Switching to Energy Saving Lightbulbs: Compact Fluorescents Lightbulbs (CFL's) Is it worth it?

This week, we switched to Energy Saving Lightbulbs. My husband heard on the radio that you could save $30/month on your electricity bill by switching to Compact Fluorescent Lightbulbs (now he wants to go green.) That very same day, he bought some cheap CFL's at a dollar discount store. They were an off brand and he had no idea what to look for, but he knew he was saving us money. He got home and replaced the lights in my bathroom and my bedside lamp.

Oh my. As The Green Mahma, I really wanted to support this environmental move he was making, but the light was dreadful. It was a blue light that didn't illuminate the room. It was more like a nightlight.

I told him I just wasn't ready to take that step to being more energy efficient. I like my soft yellow light. But I did say I would compromise and he could put the CFL's in the closets. If this was what we had to experience for light, then I wasn't ready to make the change.

The next day, he went to the local home improvement store and started asking questions. He learned there are 3 brightnesses of light available: soft white, bright white, and day light. He realized he had bought the day light and they didn't meet our needs or expectations. It looked industrial and the light didn't seem to bounce off the walls and give the colors of warm home.

At the store, with some guidance, he purchasd some soft white bulbs with an "Energy Star" rating. He brought these home and switched out our most used bulbs. The color was just like our incandescent bulbs. I couldn't tell the difference. Now, I am totally on board with the switch to energy saving bulbs.

The negative side of this is I'll have to wait 5 years before I can replace those first bulbs he bought that are now in my closets. Ugh!

Attached is a video I found very helpful explaining the CFL Lightbulbs and how much money they save you and how they help reduce pollution:

CFL Light Bulbs in Plain English (Revised)