Last month, on May 17th to be exact, I wrote about sustainability and money savings using GE lighting.
I also posted the savings that the GE Energy Smart CFL savings calculator said that I would save JUST BY changing out my lighting. It said the annual savings would be almost $175 per year (or $14.58 per month) and $958 over the lifetime of the bulbs. CFL lights can be used anywhere that you have an incandescent (old style) bulb and use 75% less energy.
Admittedly I was skeptical. A thousand bucks? $175 a year?? Can just changing light bulbs out my old incandescent light bulbs to GE Energy Smart CFL bulbs actually make a noticeable difference?
Jonesie and I went to Walmart to find out! We bought enough bulbs to change out the entire house. While the lighting aisle was super overwhelming, I knew exactly what I was headed for; GE Energy Smart Bright From the Start bulbs so all of the guesswork was removed.
So can JUST CHANGING OUT LIGHT BULBS actually make a noticeable difference? Here is a print screen of my energy bill.
My bill this month is $42.51 less than last month.
But, let’s face it, this is Colorado and our weather is seasonal so it’s not unreasonable to believe that I could have such a swing in one month. So I looked at this year compared to last year – apples to apples.
That’s right, what you see right there is that last year my June bill was $122.42. This year my June bill is $107.49. Let me save you from pulling out your calculator…. the difference is $14.93. IN ONE MONTH! The calculator was on the button correct.
People, I can’t make this stuff up. And I promise you that I have not made any other changes in our habits because frankly I am all about saving money, but I am not about giving up creature comforts. I am the person that switches directly from heat to a/c to heat in one day when everyone else is sweating it out to save a penny. That’s why this blog exists… to teach you how to have it all on a budget. Without making painful cutbacks and sacrifices.
We are always conscious about saving energy and turning lights off, but kids are still kids and they are more plugged in (literally) than ever before so I still walk around unplugging unused phone chargers and turning off the Xbox. All I did differently this month was change out my light bulbs to GE Energy Smart Bright From the Start bulbs.
What am I going to do with an extra $175 in the next year??? That’s an easy one! I am going to add it to my grocery budget each month so with using coupons I’ll be stretching it to be more than $15 a month!
In the end I am beyond excited to know that there is real energy savings AND money savings built into these bulbs.
To increase your savings just a little more here is a fabulous coupon! For every coupon redeemed, GE will donate $1.00 to the Foundation Fighting Blindness. For more information visit Blindness.org.
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{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
First I say awesome you saw a difference in your bill. My question though cus this is the part I struggle with. How much more are you spending on bulbs now?? The CFL’s are mush more expensive so isn’t the saving in your bill just spent on the bulbs. The other issue we have had in this house is they don’t last as long. We replaced ALL of our bulbs to CFL’s and within less then a year they were ALL burnt out. Again I saw awesome it worked for you I’m just still a skeptic.
Sharon, FABULOUS questions. Trust me, I had the same misgivings you did. I even had a facebook conversation on this about two months ago and it seems like everyone feels the same way so when this opportunity came up I was so excited to jump in. I’m putting my own reputation on the line when I recommend something on my blog and I don’t take that lightly, there is no amount of money that I would take to recommend something I don’t believe in. In that facebook conversation *I* was the first one to poo-poo CFL’s because I’ve had the same experience you have. After this “project” I am totally confident that these bulbs are different. Yes, they do cost more than the $.99 bulbs, but in this case you will replace them often as you have found.
For the bulbs I bought the ones shown above, they were $10 for two bulbs ($9 with coupon). I bought 20 bulbs so 10 packs at $9 = $90. What I paid for bulbs will be paid off in under a year via the savings on my bill. That much I know.
These bulbs are guaranteed by GE for five years, but should last 7.3 years. Even if they only last five years, I’m not losing a penny. In fact over five years I’m still seeing a BIG savings. Also, I researched them and these were the first bulbs ever to be given the Energy Star rating – that alone made me feel better. With the guarantee I have nothing to lose.
I hope this helps!
I wonder if they have the Good Housekeeping seal since that magazine adds an additional warranty in items with their seal that don’t perform as the manufacturer says they will…
Did you check to see that your cost per kilowatt hour is the same as last year? It would definitely change in a 12 month period.
That is awesome!! What a great way to save, and it’s good to know they are guaranteed!