Lighting amounts to about 8 percent of the total energy bill for the average house in New York state. Luckily, there have been some great improvements in lighting technology recently.

REPLACE YOUR BULBS

Did you know the average house has 50 light bulbs? And that 90 percent of the energy consumed by an incandescent light bulb is lost as heat? Only 10 percent goes to produce light.

The newer, compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFL's) use 75-percent-less energy than incandescents and last eight-to-10 years or longer. They used to cost quite a bit more than incandescents, but their price has dropped considerably to just a few dollars per bulb, depending on its size. A lot of local stores have had these bulbs on sale, so now is a good time to make the switch.

CFLs are larger than regular bulbs, so they may not fit in all your light fixtures. But if you could replace even half your bulbs, you'd be making a big difference in your lighting bill. They typically come in a spiral shape, but many new types are being developed now, so you'll see them in a variety of shapes and sizes. The new "mini" sizes fit in more fixtures than before.

If you tried these CFLs when they first came out several years ago, you may have been disappointed. The first models often flickered, were very slow to light up and gave less light. Try the newer types, and I think you'll be pleased.

Replacing your regular bulbs with the newer versions will save you about $70 over the life of each bulb. And since they last so much longer, you'll need to replace them much-less often. This is especially nice for bulbs in hard-to-reach locations.

READ THE LABEL

CFLs are made for all kinds of uses now. You may have to hunt a little, but they are available for recessed ceiling lights, for the light-up candles people like to put in their windows at the holidays, and they even make dimmable CFLs. Not all are dimmable, so make sure your package specifies that it is. Three-way CFL bulbs are also available.

Also check the package carefully to be sure you're getting the brightness you want. It will list the actual wattage used by the bulb as well as the equivalent wattage you're used to. For example, a package I'm looking at right now says, "soft white 60," at the top. Next to this heading is a small picture of two bulbs; the CFL bulb says, "15w," and the conventional bulb says, "60w." This means that this bulb uses 15 watts but has the brightness of a 60-watt conventional, incandescent bulb.

At the bottom of the package it says, "light output: 950 lumens, energy used: 15 watts, life: 8000 hours." The incandescent package says each bulb life is 1,000 hours.

So which would you choose: the incandescent bulb that uses 60 watts and lasts 1,000 hours or the equally bright CFL bulb that uses just 15 watts and lasts 8,000 hours?

MERCURY

One drawback to using CFLs is they do contain a small amount of mercury, as do all fluorescent light bulbs that are so commonly used in ceiling fixtures in hospitals, schools, offices, etc.

Mark Pierce, extension associate at Cornell University makes the following points: