Change Your Lightbulbs, Make A Difference!

Michigan Energy Options is helping residents across the state by lowering the cost of Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs (CFLs) to as low as $1 per bulb.  With this low price, we want people like you to take the next step (if you haven't already done so) and change out your light bulbs.  Here's why...

If every American home replaced their five most frequently used bulbs with an ENERGY STAR CFL, we could save close to $8 billion a year in energy costs and prevent greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to that of nearly ten million cars.

Where can you get the discounted bulbs?

These light bulbs are currently available at Family Dollar stores across the entire state of Michigan.  In the Upper Peninsula, we also have the two Menards stores participating in this sale.  Bulbs will be available while supplies last.

Why should you change your bulbs?

CFLs use 75% less energy and last 8-10 times longer than incandescent light bulbs.

Though CFLs may cost a little more on the front end, they quickly pay for themselves in just a few months.   Each bulb you change out saves approximately $35 or more in electricity costs over the lifetime of the bulb.

CFLs are also the environmentally conscious choice.  Everytime you flip on your light switch or watch your TV, somewhere a coal fired power plant is emitting mercury and other harmful particulates.  By using an energy efficient lightbulb and/or other EnergyStar appliances, you are reducing emissions at these power plants at the same time.

What are some good bulbs to change?

Any light that is used for more than 15 minutes at a time or more a day.  Lights like these can frequently be found in areas such as the kitchen, living or family rooms as well as table and floor lamps.  Other areas that are also good for savings are lights that stay on for a while like an outdoor porch light or lamp post.

Always choose the proper CFL for installation in your fixtures.  For example if you have a 3-way lamp, choose a 3-way CFL bulb.  If your lights are on a dimmer, make sure you get dimmable CFLs.

REMEMBER!  Buying CFLs is only the first step.  When you go home or to your place of work, change out your old bulbs immediately.  That way you'll start reaping the savings instantly.

A few quick facts...

Watts are standard units of measure in electricity. One watt is equivalent to 1 joule (J) of energy per second.

Kilowatt Hour (symbolized kWh) equivalent to 1000 watts of power expended for one hour of time.

Lumens are the standard measure of light produced by a bulb.

The "life" of a CFL is usually the number of hours a light bulb will last.

CFLs contain a small amount of mercury and should be disposed of properly.  Please contact your local Household Hazardous Waste Collection Site or local utility for disposal information.  As a last resort, seal the CFL in a zip lock bag and place with your regular trash.

About this grant

Michigan Energy Options (formerly Urban Options / Northern Options) was awarded a $750,000 grant by the Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) to expand its compact fluorescent lightbulb (CFL) campaign called Change a Light, Change Michigan.  With this grant, our organization was able to negotiate manufacturer discounts and buy down the cost of CFLs so that they could be sold for as little as $1 at participating retailers across the State of Michigan.