A CFL story .... How it can conserves energ & save money!

One CFL (Compact Florescent Bulb) bulb I used and became defunct on 3/3/2012 was in use for 1 year, 2 months and 15 days (= 440 days). I decided to find out the profit/ loss from using this particular bulb.

Total energy saved:
It was a 23W bulb and used at an average of 5 hours a day.

Hence, the total energy consumed by its total lifetime is = 23W x 5 hours x 440 days = 50600W = 50 KWh


If I used a 100W incandescent bulb (23W CFL= 115W incandescent) instead, my total consumption could be = 100W x 5 hours x 440 days = 220,000W = 220 KWh

I've saved more than 4 times of energy by using this CFL!

How much money I saved?

My houses electricity bill is around 2000/= per 150 units and the average cost of a unit of a unit is Rs 13.33 and the total money I paid for the CFL bulb = 50kWh x Rs 13.33  = Rs 666.66

If I used the incandescent type I could have paid  = 220kWh x Rs 13.33  = Rs 2932.60 (This could be more than this amount, as the rate increased with the number of units used)

The cost of the CFL bulb = 400/= and hence the total cost for the period = 400 + 666.66 = Rs. 1066.66
The cost of the incandescent bulb = 75/= hence the total cost for the period could be = 75 + 2932.60 = Rs. 3007.60

Even I used the CFL bulb for just 440 days, the money I saved is Rs. 1940.94!

The minimum lifetine of a CFL is 6000 hours, but I used this one for ~ 2200 hours. If I was able to use the CFL for the average lifetime, I could have saved more money.

Although this post have some calculations, you must have enlightened of how we can save energy and money.
Saved Energy, Saved money!!!

Dhanesh Wisumperuma
2012-03-05