How Many Decaturites Does It Take to Screw In a Lightbulb?

The answer is… all of us! Particularly for LED bulbs.

Energy efficiency is not sexy. But the most carbon free energy is energy we don't use! Nowhere is this principle more applicable than the humble light bulb. Lighting accounts for 10% of our home energy consumption in the US and a little over 3% our Green House Gas emissions.

That’s why our Decatur Cares About Climate Challenge is starting October with a challenge to replace all our old light bulbs with LEDs. While LEDs have been around for at least ten years, it may surprise you to know that 66% of US homes have no LEDs.

LED bulbs are money savers. They last 15 to 25 times longer, use 90% less energy and a single bulb, and can save $80 over its lifetime. You can see how much you can save here. There are LEDs that are dimmable, fit every color requirement, and every bulb size and fixture type. And the price of LEDs has dropped dramatically over the last five years.

Still there are families and individuals that can’t afford to make the initial investment. That’s why, as part of our goal, we are donating 100 LEDs to those who are under-resourced.

We also know one other thing. People who take one simple action for climate get the satisfaction and reward of joining others, and will take other actions as well.

So join us and then tell us about it. Change all your bulbs to LEDs. Thanks for all you do!

Hobie,

PS: The image on this post was drawn by 10 year-old Teo Cambas and is titled “The Eco Light Bulb of Nature.”