Canada Lights the Way!

I have long been a fan of the Compact Flourescent light bulb [CFL] as they are perhaps one of the easiest ways for EVERYONE to conserve energy. They last five times longer then traditional bulbs and cut energy costs by 75%. Furthermore, everyone needs light bulbs and there is no technological hurdle to overcome.

I was happy to read this morning that Americans are starting to wake up to the value of them as well with WalMart's announcement that they have set the goal of getting CFLs into 100 million US homes by the end of 2007. This will be an increase from just four million sold in 2006.

Americans have been slower then Canadians in adopting this new technology. According to Home Depot, Canada's largest distributor of household light bulbs, the sale of CFLs made up for more then 50% of their total bulb sales. This is quite a leap considering these bulbs have only been on the market for a few years.

One of the reasons for the increased Canadian acceptance is the efforts by provincial hydro utilities to promote CFLs through campaigns offering free bulbs to homeowners and other similar marketing efforts. In contrast in the US, while they are still at the beginning stages of encouraging home owners to just try them out, Canadians are already there.

If you have not already tried CFLs I strongly encourage you to pick up a pack and try them out. They will not fit in all spots, but even a few will make a difference in your energy bills.