Nearly every light bulb in our house has been replaced with a compact fluorescent bulb (CFL) to cut down on energy costs, and help the environment. We do have a few light bulbs left to replace in outside fixtures which require a different CFL bulb due to the extreme weather temperatures that they will be exposed to, so this is on my list of things to update for the new year. CFL’s were a change for us when we switched because they are noticeably dimmer when they are initially turned on. Once the bulb is completely warmed up, they provide what seems like a brighter light than my previous incandescent bulbs.

The major difference with incandescents and CFL’s is that the CFL is actually designed to save you money for extended periods of  use (15 minutes or longer), rather than running through the house and turning off lights. CFL’s work better at saving you money when they are placed in fixtures that are left on for longer than 15 minutes. Frequently turning the CFL on and off actually shortens the life of the bulb. For us, we actually have incandescent bulbs in our closet fixtures because these are on for very short periods of time. Determine your lighting needs and replace bulbs where it makes sense. Every fixture doesn’t need a CFL to save you money.

For a short period of time, Philips is offering up a mail in rebate for purchasing energy saving light bulbs. Once you click the link, look for the Download Rebate Now button to find your rebate form.

• Get $10 back when you purchase $30.00 worth of Philips advanced LED products
• Get $5.00 back when you purchase $15.00 worth of Philips EnergySaver CFL or Halogena Energy Saver products

From the wording of the rebate it appears that you will receive a $10 rebate or $5 rebate based on the qualifying products purchased, so it is either one or the other. Limit one (1) rebate request per household, family, group, or organization.

Offer good only on purchases of Philips LED, Energy Saver CFL or Halogena Energy Saver light bulbs made between December 1, 2009 and January 31, 2010. Rebate request must be received by March 1, 2010. Allow 6-8 weeks for delivery of rebate check.

This entry was posted on Monday, December 28th, 2009 at 2:30 am and is filed under Energy Conservation. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.