How much does it cost to run a light bulb?
– Are CFLs worth it? Incandescent bulbs waste 90 percent of their energy generating heat. The “fuel” efficiency of a CFL is like replacing a car that gets 20 miles per gallon with one that gets 100 miles per gallon. Replacing incandescent bulbs with CFLs lower the electrical bill for lighting up to 75%. If you replaced 20 75-watt incandescent bulbs with 23-watt CFLs, you would save 1,040 watts for every hour that the lamps burned. At five hours per day, this means saving over 2,000 kWh or about $208 back in your pocket every year. (Replace them with a 20-watt CFL and save more – but slightly less light.) If you know the wattage of any electrical device, you can figure out the cost with this formula: Cost to run = wattage x cost per kilowatt hour x average rated life 1000 You can get your cost per kilowatt hour (kWh) from your utility bill. Many of Michiganresidents pay between $0.075 (7.5 cents) and $0.097 (9.7 cents) per kWh. The rate may change from winter to summer. Example: A 75 wa
