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Some can't wait to 'Do the Light Switch'
CFL giveaway delivers 'value and efficiency' to co-op's members
By Walter Allread
 York Electric Cooperative member Sharon Collins didn't wait to "Do the Light Switch" to energy-efficient compact fluorescent lighting (CFLs). She started four years ago.
"Do the Light Switch" is the name of a statewide program by York Electric and 19 other independent, consumer-owned cooperatives in South Carolina to distribute seven million CFLs over the next 10 years. It's part of a larger effort by the co-ops to help members use energy more efficiently and, in doing so, protect the environment.
As the big "Switch" gets under way this spring, each of York Electric Cooperative's approximately 37,075 residential members will receive two free CFLs in the mail. Using the bulbs could save them more than $4 million.
Even if you buy your own CFLs, they're well worth it, Collins says. CFLs cost more than standard, incandescent bulbs — about $3.50 for a 75-watt equivalent CFL versus $1 or so for the incandescent version — but they soon pay for themselves in energy savings. Not only do CFLs use far less electricity to produce the same light as an incandescent bulb, they also last up to 10 times longer.
 In 2004, the first year her family used CFLs, Collins calculated that the super-efficient bulbs helped reduce their monthly power use by 116 kilowatt-hours. Over a year, that yielded $130 in savings, Collins says. "That was a month's worth of electricity," she points out.
Collins has continued to add CFLs. "We switched the ones that we use the most," she notes. Now, about half of the lights in the home are CFLs. "With our high ceilings, it's a real plus that the bulbs last so much longer. Saves me getting out the ladder." She's only had one CFL fail in four years, she notes.
Collins believes CFLs will catch on as people learn more about them. Not everybody is crazy about the way CFLs take a little time to reach full brightness, she notes, but Collins doesn't mind — particularly with bedside lamps. "It's a kinder way to wake up," she says.
Encouraging conservation
Collins says she has encouraged her friends to switch to CFLs. The family has made other energy improvements — notably, installing a geothermal heat pump — and Collins says she hopes people will become more conscious of the need to use energy wisely.
That puts her in good company with her co-op. York Electric Cooperative President and CEO Paul Basha says the co-op has long promoted energy efficiency through a variety of programs. For instance, it offers free home energy audits to help members identify ways to increase comfort while saving energy and money.
York Electric also gives its member-owners a chance to support the development of renewable energy resources through its Green Power program. Green Power is electricity generated using naturally occurring, renewable fuels such as landfill gas instead of fossils fuels such as coal. Currently, about 250 residential members buy Green Power from York Electric, and the number continues to increase.
Responding to today's changing energy picture, co-ops statewide have renewed their focus on renewable resources and energy efficiency. York Electric Cooperative is also ramping up its own efforts — including instituting an office-wide recycling program — but Basha stresses the need to "strike a balance" in any use of the members' money. Nothing should outweigh the co-op's emphasis on keeping service as reliable and affordable as possible, he says. "We try to find that perfect balance between efficiency, value and protecting the environment," he says.
Instant savings
"Do the Light Switch" is a great start, Basha says. The CFL giveaway follows cooperative-commissioned studies of the best options in renewable resources and energy efficiency, Basha notes. "The study we did showed that promoting the use of CFLs was the most effective, quickest way to benefit the environment and lower our members' power costs. It's a means to provide instant savings to the member."
Basha says members should begin to receive their "Do the Light Switch" bulbs in the mail within the next several weeks. Each padded container will have a 20-watt CFL, which can replace a 75-watt incandescent bulb, plus a 23-watt CFL that can replace a 100-watt incandescent.
"Over the expected 10,000-hour life of the bulbs, we calculate that our members could save about $4.3 million in energy costs," Basha notes. "Using CFLs and other energy-efficient technologies will also help offset the need for future power generation."
He adds, "'Do the Light Switch' is a perfect example of why electric co-ops say, 'Together, we have the power to make a difference.'"
NEXT: Free energy audits help York Electric Cooperative members save electricity and money »
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