CFL light bulbs – give a little, get a lot

For the past several years, compact fluorescent light bulbs, like many of the mainstays on the green building scene, have offered buyers the delayed return phenomenon: compared to the alternatives, they cost more upfront, but the savings that consumers will reap in operating costs will compensate for the upfront premium many, many times over. It’s always been true that using CFLs or other efficient light bulbs rather than traditional incandescent bulbs is a smart economic choice in the long run. But in the last year or two, some CFL prices have dropped so low that they’re nearly comparable to incandescents in upfront costs.