Compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) have become more popular in recent years, but d

Question

Compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) have become more popular in recent years, but do they make financial sense? Suppose a typical 60-watt incandescent lightbulb costs $0.38 and lasts for 1,000 hours. A 15-watt CFL, which provides the same light, costs $3.05 and lasts for 12,000 hours. A kilowatt hour of electricity costs $0.114, which is about the national average. A kilowatt-hour is 1,000 watts for 1 hour. However, electricity costs actually vary quite a bit depending on location and user type. An industrial user in West Virginia might pay $0.04 per kilowatt-hour whereas a residential user in Hawaii might pay $0.25.

Explanation / Answer

Incandescent bulb vs CFL: in terms of wattage

Incandescent : 60 watts

CFL : 15 watts

So In savings for CFL is 60-15 = 45 watts

Suppose let us assume you burn the bulbs for 8 hrs a day and in 30 days (a month) you save : 45 * 8 * 30 = 10,800 Watts/hr or 10.8 Kilo watt hour. Thus, this will save =10.8 * 0.114 (national average) = 1.231$ per month

On the cost front, Incandescent costs = 0.38/1000 = $0.00038 per hour

On the cost front, the CFL costs = 3.05/12000 = $0.00025 per hour

So the CFL also costs less per hours and saves more in a month

Hence it makes financial sense to have CFL rather than incandescent bulbs.

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