150 000 Hot Air Balloons filled with ...

... Carbon Dioxide (CO2)

The amount of Carbon Dioxide sent into the environment by leaving lights on unnecessarily.
The equivalent to 770 000 tonnes of Co2 or £180m annually. Switch off lights when you leave the room

We all need to reduce our overall Co2 emissions by 80% to negate the effects of global warming. Energy Saving light bulbs can reduce your lighting energy consumption by up to 80%, or £12 per year (based on daily use of 4hrs per bulb). Not only will you be saving the world, saving a bucket load of cash, you will be saving the effort of having to climb a rickety step-ladder risking your life to change a bulb twice a year as your average energy saving bulb should last you a whopping 6000 hours (about 5 years for domestic use). Then you wont have to go to tesco (or any other supermarket) to buy a bulb when it blows ten times more often saving you;

petrol, your own and the transportation of the bulbs to the store,
time, which is highly precious and expensive to us, especially businesses,
money, on ten times the rate of a normal bulb, overall you should save £100 over the lifetime of the bulb and;
energy, on the production of the actual bulb, saving 10 normal bulbs being produced

"Nineteen percent of global electricity generation is taken for lighting"
Paul Waide, Senior Policy Analyst, International Energy Agency (IEA)

So how do energy saving bulb work? Traditional bulbs waste energy through heat rather than light. Energy saving bulbs work like fluorescent lights, a current passes through gas in the tube, making its coating glow brightly. This in reality means that they use less energy and are cool to the touch.

Where before they were expensive and only came in limited styles, they now are available for as low as 83p at tesco, in both screw cap and "twist and lock" (bayonet) and in a variety of shapes and sizes. And if the financial gain of £100 in savings per bulb was not enough for an outlay of 83p you will also prevent 38kg of Co2 from being emitted into the environment.

Due to the rise in the concern about mercury content in CFL bulbs I have added an article called CFL Mercury Myths

Where to Buy ...

• Tesco (from £0.83 to £2.98, plus clubcard points ... double points for a limited time)
• Energy Saving Trust (available online for £4.99 for 4 inc P&P)
• If you know of other suitable retailers of energy saving bulbs please add in the comments section

No where more is energy saving more applicable than in businesses, I was in a restaurant recently with 36 standard light bulbs, after further inquiries, these bulbs are in use 12 hours per day, every day of the year. Taking this into account that would equate to a saving of £1200 per year in electricity costs alone. Considering the average lifetime of a standard bulb, there would be a total of 250 bulb changes per year. The cost in man hours to change bulbs and the risk posed by working at heights is reduced.