There was an article in Time the other day about energy efficient light bulbs may actually cause consumers to spend more on their electric because the perceived savings makes people keep the lights on longer. The phenomenon was likened to dieters who over-indulged in reduced calorie treats. Too much of a good thing can actually be bad or negate the benefits. Energy efficient furnaces, light bulbs and other items are beneficial to saving energy but can also make people think since they are saving money they could have the lights on longer or crank the furnace up.  Then they are spending more money rather than saving money.

It is nice to have energy efficient bulbs. When the electric rates increased in Illinois I did notice a slight increase but as I changed more of my bulbs to energy efficient ones my bill didn’t increase dramatically, they remained about the same. I didn’t change any habits but I did think that it was better to save money and the need to change the light bulbs less frequently.

The amount that I saved kept my energy bill in check. If the savings were large enough, I probably could have indulged in something more tangible but keeping my bill relatively the same amount was good enough for me.