How Efficient Light Bulbs Can Put Your Children Though College
Running a house is an costly adventure and as homeowners we are constantly looking for means to save a penny. Implementing energy efficient light bulbs can be a big money saver, but before venturing on this path, you must first look into how you will get your money back. Calculate your how much and how fast you will get return on your investment should be one of your first steps.
As I was visiting the GE Lighting website (which I have no affiliation with), I found a very useful tool for calculating cost savings if you install energy efficient light bulbs. This tool assumes that you use a light for 4-hours a day and a electricity rate of 10c/kWh. It then show you how much money you will save by installing energy saving light bulbs.
By simply replacing 4 100-Watt standard light bulbs with 4 x 26-Watt energy efficient light bulbs, it is calculated that indeed over 1 year you will be saving $42.22. The reason I used 4 x 100-Watt bulbs as an example is only because that is how many we have in our TV room.
I took a walk through our home and I found 25 60-Watt and 40 100-Watt bulbs. In addition I found 2 track light. When I run these values through the GE Calculator, I should be saving a whopping $625 per year. Do not forget, I will need to buy 65 energy saving light bulbs and that will cost around $325.
To calculate your ROI for installing energy saving light bulbs, let’s look at how to calculate it: ROI= [(Payback - Investment)/Investment)]*100 [(625-325) / 625)] * 100 48%
My first year, I will see a ROI of 48%. Only after doing these calculations does it become clear that upgrading lighting in your home to energy efficient light bulbs, could be well worth it to your pocket within the first year, even if the initial capital layout might feel a little steep.
Cutting cost is in the numbers. Changing one 100-Watt bulb to a smart energy efficient bulb, will save you $10/year. The average home has between 50-100 bulbs. Considering the increase of energy rates, this would indeed be one of the smartest things to you for your family.
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