At a tag sale a few years ago, Charlene Wallace bought several odd looking light bulbs. She had heard that, compared to “normal” light bulbs, the spiraled, tube-like bulbs save energy. When she returned home, she tested the bulbs in outdoor fixtures.
Today, Wallace – secretary for Fairfield’s philosophy, religious studies and the honors program departments – still uses these same bulbs.
Now, others in the Fairfield community who do not already own a compact fluorescent light bulb, or CFL, can also have the opportunity to reap the benefits of saving both energy and money during the national ENERGY STAR Change-a-Light campaign.
This month, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency kicked off a 10-city tour to promote the switch to the energy efficient CFLs throughout the United States. The campaign started in Anaheim, Calif., and will conclude in New York City on Oct. 23.
Fairfield’s Student Environmental Association (SEA) and the United Illuminating Company hope to get Fairfield students and faculty involved by having them sign a pledge to switch to the more efficient bulbs.
“It celebrates both the progress that’s already been made, as well as the continuing movement toward environmental sustainability here at Fairfield University,” said SEA vice president Brianna Bundenthal ’08 in a press release.
“Students and faculty alike are becoming more aware of what it means to ‘go green,’ so this event should truly embrace the collaboration of everyone’s time and effort,” she said.
CFLs have gained global popularity because of their energy efficiency, and in turn, money-saving technology.
A single CFL uses 75 percent less energy than an incandescent light bulb and lasts up to 10 times longer, according to the ENERGY STAR Web site. One CFL can also save $30 in electricity cost throughout its lifetime.
SEA began its ‘Change-a-Light’ campaign last Wednesday night at the Quick Center after the “This Endangered Planet: A Chinese View” program with renowned environmentalist Sheri Liao.
This week, the campaign and additional materials will be relocated to Wallace’s office in Donnarumma Hall for the remainder of the week.
SEA President Stacy Davis ’09 said she hopes to have 500 people pledge on campus.Nationwide, the campaign has already brought in close to one million pledges, according to the EPA Web site.
According to associate professor of chemistry L. Kraig Steffen, who also instructs the course “Chemistry, Energy and the Environment,” the amount of overall electricity saved is easily calculated.
“Let us imagine 100,000 college students changing out one traditional bulb that is rated at 100 watts to one that consumes 50 watts,” said Steffen. “If a student used the new bulb an average of five hours per day they would consume 250 watthours of electricity as versus 500 watthours for the conventional bulb.”
Steffen suggests that if 100,000 students made the switch to CFLs, the possible energy savings would be 25,000,000 watthours, “which is equivalent to 25 megawatthours (mWh) of power.”
“To put this in perspective, the output of the Bridgeport RESCO trash-to-energy power plant is just over 50 mWh,” said Steffen. “The take-home lesson is that if a large number of people participate in a simple act of energy conservation, such as replacing regular bulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs, then significant amounts of energy can be saved.”
According to Dina Franceschi, associate professor of economics and co-director of environmental studies, the Change-a-Light program is one that “everyone can be involved in and is a great opportunity for our students to work to raise awareness on campus and off.”
At Fairfield, over 7,700 fluorescent light bulbs have been replaced campus wide with energy-efficient fixtures with electronic switches, according to the University’s “From Red to Green” handbook.
The townhouses are the only buildings on campus that still have incandescent light bulbs because of ongoing discussions on possible renovations, according to John Tedesco of campus operations.
While converting to CFLs is a move toward combating environmental issues, Franceschi said such one-time environmental efforts “are not going to save the planet.”
She quoted Liao, the internationally known Chinese environmentalist activist who spent a day at Fairfield last week.
“As we learned on Wednesday night, from an inspirational Sheri Liao, it is making whole lifestyle changes that are necessary for us to make an impact on our ever-changing world,” Franceschi said.
Individuals interested in taking the Change-a-Light pledge can also visit the Energy Star or United Illuminating Web sites: energystar.gov and uinet.com, respectively.
Energy saving light bulbs are also available in stores nationally and on campus in the University bookstore.
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