Public Power - September 2008 - (Page 40)

Getting Customers to Embrace Compact Fluorescent Lights nk of the potential. One compact fluorescent light bulb uses one-fourth the amount of energy of a comparable incandescent light bulb. The U.S. Energy Star program urges Americans to replace standard light bulbs with Energy Star models. “Replace the conventional bulbs in your five most frequently used light fixtures with bulbs that have the Energy Star and you will help the environment while saving money on energy bills,” the federal government urges consumers on the Energy Star Web site. “If every household in the United States took this one simple action, we would prevent greenhouse gases equivalent to the emissions from nearly 10 million cars.” Compact fluorescent bulbs offer the potential for substantial reductions to consumer electricity bills. Yet, consumers in many regions of the country are slow to abandon incandescent bulbs in favor of compact fluorescent bulbs. CFLs cost more than incandescent light bulbs and they deliver a different type of light. They don’t always come on immediately—there is a bit of a delay when a user flips the light switch. Until recently, CFLs did not work with dimmer switches, although expensive dimmable CFLs are on the market now. Some people worry about the potential for mercury pollution. Like it nor not, American homes and businesses will have to use CFLs or other more energy-efficient light bulbs within the next few years. The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 requires a phaseout of incandescent bulbs by 2014. Educational programs for consumers are paramount, said Tom Zieg, energy services representative for Lincoln Electric System in Nebraska. Most customers dislike of CFL bulbs is a result of a lack of education on the part of both customers and the stores that sell the bulbs, he said. “I believe many customers are willing 40 SEPTEMBER 2008 Thi to give them a try,” Zieg said. “However, it is going to be an education process to get them to purchase a second bulb if they didn’t like what they got the first time. They are an expensive first-cost item and people will need guidance to make the correct choice the first time or they won’t buy them a second time.” “We think of light bulbs in terms of wattages,” said Kevin Martin, key accounts manager for Danville Utilities in Virginia. “CFLs are rated in lumens, so an educational transformation process needs to occur. The same for the color render values based upon the Kelvin temperatures of bulbs.” Acceptance has been strong in the Northeast and on the West Coast, but slower in other regions, said Melanie Painter, director of utility programs for TCP, the largest manufacturer of compact fluorescent light bulbs in the United States, with 73 percent of the market. Utility programs to boost adoption of CFLs have been key to their adoption, Painter said. Tom Buckley, manager of customer and energy services for Burlington Electric Department in Vermont, noted that the mercury in a compact fluorescent light bulb is one-fifth of that found in a typical watch battery. Snohomish County Public Utility District in Washington has one of the most successful compact fluorescent light bulb promotion programs in the Northwest. This year, the utility sold three million bulbs, equivalent to 10 per customer account. Snohomish has worked with local retailers since 2000 to encourage adoption of CFLs, according to Neil Neroutsos, spokesman for the utility. The PUD distributes coupons to customers for presentation at local retail outlets and pays retailers to buy down the wholesale cost of the bulbs, eliminating customers’ reluctance to spend more for the high-efficiency bulbs. The utility is setting up CFL recycling centers at several locations to facilitate safe disposal of the bulbs. Vermont is one of the Northeastern states with the highest penetration of CFL use. A state efficiency program supports distribution channels, making the bulbs available for only 99 cents apiece, said Burlington Electric’s Buckley. CFLs are in 90 percent of homes in the state, he said. JEA in Jacksonville, Fla., launched a CFL incentive and education program last December. The utility is working with 30 small retails and large chains (Costco, Home Depot, CVS and others) to provide a markdown of the bulbs, said Payson Tilden, DSM program manager for the utility. Prior to the JEA promotion, many stores were carrying one or two kinds of CFLs, Tilden said. “But our promotion has resulted in even the smaller stores expanding their varieties to include fan lights, reflectors and candelabra lights in addition to the popular 13,-20-and 25-watt bulbs.” The program has made it easier for Jacksonville residents to locate the harder to find bulbs, Tilden said. During the program’s first six months, Jacksonville residents purchased more than 125,000 bulbs and sales continue to grow. ❚ PUBLIC POWER

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Public Power - September 2008

Public Power - September 2008 Contents Perspective 10 Questions What’s Good About RTOs? Capturing Coal’s Carbon Carbon Safety Valves Greater Glass, Greater Savings Getting Customers to Embrace Compact Fluorescent Lights LEEDing Green Kansas City Shows How to Build Green For Governing Boards Safety Community Broadband Hometown Connections Parting Shot

Public Power - September 2008

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