Originally Posted by Shiznaz

As manager of lighting contracts at Scotiabank I can tell you that lightbulb choice is very important. Everything from base cost, to lamp-life, to colour temperature, to physical temperature, to lumens psf, to lumens per watt, to total wattage, to bulb shape. By changing your fat T-12 fluorescent bulbs and balasts to T8 bulbs and balasts with reflectors you can save 65% of the energy while attaining a similar light level. Compact fluorescents have a built-in electrical ballast and typically consume less than a third of the energy of a comparable incandescent, without needing any kind of retrofit. They can last over ten time as long too while keeping a low temperature. The same goes for socks and underwear.