESCENT LIGHTBULBS (CFL)

15 watts

Amount of power needed to light a CFL of equal brightness

Average price

25¢-$1

INCANDESCENT BULB

per 60-watt bulb

COMPACT FLUORESCENT LIGHTBULBS (CFL)

$2

per equivalent 15-watt bulb

Life span

INCANDESCENT BULB

1,000

hours, approximately

COMPACT FLUORESCENT LIGHTBULBS (CFL)

10,000

hours, approximately

Cost for five years of light (at 10¢ per kW)

INCANDESCENT BULB

$262.80

COMPACT FLUORESCENT LIGHTBULBS (CFL)

$65.70

CFLs were invented in response to the 1973 Middle East oil crisis

The bulbs can save up to 2,000 times their weight in greenhouse gases

Wal-Mart alone is aiming to sell at least 100 million CFLs a year

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Quotes of the Day »

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TOMMY WARD, whose family has been harvesting oysters from the Gulf of Mexico since the 1920s, on the FDA's plan to ban the sale of raw oysters that are harvested in warm months; about 15 people die each year due to raw-oyster contamination

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