Are you still using 100 year old technology?

Let me ask you a few questions:
1. Do you use a horse and buggy to commute to work?
2. Do you wash your clothes by hand with a bar of soap and a tub of water?
3. Do you use egg yolks for shampoo?

If you answered "NO" to those questions, then why are you using a light bulb that was developed over 100 years ago?!

Quick facts about incandescent light bulbs:

1. First light bulb Thomas Edison helped invent.
2. Hot to the touch.
3. Burn out quickly.
4. Use massive amounts of electricity compared to newer technology compact fluorescent and LED bulbs.
5. Produce heat making your A/C system work harder and longer to cool the rooms they are in.
6. Costs you more $$ on electric bill and on home maintenance costs due to short life.
7. Highly inefficient as 98% of energy input is emmited as heat.*
*-Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LED_lamp#Comparison_to_other_lighting_technologies

Wikipedia Facts about incandescent light bulbs:

Incandescent light bulbs are gradually being replaced in many applications by other types of electric lights, such as fluorescent lamps, compact fluorescent lamps,cold cathode fluorescent lamps (CCFL), high-intensity discharge lamps, and light-emitting diodes (LEDs). These newer technologies improve the ratio of visible light to heat generation. Some jurisdictions, such as the European Union, are in the process of phasing out the use of incandescent light bulbs in favor of more energy-efficient lighting. In the United States, federal law has scheduled incandescent light bulbs to be phased out by 2014, to be replaced with more energy-efficient light bulbs.^[3] InBrazil, they have already been phased out.<sup>[when?][citation needed]


-Source:</sup> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incandescent_light_bulb

Thomas Edison began serious research into developing a practical incandescent lamp in 1878. Edison filed his first patent application for "Improvement In Electric Lights" on October 14, 1878.^[27] After many experiments with platinum and other metal filaments, Edison returned to a carbon filament. The first successful test was on October 22, 1879,^[28] and lasted 13.5 hours. Edison continued to improve this design and by November 4, 1879, filed for a U.S. patent for an electric lamp using "a carbon filament or strip coiled and connected ... to platina contact wires."^[29] Although the patent described several ways of creating the carbon filament including using "cotton and linen thread, wood splints, papers coiled in various ways,"^[29] it was not until several months after the patent was granted that Edison and his team discovered that a carbonized bamboo filament could last over 1200 hours.

-Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incandescent_light_bulb#History_of_the_light_bulb

Quick facts about CFL (compact fluorescent) bulbs:


An ENERGY STAR Qualified Compact Fluorescent Light bulb (CFL):

• can save more than $40 in electricity costs over its lifetime
• uses about 75% less energy than standard incandescent bulbs and lasts up to 10 times longer
• produces about 75% less heat, so it's safer to operate and can cut energy costs associated with home cooling

-Source: http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?fuseaction=find_a_product.showProductGroup&pgw_code=LB


Wikipedia Facts about the CFL bulb:

A compact fluorescent lamp (CFL), also known as a compact fluorescent light or energy saving light (or less commonly as a compact fluorescent tube), is a type of fluorescent lamp. Many CFLs are designed to replace an incandescent lamp and can fit into most existing light fixtures formerly used for incandescents.

Compared to general service incandescent lamps giving the same amount of visible light, CFLs use less power and have a longer rated life. In the United States, a CFL has a higher purchase price than an incandescent lamp, but can save over US$40 in electricity costs over the lamp's lifetime.^[2] Like all fluorescent lamps, CFLs contain mercury, which complicates their disposal.

CFLs radiate a different light spectrum from that of incandescent lamps. Improved phosphor formulations have improved the perceived colour of the light emitted by CFLs such that some sources rate the best "soft white" CFLs as subjectively similar in colour to standard incandescent lamps.^[3]

-Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compact_fluorescent_lamp

Quick facts about LED (Light emitting diode) bulb:

1. Produce very little heat.

2. Extremely long lamp life.

3. Have a life rating of up to 20,000 hours.* Less maintenance costs due to higher lamp life.

4. Very energy efficient in (2) ways: (1) uses very little energy (2) by emitting very little heat, the A/C system in your home or business works more efficiently and runs for less time since it doesn't have to cool down spaces being heated up by incandescent lamps.

5. Initial cost is much higher than that of a CFL.

*Check with your specific lighting manufacturer of lamps you buy for exact life ratings.

Wikipedia facts about the LED bulb:

An LED lamp (LED lightbulb) is a solid-state lamp that uses light-emitting diodes (LEDs) as the source of light. The LEDs involved may be conventional semiconductor light-emitting diodes, to organic LEDs(OLED), or polymer light-emitting diodes (PLED) devices, although OLED and PLED technologies are not commercially available in 2010.

Since the light output of individual light-emitting diodes is small compared to incandescent and compact fluorescent lamps, multiple diodes are often used together. In recent years, as diode technology has improved, high power light-emitting diodes with higher lumen output are making it possible to replace other lamps with LED lamps. One high power LED chip used in some commercial LED lights can emit 7,527 lumens while using only 100 watts.^[1] LED lamps can be made interchangeable with other types of lamps.

Diodes use direct current (DC) electrical power, so LED lamps must also include internal circuits to operate from standard AC voltage. LEDs are damaged by being run at higher temperatures, so LED lamps typically include heat management elements such as heat sinks and cooling fins. LED lamps offer long service life and high energy efficiency, but initial costs are higher than those of fluorescent lamps.

Nevada Energy has some great tips for saving energy as well:

http://nvenergy.com/saveenergy/home/energytips.cfm

Keep up with the 21st century and stop using 100-year-old outdated technology! Save money and help save the Earth by replacing incandescent bulbs with CFL or LED bulbs today!