Lighting accounts for about 5 percent of a home’s electric bill. If a home has extensive outdoor lighting or if any lights are left on all night, then the annual lighting costs could be higher. By switching to more energy efficient lighting, you can reduce your costs by 50 to 75 percent.

To help you save, SMECO is offering discounts on qualifying ENERGY STAR compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) at participating retailers in our service area. Receiving your discount is simple and automatic, because the savings are included in your purchase price at the register. No coupons or rebate forms are needed.

Save $9, save $10, save up to $12 on a multi-pack of CFLs!

The retailers listed below are currently participating in our CFL discount program. If you don’t see a retailer listed for your area, check back soon as we will be adding more retailers in our service area

  • BJ’s Wholesale Club
    1000 St. Nicholas Drive, Waldorf
  • BJ’s Wholesale Club
    44950 Worth Lane, California
  • Costco
    7601 Matapeake Business Drive, Brandywine
  • The Home Depot
    12050 Jefferson Farm Place, Waldorf

Why use CFLs?

The most important innovation in energy-efficient home lighting is the CFL. These bulbs use about 75 percent less energy than the older incandscent buibs and last up to 10 times longer.

Although CFLs are more expensive to buy than incandescents, they are less expensive to own because of their lower energy consumption. Replacing an incandesent bulb with a CFL can save up to $65 in electricity during the bulb’s lifetime. Make a list of the lights in your home that you use the most. If you have lights that are on for long periods of time, these are the most logical ones to change to CFLs so you can get more savings.

Ways to cut lighting costs

  1. Use daylight whenever possible.
  2. Reduce the amount of power required by the light. CFLs require less power than incandescents.
  3. Reduce the amount of time that you keep the light on. Get into the habit of turning lights off when you leave the room and you will reduce your lighting costs.

Additional Resources