The Courier-Mail
By: Hannah Martin
Queenslanders can slash up to $350 a year from their household electricity bills by installing energy-efficient bulbs, the state Office for Climate Change says. Executive director Greg Withers says swapping old bulbs with environmentally friendly compact fluorescent lights (CFLs) helps save the planet but also can help cut household costs in tough economic times. CFLs use up to 80 per cent less energy than traditional bulbs.
Research shows the average Queensland home has about 25 CFL-compatible light fittings, and making the switch could slice up to about $30 a month from power bills. Mr Withers says the savings quickly outweighed the initial cost of the energy-saving bulbs, which cost about $10 each.
"If you spend the money to do some of these replacements, over time you are going to save a lot of money,'' he said.
"It's good for the environment and it's great for your hip-pocket, it's as simple as that.''
The Bowker family, from Varsity Lakes on the Gold Coast, has started installing CFLs to take advantage of the savings.
"We're definitely going to look into doing it on a larger scale,'' Mr Bowker said. `"Anyone would be stupid not to - $350 a year is a lot of money.
"Especially now, since in the last six months everything has become a little bit tighter.''
Tomorrow The Sunday Mail is working with the Queensland Government to give away half a million CFLs. As part of The Big Light Switch campaign, 250,000 readers will receive two free energy-saving bulbs after buying tomorrow's newspaper.
Simply take the token in The Sunday Mail to any participating newsagent to get your bulbs.
Replacing just two incandescent bulbs with CFLs will cut $22 off your electricity bill each year.