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| Saturday, April 21, 2007 |
| Surprisingly happy about sold out deal... |
I made a special point of visiting my local Stop&Shop grocery store tonight to purchase some inexpensive GE CFL lightbulbs (I mentioned the deal in this post: Earth Day Goodies). This was the second day of a weeklong sale, they should have plenty of CFLs for me to purchase, right? WRONG! The store was sold out. Day two of a 7 day sale and they are out.
OK, kind of annoying, but figured I was at the store, might as well pick up a few groceries and swing by the customer service desk on my way out and get a raincheck. The women behind the customer service desk could not believe how fast they sold out of CFLs. They had two endcap displays and a large section on the regular sundries aisle stocked with bulbs - all gone by mid-day today. Listening to them talk it suddenly dawned on me - my neighbors, my fellow Bostonians, are out in force buying CFLs. They are not just buying one or two - they are buying these suckers in bulk. These funny looking squiggly bulbs are being installed in light fixtures in homes all around me. That is kind of amazing!
I did end up driving to another nearby Stop&Shop and was able to purchase ten CFLs (and get the three cloth shopping bags for free). I was able to get an assortment of GE CFLs that are the equivilent of 60W, 75W, and 100W bulbs. Each retail for $4.99 - but with the sale I paid $1.00 for each. I paid $10 instead of $49.90 for my 10 CFLs (and got the 3 free cloth shopping bags for free). A great bargain for me. But if you were the person who came along after me to purchase some bulbs - sorry! I found the last ten in that store (had to look in two locations to scrape up the 10 - I really wanted those 3 free cloth shopping bags!)
If you find your local Stop&Shop has run out of this deal, don't despair. Get your raincheck (and make sure they mark it for GE CFL 60W, 75W, & 100W - when I looked at mine it says I can only get the 75W, the customer service rep marked it wrong) and pick up this deal once the sale week has ended and the shelves are restocked.
If you are thinking on taking advantage of the Free CFL giveaway at Home Depot tomorrow I strongly advise you to get there early. People are getting the message - it is easy to switch out a bulb and it saves you money as well as energy.Labels: CFL, Smart Spending |
| posted by Boston Gal @ 10:12 PM *
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| 4 Comments: |
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Home Depot is giving away CFL tomorrow.
http://www6.homedepot.com/ecooptions/index.html
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I agree going to CFLs is the way to go. Aside from the tertiary "green" benefits I am more concerned with the benefit to my wallet. I swapped out 13 incandescants ranging from 60 Watts to 100Watts. My monthly savings is over $43 per month.
Caution however, not all CFLs are created equal. Avoid the ones that are nothing more than a standard florescent. The color temperature on those is simply too high. (Look for 2300-2700 Kelvin range) The standard CFLs that are "cool white" or bright white are in the 5000 Kelvin range and they make whatever room you use them in appear to be hardshly lit. In a bathroom vanity they make your skin tone look like you are ready for a year in rehab.
The 2300-2700 kelvin range is a "warm" yellowish light, that is most preferred.
Look for "Warm light" or "Next Generation CFL" on the label. There are still a lot of older gen CFLs out there and they look horrible, flicker when turned on and take a while to warm up to full brightness. The Next gen CFLs are much better in light temperature (They LOOK nicer), they do not flicker as they are instant on, and the come on nearly full brightness from the start.
Like anything... do the research rather than just run out and buy because its the thing to do. You will be much happier with the right type CFL than the original standard CFL.
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Hi Chris in Boston,
I agree that not all CFLs are equal - but I have a mismatch of brands in use in my home and none flicker or buzz. Some came free from my local utility company, some I purchased retail, and others at deals like this weeks $1 per bulb at Stop&Shop.
I think if you were the type of person who would screw in any old incandescent lightbulb in your home you will be a lot less sensative to CFL intensity differences. However, if you sought out special "soft white" or other types of incandescent bulbs then you will be more picky about CFLs.
At least that is my theory.
But it is good to know what to look for when I compare bulbs. These CFL bulbs last so long, getting a bulb you are happy with is probably worth the research.
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The 4/22 paper has a coupon for $1 off GE CFL making the bulbs *FREE* at Stop and Shop. Also, coupons.com has a printable for $1 off. You can print off 2 per PC you have access to.
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Home Depot is giving away CFL tomorrow.
http://www6.homedepot.com/ecooptions/index.html