My sister was in town this weekend and she is always up for a trip to Sam’s Club, so we went to purchase GE Energy Smart CFLs and LEDs and then browse around. I did not find any of the GE Bright from the Start bulbs. Most of the lighting in my home already has CFL bulbs, but the can fixtures in both bathrooms needed to be swapped out. I bought an 8 pack of CFL bulbs for those fixtures. My husband has been itching to try some LED bulbs, so I bought a 2 pack.
When I got home with my new bulbs, I quickly changed out the old bulbs with the CFLs. I could already tell a difference! I just love how bright the CFL bulbs are compared to the incandescents.
I replaced the CFL bulb in my living room lamp with a LED bulb. I didn’t read the package, but did once I swapped them out! The CFL runs on about 850 lumens, and the LED runs on about 80! That’s a HUGE difference! Needless to say, I put the CFL back in that lamp and I’m currently still looking for a new lamp home for those LEDs!
This picture really doesn’t show you how dim the LED is. With the curtains closed and only this light on, it looks like you are standing outside at about midnight. It’s really nice once my husband and I put the kids to bed and we watch TV together but when the kids get up in the morning this is the main light we use and it just doesn’t do us much good.
My estimated energy savings after replacing five 60-watt and fifteen 100-watt general purpose bulbs is: $194.91 annually and $1068.00 over the life of those bulbs. You can calculate your estimated energy savings here.
Money and energy saving tips:
- Buy new bulbs!! (If you check the right side of my blog, you will find a widget with a printable coupon!!)
- Turn off lights when you leave a room.
- Replace current fixtures with ENERGY STAR-qualified replacements.
- Open your curtains and maximize the amount of daylight in your home.
Check out this GE Lighting commercial:
Connect with GE on facebook, twitter and their website!
What are your money and energy saving tips?!
**Full Disclosure: I am a member of the Collective Bias™ Social Fabric® Community. This content has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias™ and GE. All thoughts and opinions are my own. #CBias #SocialFabric
It’s astounding how long the energy efficient bulbs last, as compared to the incandescents! The Hubs is a big fan of not having to replace them constantly!
Bummer you couldn’t find the Bright From The Start Bulbs 🙁
I know! I was really hoping to put those to the test.
I couldn’t find the Bright from the Start, either! I really do prefer them!