UPEI Student Sustainability Challenges: Change a few Bulbs

What do you think about something really simple as change a few bulbs in your home? I know, you did not know that innocent bulbs could be responsible for a considerable about of electricity, but don’t feel guilt about it, we are to help you helping the planet.

Before talk about the challenge, it is important to know that a great way to prevent more carbon dioxide emission is reducing our energy consumption. How often you are in the kitchen, but the light in your room are turn on unnecessarily? Much of the energy we use comes from power plants that use fossil fuels. So, if we save electricity, power plants will have to produce less energy. Less energy means less burning of fossil fuels and less carbon dioxide emitted.

Energy Efficient Lighting

- Electric lighting burns up 25% of the average home energy budget.

- The electricity used over lifetime of a single incandescent bulb costs 5 to 10 times the original purchase price of the bulb itself.

- Replacing a single incandescent bulb with a CFL (Compact Fluorescent Light bulbs) will keep a half-ton of CO2 out of the atmosphere over the life of the bulb. If everyone in the US used energy-efficient lighting, we could retire 90 average size power plants.

- According to energy start: it is possible use about 70-90% less energy than traditional incandescent bulbs

A power plant will emit 10mg of mercury to produce the electricity to run an incandescent bulb compared to only 2.4mg of mercury to run a CFL for the same time. The net benefit of using the more energy efficient lamp is positive, and this is especially true if the mercury in the fluorescent lamp is kept out of waste steam when the lamp expires.

Maybe you can think that this challenge is too much for you because even though fluorescent light bulbs can be easily found at most hardware or building supply stores they can be a bit expensive. But I'm happy to give you the news that you are half-wrong. CFL last 10 times longer than an incandescent bulb and CFL use 50 to 75% less energy. With this is mind, you is going to save about $30 in decreased energy use over the life of the CFL. This value plus the least amount of energy you will use outweighs the purchase of new bulbs.

CFLs come in all shapes, sizes, and wattages. So if you are using a 60-watt incandescent bulb, try to buy a CFL is equivalent to a 60-watt incandescent bulb. And if you think that CFLs are too white, you can buy a “warm white”. If you need whiter, cooler light, then look for “cool white” bulbs

The Challenge and CO2 emissions

We challenge you to change just 3 of your bulbs to CFLs. After doing this, you will be credited 2.1 pounds of CO2 savings every day for the next 5 years (the average life of your new CFL bulbs) and also save $ 18 per year in energy cost. After this time, you will avoid an annual impact of 766 Ibs.

If you live in a house, you may have 30 or more light bulbs. Don`t give up. You can came back here and accept this challenge again as much as you want!

PS.: This challenge is based on numbers of CFL and Incandescent bulbs, but you can also opt for LED lights that although more expensive, they consume less energy and last much more. Check the table below to understand more.

To accept the challenge click here