The compact fluorescent light bulbs have gotten very good over the last few years. In Columbus I tried one of the first fluorescent bulbs designed for a normal lamp. It was a ring. It was heavy, and it didn’t produce as much light as a normal bulb.

Last week I bought one of the ones that has the glass tube twisted into a spiral. It has the same light output as a 100 watt bulb, but only consumes 26 watts! It is only slightly larger than a regular bulb, so you should be able to use it in most fixtures. It is for indoor use only. I paid $7 for it at Office Depot.

I have been so happy with it that we stopped at Menard's last night to get a couple more. For whatever reason they didn't have the 100 watt version. The highest they had was a 75 watt equivalent. That is OK with me, though, because most of the bulbs we have in the house are 60 watts. The 75 watt equivalents only use 20 watts of electricity, and Menard's was only charging $4 for them.

They are guaranteed for 5 years of life which is about 6,000 hours. A regular incandescent bulb is only rated to last for 750 hours. That means the compact fluorescent will outlast eight regular light bulbs.

I am really excited about having them in our office. With one TV set, two computers, three monitors, and two people, and a couple of hot light bulbs, the office can get fairly warm in the summer time. I think the cooler fluorescent bulbs will make a noticeable difference in that situation.

I have the other bulb in the floor lamp in the family room between the couch and the recliner. That light is always on when we are in the family room, so it should save us some money there.