Yesterday I finished installing energy-efficient compact fluorescent lamps in the house. I’m using the Ikea 3-packs of 11W lamps (supposedly 60W equivalent brightness). This was a major change – I changed every standard-usage incandescent lamp, leaving only a few oddballs like the fridge and oven lamps (where CFL’s won’t work) and 2 rooms that have dimmable ceiling lights (likewise). There was already a substantial amount of fluorescent lighting (2-tube 2′ and 4′ fixtures). The total tally of replaced lamps is:

• Basement – 5
• 1st floor – 11
• 2nd floor – 17
• 3rd floor – 13

for a total of 46 lamps. That leaves the outside lights for now – I’m looking at a fixture called the GB-2000, but I want to get a sample here to test before I commit to buying a whole set of them – my experience with outdoor units like this hasn’t been that great.