Quick Fact: Replace just FOUR of the older style incandescent bulbs in your home with energy saver bulbs and you could save up to $75 dollars off your yearly power bill!
 

WOW
 
I know! It’s fantastic. I love to save electricity. Imagine the savings if you replace all your bulbs!

Energy Saving Light Bulbs or Compact Fluorescent Lamps [CFLs] are one of the easiest and most effective ways to reduce your power bill as they use much less power [about one fifth!] than incandescent [standard] light bulbs. 

PLUS… Energy Saving Light Bulbs also last up to ten times longer than standard bulbs. Because CFLs don't use heat to create light, they are far more energy-efficient than regular incandescent bulbs. 

CFLs are a particularly smart option for those hard to reach locations. You have to replace them less often so it means less time up a ladder or reaching across at awkward angles.

High-Quality Light without Flicker or Hum

Newer Compact fluorescent light bulbs give a warm, inviting light instead of the "cool white" light of older fluorescents. They use rare earth phosphors for excellent color and warmth. Plus, new electronically ballasted CFLs don't flicker or hum.

Colour?

CFLs can produce varying shades of light. Usually they’re defined in terms of “warm” light or “cool” light. The shade of white light is measured in kelvin (K). Lower kelvin numbers mean the light has a warmer color, while higher Kelvin numbers mean the light has a cooler color. The majority of CFLs available in the market offer soft or warm white light (2700K–3000K), which is comparable to an incandescent bulb.  
 

Comparing Wattage of Ordinary Bulbs to Energy Saving Bulbs:
 

CFL's produce the same amount of light whilst generating less wattage temperature. Use this chart to help the choose the best bulb for your needs.

Which Energy Saving Bulb Should you Use Where? 

As a general guide:

• Bedrooms, dining and living areas use a warm colour [2700-3000k] 20W bulb, 

• For bedside lamps use warm 15W bulbs, 

• For work and kitchen areas use a cool white colour which do not provide mood lighting but do allow you to see what you are doing in food preparation and washing up areas. 

Click here to Browse Energy Saver Light Bulbs.

Style and Fittings

The current energy savings lamps are shorter and more attractive than the older style version. The shorter versions should fit more easily into household fittings and not jut out.

In New Zealand two types of fittings are common – Edison Screw and Bayonet. The screw fitting looks like, well, a screw whilst the bayonet mount has flat surfaces and pins that twist to lock into place.
 
Can you use a dimmer switch?

Most CFLs will not dim when used with dimmer light switches. However, some CFLs do, though they are not widely available yet. If you use a standard CFL with a dimmer switch it will most likely shorten the bulbs life. 
 
Mitre 10

All Mitre 10 stores are now stocking the new brand of ”SWITCH" CFLs , in this range there is a bulb for just about every application in homes, offices and even sheds. Wattages vary from 11 watts all the way up to 45 watts. All fittings have been taken into consideration, be they down lights or bedside lamps. Two Colour options have been included. The warm tones have always been a popular choice with their incandescent glow or go for the white daylight option. Your local Mitre 10 is Switched on in regards to "Switch" CFLs, they can help assist in choosing the right wattages for each homes individual rooms needs.

Click here to Browse Energy Saver Light Bulbs.

Click here to find your Local Mitre 10 Store

But what is wrong with the old style of incandescent bulb?

What? Wake up! Go back to the top of the page and start reading again. The main reason that they are so inefficient is that they waste over 90% of the energy you put into them into creating a tiny amount of heat. Silly, silly old bulbs.

Don’t forget... The simplest way to save energy above and beyond the savings you will get with energy saver bulbs is to switch the lights off when you are not using the room.

To get an estimate of how much you could save by switching to energy saver bulbs you can use the calculator at consumer.org.nz

Click here for other Energy Savings Tips
 

Mercury and Disposing of CFLs.
 

A CFL consists of two parts:

• A ballast [the electronic controls] and
• A tube lined with phosphors that is filled with inert gas [usually argon] and trace amounts of mercury.

When an electric current passes through the tube it excites the vapour to emit ultra-violet light, which in turn excites the phosphor coating to create visible light.

Mercury is an essential component in this process and a CFL will not work without it. The amount of mercury used in a CFL is minute, an average of 4mg [four thousandths of a gram]. 

The Ministry for the environment gives the following advice:
Energy saving lamps contain a small amount of mercury which makes them operate much more efficiently than incandescent and halogen lamps. Mercury is toxic to human health but the amount inside an individual lamp is not large enough to pose a hazard to users. Energy saving lamps need to be disposed of carefully so they do not break and let the mercury escape and pollute air and water.
Yet because of their energy efficiency, energy saving lamps have the greatest overall environmental life-cycle benefits, despite containing mercury. 

A US report states that the amount of mercury released by using energy saving lamps is less than the mercury used by coal-fired power plants to generate the electricity used by less energy efficient incandescent lamps. Proper disposal of spent lamps can further reduce releases of mercury into the environment.