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BY ELYSE EISENBERG AND TIM SPANGLER
Medill News Service | Sunday, January 14, 2007 | (No comments posted.)
As Illinois residents prepare to pay more for electricity in the coming years, becoming energy efficient isn't just a way to save environmental resources.
It's a way to save money.
Nationwide, home lighting accounts for nearly 10 percent of residential electricity consumption, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council Web site.
One way to save money is by using more efficient light bulbs, which use less electricity.
"It's as easy as putting energy-efficient compact fluorescent bulbs in your most frequently used light fixtures," said Faith Bugel, staff attorney with the Environmental Law & Policy Center, a Midwest environmental advocacy organization.
Replacing six 60-watt incandescent bulbs with fluorescent bulbs may yield savings of up to 4 percent on a household's electric bill, or $120, over the lifetime of the bulbs, according to Judy Rader, a ComEd spokeswoman.
The bulbs turn on instantly, don't buzz or flicker, come in a range of light tones and screw into standard light fixtures.
"Even though they are more expensive, they save you money in the long run," said Steve Lipshutz, owner of Tenenbaum Hardware in Chicago's Lakeview neighborhood.
Tenenbaum Hardware is one of the 350 participating True Value Stores involved in ComEd's CARE (Customers' Affordable Reliable Energy) Bulb Discount Program.
Customers responded so positively to the 2006 CARE promotion, ComEd is in the planning process for the best energy efficiency programs for 2007, Rader said.
While ComEd is making its 2007 plans for the best energy efficiency program, there are several measures energy users can take.
Adjusting the thermostat is the easiest thing you can do. For each degree the thermostat is lowered, energy users can save 5 percent in heating costs.
And by purchasing a programmable thermostat, energy users can set it to turn off during work hours and at night.
Of course weather-stripping around windows and doors also can stem the loss of heat.
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