Use compact fluorescent bulbs or fluorescent tubes where possible. Incandescent bulbs are the least efficient source of light. If you’re going to do just one thing for the planet, make it the switch to compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs). Although they cost several times more upfront than regular incandescent light bulbs, they also last about 10 times longer, which means that for every CFL you screw in, you’ll be saving eight incandescent light bulbs from landfill purgatory. Plus, you’ll save some serious cash in the long run. Because CFLs use 75 percent less energy, swapping one incandescent bulb for a CFL reduces carbon dioxide by 500 pounds a year; replacing 17 has the equivalent effect of taking one car off the road for a year. Just remember to recycle spent bulbs responsibly – CFLs contain trace amounts of mercury, which although isn’t enough to be hazardous to you, could pose a problem in landfills when mercury from multiple bulbs leaches into the ground.
Guidelines for Replacing Incandescent Bulbs with Fluorescent Bulbs
| Existing | Replace with | ||
| 60 Watt | 15 Watt Compact | ||
| 75 Watt | 20 Watt Compact | ||
| 100 Watt | 26 or 27 Watt | ||
| 150 Watt | 30 Ultra Watt | ||
| Cost Comparison | |||
| 60 Watt | 15 Watt | ||
| Cost of Bulb | $ .75 | $6 | |
| Hours per Day | 5 | 5 | |
| Hours per Year | 1825 | 1825 | |
| Kilowatt-hours per Year | 110 | 27 | |
| Cost per Year (at $ .12 per kilowatt-hour) | $13.20 | $3.24 | |
| 60 Watts Reduced to 15 Watts = 45 Watt Reduction = $13.20 – $3.24 = $9.96 Savings per Year | |||
CFL Disposal – Residents that have old fluorescent bulb hanging around the house don’t have to wait until OCRRA’s next Household Hazardous Waste Day to dispose of them properly! Now you can bring them to any of the following ACE and True Value Hardware stores where they will be recycled. OCRRA makes this free disposal option available to all households in Onondaga County.
| True Value Hardware Stores | ACE Hardware Stores |
| Lafayette True Value, 2945 Route 11, Lafayette | Marcellus ACE Hardware, 15 North St., Marcellus |
| Bob’s True Value, 4805 South Salina St., Syracuse | Village ACE Hardware, 204 S. Manlius St., Fayetteville |
| Nightingale True Value, 3525 James St., Syracuse | Village ACE Hardware, 43 E. Genesee St., Baldwinsville |
| Manlius True Value, 8225 Cazenovia Rd., Manlius | Noble ACE Hardware, 237 E. Main St., Elbridge |
| Wrightway True Value, 9236 Oswego Rd., Baldwinsville | Gravina Gardens & ACE, 4850 Buckley Rd., Liverpool |
| Nightingale True Value, 4068 South Ave., Marcellus | Suburban ACE Hardware, 7990 Oswego Rd., Liverpool |
| City True Value, 214 South Geddes St., Syracuse | Salt City ACE Hardware, 325 Nottingham Rd., Syracuse |
Turn lights and other electric items off when you finish using them or leave the room. You may not know it, but households across the nation are infested with Energy eaters. Cleverly disguised as innocuous household appliances (your television is one of them), with their three prongs plunged into your wall outlets, draining power all hours of the day and night, even after you’ve switched them off! (Americans pay $1 billion a year to power our televisions and VCRs while they’re turned off.) Other sleeper agents of the electric undead that consume 1,000 kilowatt hours a year per household, while in standby mode: your toaster, coffeemaker, hair dryer, PC, printer, cable box, and cell phone charger.
You don’t have to live in a constant state of fear; forever checking behind your back for that one appliance you forgot to pull the plug of. Just plug adjacent equipment into power strips with surge protectors, and before you crawl under the safety of your covers-or head out to work-simply flip the switch.
