CHANGE A LIGHT CAMPAIGN
SAVE ENERGY
The ENERGY STAR Change a Light Campaign is a national challenge to encourage every American to help change the world, one light — one energy-saving step — at a time. You can show your commitment by pledging to replace at least one light in your home with one that has earned the ENERGY STAR label. If every American home replaced just one light bulb with an ENERGY STAR qualified bulb, we would save enough energy to light more than 3 million homes for a year, more than $600 million in annual energy costs, and prevent greenhouse gases equivalent to the emissions of more than 800,000 cars. THE ENERGY STAR CHANGE A LIGHT TOUR The ENERGY STAR Change a Light, Change the World Campaign is designed to bring individuals and organizations together in a nationwide effort to save energy and help fight global warming, starting by encouraging a switch to lighting that has earned the government’s ENERGY STAR label for energy efficiency. Going into its 12th year, the campaign provides a central rallying point on ENERGY STAR Change a Light Day, Thursday, October 6, 2011. Organizations and leaders from across the nation are encouraged to help mark the day. Individuals are invited to take the online ENERGY STAR Change a Light Pledge, where they can join others nationwide committing to change out at least one light at home. While the majority of campaign participation occurs during the promotional time frame of October and November, groups or individuals may participate at any point throughout the 2011/2012 campaign year (October 2011–October 2012). New this year is the ENERGY STAR Change a Light Bus Tour, which will kick off on October 3, 2011, stopping at special events in 10 cities, hosted by ENERGY STAR. OUR ENVIRONMENT Most people want to protect our environment, but many don’t know where to start. Choosing ENERGY STAR qualified lighting is a simple way to save money, energy, and time, while helping to keep our planet a healthy place to live. Your lighting choice is important! Lighting is a significant part of the electricity we use in our homes – nearly one-fifth! When you use less energy, somewhere a power plant is generating fewer greenhouse gas emissions, which means that you are helping to solve the problem of global warming! The energy used in the average home can contribute more than twice the greenhouse gas emissions of the average car per year. Make a difference by saving energy at home – start by changing a light! Because more than 70 percent of our electricity comes from burning fossil fuels using energy-efficient lighting helps reduce emissions of carbon dioxide, mercury, nitrogen oxides, and sulfur dioxide. HOW TO CHOOSE AND WHERE TO USE CFLs ENERGY STAR qualified CFLs provide the greatest savings in fixtures that are on for a substantial amount of time each day. At a minimum, ENERGY STAR recommends installing qualified CFLs in fixtures that are used at least 15 minutes at a time or several hours per day. The best fixtures to use qualified CFLs in are usually found in the following areas of your home: • Family and Living rooms • Kitchen • Dining room • Bedrooms • Outdoors Join the thousands of partners who have already teamed with ENERGY STAR to save energy in homes and businesses through energy efficient products and practices
AND HELP FIGHT GLOBAL WARMING
CHANGE A LIGHT CAMPAIGN
FAQS
Few people realize that converting to CFLs can save so much money and electricity. Many people see the price tag and think they’re getting a great bargain when they buy 10 incandescent for the same amount of money. They don’t understand that they can reduce their electric bills by about 75% percent with CFLs. There are many myths about CFLs; here are answers to the most common questions asked about CFLs. How does a CFL work? CFLs produce light differently than incandescent bulbs. In an incandescent, electric current runs through a wire filament and heats the filament until it starts to glow. In a CFL, an electric current is driven through a tube containing argon and a small amount of mercury vapor. This generates invisible ultraviolet light that excites a fluorescent coating (called phosphor) on the inside of the tube, which then emits visible light. Do compact fluorescent bulbs (CFLs) use less energy than incandescent bulbs when you consider the energy required to make the bulbs? Yes. CFLs use substantially less energy (and cause fewer emissions of greenhouse gases) than an equivalent incandescent even when the energy necessary to manufacture the bulbs is considered. It takes much less energy to manufacture a CFL than the energy it will use over its lifetime. Will cFLs fit into my existing fixtures? CFLs can replace regular, incandescent bulbs in almost any fixture. They come in a wide variety of sizes and shapes including globe lamps for your bathroom vanity, chandelier bulbs, lamps for recessed lights (now commonly found in kitchens, hallways, and more), and larger or more compact standard light bulbs. Can CFLs be used with dimmer switches? Yes, certain CFLs are made to work on dimmers. Be sure to check the fine print on the back of the packaging to see if there are any restrictions on the product’s use. Dimming a CFL that is not designed to work with a dimmer switch can shorten its life significantly. Can CFLs be used in recessed cans, outdoor lights, or track lighting? Yes! Always read the packaging of the CFL to be sure of its proper use, but there are a wide variety of CFLs that are designed for use in most fixtures in your home,including recessed cans, outdoor lights, and track lighting. Do CFLs contain mercury? CFLs contain a very small amount of mercury sealed within the glass tubing - an average of 4 milligrams - about the amount that would cover the tip of a ballpoint pen. By comparison, older thermometers contain about 500 milligrams of mercury - an amount equal to the mercury in 125 CFLs. Mercury is an essential part of CFLs; it allows the bulb to be an efficient light source. No mercury is released when the bulbs are intact (not broken) or in use.
ENERGY STAR, created in 1992, is a joint program of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy. Partnership offers a unique opportunity to leverage ENERGY STAR. The ENERGY STAR label appears on over 50 different product categories as well as new homes, commercial buildings and industrial plants.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 1200 Pennsylvania Ave NW, Washington, DC 20460 Web site: http://www.energystar.gov