With the cold weather settling in, most consumers can expect their home energy bills to rise. If you’re one of them and looking for a quick way soften the impact, you should first look to your light fixtures.
LED light bulbs, while a little more expensive upfront, can last for decades and cost less than $2 a year to operate. Plus, advances in the technology mean consumers can use them in dimming fixtures, get them in a variety of hues, bulb shapes and even Edison-bulb filament style.
Maybe their greatest asset is their one- and even two-decade lifespans.
“Energy savings is one thing … it is a benefit, but the true benefit is the maintenance aspect — you see that really in commercial settings,” said Bill Hibbs, commercial programs and key accounts manager at Clark Public Utilities “Like in warehouses, there’s really great savings to be had. They make it so they don’t have to get a lift to replace a lamp every few months”
Light emitting diode lights were first discovered by a Russian scientist in the 1920s, but it took a few years after the federal government passed the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 for manufacturers to adopt the technology into a lightbulb for the American market.
LED bulbs have the shape and light tones of the incandescent bulbs that dominated the American residential market for more than a century, but the similarities stop there. The two bulbs represent two entirely different technological eras.
Household LEDs use about a sixth of the energy an equivalent 60-watt incandescent requires. In fact, a 60-watt incandescent’s energy cost is about $7.25 per year, while the equivalent LED’s is around $1.50 or less per year.
About a decade ago, Americans started swapping out their incandescent lights for compact florescent lamps, the tubular and typically curly bulbs. At first they were hailed as a step into a new era. But some early adapters weren’t happy.
Some of the first models sometimes melted at the base and many others took a few minutes to light up completely. The industry addressed those issues, but nonetheless CFLs are ceding ground to better technology.
While LEDs are typically only a few watts more efficient than CFLs, they can last about twice as long as CFLs and 10 times longer than incandescents.
Swapping the lights around your home or business for LEDs is a smart choice, but take caution when selecting them. Not all LED bulbs should be used in enclosed light fixtures, which trap the light-generated heat. Even though LEDs produce dramatically less radiant heat than incandescent bulbs, too much of it will shorten the lifespan of LEDs that aren’t designed to withstand it.
Perhaps the worst thing about CFLs is the mercury they contain. On average, each CFL contains about 4 milligrams. It’s only enough to cover the tip of a ballpoint pen, but it’s still a toxic substance.
For that alone CFLs should always be recycled and never thrown away. Many home and garden retail stores will take them free of charge. Clark Public Utilities does too — and then takes it a step further.
The utility offers two LEDs in exchange for one CFL per day per household. Customers can stop by any of three locations to make the exchange: The Clark Public Utilities Service Center at 1200 Fort Vancouver Way, Vancouver; the Orchards Service Center at 8600 N.E. 117th Ave., Vancouver; or the Bridge Substation utility office next to the Interstate 5 Bridge at 100 S.E. Columbia Way, Vancouver.
“This program was put together to incentivize customers to bring CFLs into us so we can dispose of them properly,” Hibbs said.
Starting Dec. 1, north Clark County customers will be able to exchange CFLs for LEDs at Battle Ground City Hall, thanks to a collaboration between Clark Public Utilities and the city of Battle Ground.
The program does have a slight variation. In Battle Ground, customers will get four LEDs in exchange for two CFLs per day per household.
Energy Adviser is written by Clark Public Utilities. Send questions to ecod@clarkpud.com or to Energy Adviser, c/o Clark Public Utilities, P.O. Box 8900, Vancouver, WA 98668.
