Electric Cooperatives encourage members to “Do the Light Switch”

Laurens Electric Cooperative wants its members to save energy, save money and help save the planet. That’s why the co-op has joined with the state’s other 19 electric cooperatives in a multi-year campaign to place 7 million energy efficient compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) in the home of every cooperative member in the state.

Beginning this month and continuing through the end of June, each household served by Laurens Electric Cooperative will receive two free CFLs in the mail as part of a new “Do the Light Switch” program.

Laurens Electric Cooperative also will give out a free CFL to each member who registers at its annual meeting this year. In this first year of the program, 1.2 million CFLs are expected to be distributed statewide.

“We’re giving our members an opportunity to do something about their power bill,” said Jim Donahoo, Laurens Electric’s Director of Marketing and Key Accounts. “By helping them reduce their energy use we can lower the cost of generating energy and pass those savings on to our members.”

One 60-watt equivalent CFL will save an average of $30 over its lifetime. Switching to CFLs in a home’s most used light fixtures will save the user even more money. And those bulbs will last 6-10 times longer than a standard incandescent bulb.

The reason CFLs save money is because they use a lot less energy than ordinary bulbs, about 75% less. If every household in South Carolina changed just one ordinary bulb to a CFL, we’d save up to 83 million kilowatt-hours of electricity each year. That’s enough energy to light all of the homes in Columbia for a year.

Saving energy is important to Laurens Electric Cooperative. Demand for electricity is growing as our state’s population increases. Without new power generation in the state, that demand could soon exceed supply, creating rolling black outs or brown outs. One of the answers to that potential problem is to encourage conservation. A recent study conducted on behalf of Laurens Electric Cooperative revealed that the number one measure cooperative members could take to curb energy use was to replace standard lighting with energy efficient lighting.

CFLs are also good for the environment. Because they use less energy, CFLs lessen the amount of greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere. One bulb will prevent more than 450 lbs. of greenhouse gas emissions over its lifetime, the equivalent of keeping nearly 200 pounds of coal from being burned.

CFLs do contain a very small amount of mercury sealed within the glass tubing—an average of 5 milligrams, which is roughly equivalent to an amount that would cover the tip of a ball-point pen. No mercury is released when the bulbs are intact or in use. By comparison, older thermometers contain about 500 milligrams of mercury. It would take 100 CFLs to equal that amount. Mercury currently is an essential component of CFLs and is what allows the bulb to be an efficient light source. Many manufacturers have taken significant steps to reduce mercury used in their fluorescent lighting products.

Ironically, CFLs present an opportunity to reduce the amount of mercury that enters the air, where it most affects our health. The highest source of mercury in the air comes from burning fossil fuels to produce electricity. A power plant will emit more mercury to produce the electricity to run an incandescent bulb than to run a CFL for the same time.

“By distributing CFLs to our members, we’re making empowering them to be part of the solution to challenges such as climate change and rising energy prices,” said Donahoo. “Together, we can make a difference.”

For more information on the new program, visit www.DoTheLightSwitch.com.

Laurens Electric Cooperative serves 50,000 member-owners in Laurens, Greenville, Spartanburg, Anderson, Newberry, Union, and Abbeville counties. Since 1939, the co-op has been dedicated to being the provider of choice for energy and related services in the Upstate.