Screw It, America

Granted, no one will get rich switching light bulbs, but while each bulb costs more, it uses 75% less energy and lasts 10-times longer - yielding a $30 savings over its lifetime.

An average home has 45 light bulbs, so at $5 per bulb, the cost of replacing all of them is $225. The cost-savings over their lifetime is $1,350, for a profit of $1,125 - five times the initial investment.

Let us help you find a CFL to fit any lamp.

Photo: Christine Balderas / Istock

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America, it's time to screw it.

Sunday is the anniversary of U.S. Patent No. 223,898, better known as the incandescent light bulb. The Daily Green is marking the occasion by asking America to Screw It.

Light bulbs, that is.

While our great inventor Thomas Edison should be proud his light proved infallible for more than a century, it's time to screw those old incandescents right out of their sockets.

“This week, The Daily Green encourages everyone to unscrew one of Mr. Edison's bulbs, and screw in a compact fluorescent bulb in its place. CFLs now come in all shapes and sizes. They're made to fit all fixtures (even dimmers). And they come in several varieties of colors and intensities.

The energy-efficient CFL helps you go green in bite-sized bits. Each bulb you replace cuts the electricity used from that socket by 75%.

According to the national Energy Star program, if every American home replaced just one incandescent light bulb with a standard CFL, we would save enough energy to light more than three million homes for a year. We'd save more than $600 million in annual energy costs (yes, going green can be very good for your wallet). And we'd prevent greenhouse gases equal to the amount produced by 800,000 cars.

But why stop with just one bulb? Keep screwing all day and all night (until you can't screw no more).

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