Carbon Footprint

Though we call them “lights,” traditional incandescent bulbs are actually small heaters that produce a little light — and waste a lot of energy making heat. (You know this if you’ve touched one that’s been on for a while!) In the 1880s, they revolutionized the world. But today, we can do better.

Better alternatives use more efficient technology

Once dismissed as buzzing tubes in offices, fluourescent lights have gone compact and upscale. Energy-saving compact fluorescents (CFs) now rival the cozy, warm light of traditional bulbs. They use a fraction of the electricity, which means lower electricity bills and millions of tons less global warming pollution. And in the summer, because they don’t burn as hot as incandescent bulbs, they’ll lower your cooling bills.

If every household replaced just three 60-watt incandescent bulbs with CF bulbs, the pollution savings would be like taking 3.5 million cars off the road!