Happy new year and welcome back to Enviroblog--you are reading the first post of 2007!
I’ve never been big on New Year's resolutions but this year I’m making one I know I’ll follow through with and that will benefit both my wallet and the earth--changing the remainder of the incandescent bulbs in my house to compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs). After switching most of my lamps and fixtures over to CFLs last Fall I saw a 30-40% reduction in my home energy bill. CFLs are to be Wal-Mart’s next environmental conquest as they aim to sell 100 million of them per year by 2008.
I will also be replacing my halogen floor lamps, which suck up as much as 300 watts each, with floor lamps that are compatible with CFLs. I found out what energy leeches my halogens are after measuring them with a Kill-a-Watt Electricity Monitor, a helpful device I bought myself (and a few other people) for the holidays this year. The Kill-A-Watt plugs into a wall outlet and gives an accurate reading of energy consumption for any electrical appliance plugged into it. The Kill-A-Watt, which costs about $20, is a good investment and is sure to pay for itself very quickly in my home. I was shocked to find that the vampire load my small stereo used when completely OFF was 15 watts! Now I unplug it when it’s not on.
Comment in and tell us what other resolutions you'll be making to lighten your environmental footprint in 2007.
Power-sipping bulbs get backing from Wal-Mart, New York Times. (2 Jan 07)
Buy a Kill-A-Watt Electricity Monitor from SustainabilitySystems.com
