Homemade Solar Cell

One of the most difficult factors when you decide to install energy saving light bulbs in your home is cost. Since each energy saving light bulb will cost you approximately $5 each, it is clever to stop for a moment and ask yourself what your Return On Revenue (ROI) will be.

As I was visiting the GE Lighting website (which I have no affiliation with), I found a very useful tool for calculating cost savings if you install energy saving light bulbs. This calculator assumes that you use a light for 4-hours a day and a energy rate of 10c/kWh. It then show you how much money you will save by installing energy saving light bulbs.

If you wish to replace 4 100-Watt standard bulbs with 4 26-Watt energy efficient light bulbs (CFL bulbs), it is calculated that your annual savings will be $43.22. I used 4 x 100-Watt bulbs since that is a standard configuration for a sierra fan.

I took stock of how many 100 and 60-Watt bulbs I have in my home. 25 x 60-Watt bulbs and 40 x 100-Watt bulbs. Based on the GE Calculator (and my own), replacing all of them with energy efficient light bulbs will cost me $325, considering one bulb runs about $5 each. Most interestingly the yearly electricity cost saving will be $625 per year.

To calculate your ROI for installing energy saving light bulbs, let’s look at how to calculate it: ROI= [(Payback - Investment)/Investment)]*100 [(625-325) / 625)] * 100 48%

During the first year we will see a return on our investment of 48%. As I was looking at these numbers it became evident that it will be smart to upgrade to energy efficient light bulbs, even if in the beginning it will cost us some money.

Cutting cost is in the numbers. Changing one 100-Watt bulb to a smart energy saving bulb, will save you $10/year. The average home has between 50-100 bulbs. Considering the increase of energy rates, this would indeed be one of the smartest things to you for your family.