Yeah, I know you've heard it all before, but this time it's really
true:  YOU CAN SAVE BIG MONEY AND HELP THE ENVIRONMENT TOO!!
Here's the deal:  PG+E and OSH have teamed up to offer a $7.00 rebate
on the OSRAM electronically ballasted compact flourescent bulbs.  

I know what you're thinking; flourescents buzz, they flicker, don't 
come on fast, and the color of light makes you look bad.  Suprise!
these have electronic ballasts so they don't buzz or flicker and come
on almost instantly.  Also, the chemists who formulate the phosphors have
finally realized that people don't like to look like corpses and have
come up with a new compound that has a reasonable color.  I find it
almost indistinguishable from an incandescent lamp in a lamp that has a
shade.

Now for the savings:
			75 Watt incandescent	20 Watt compact flourescent

Bulb Life:		1000hr * 10 = 10,000hr		10,000 hr
KWHR Used:		.075 * 10000 = 750		.020 * 10000=200
Elec. cost @$.10/KWHR	750 * $.10 = $75.00		200 * $.10 = $20.00
Bulb Cost:		 $.75 * 10 = $ 7.50	    	$14.99-$7.00=$ 7.99
Total Cost:			     $82.50			     $27.99

Thus, over the life of the compact flourescent (~3 years @ 10hrs/day)
you save a total of 550 kwhr of electricity and $55.51 in cold cash.
Your savings may vary due to different electric rates.

The environmental benefits are also impressive: At .09 gallon of fuel oil
and 1.5 lbs of carbon dioxide per kwhr (33% efficiency in a fuel oil
electric plant) you will have saved roughly a 55 gallon drum worth of oil
and prevented more that 3/4 of a ton of carbon dioxide from getting into
the atmosphere.

Here's the only downside:  It can be a hassle to get these lamps to work
in table lamps since the OSRAM bulb is longer and wider at the base than
an incandescent bulb.  You may have to modify the hoop that holds up
the shade, or buy an extender to move the bulb higher in the fixture.

The OSRAM lamps have such a high surface brightness that they may be
uncomfortable to look at in bare bulb applications.  OSRAM offers a 15 watt
bulb with a built in reflector for $18.99-$7.00 that can be used under these
conditions or to replace 75 watt spotlights.  Panasonic also has a line
of compact florescents that have built in globes to address this problem.
There are two types: an older, non electronic type that uses a small amount
of radioactivity to start the lamp, and a newer electronic type that 
works like the OSRAM.  Unfortunately, the new ones are not available
at OSH yet, and the older ones are not covered by the rebate.  PG+E
offered the new ones by mail order in last month's newsletter included
with your bill for $7.50 for 20 watt (75 watt equiv) and $9.50 for 27
watt (100 watt equiv).  I sent away for 3 of each but haven't got them
yet.

If you want to see these bulbs, I have two in my office this
week, and I'd be happy to demonstrate them for you.  Just remember,
for each one of these you can find a place for in your home you will
save 55 bucks and enough foreign (or domestic) oil to drive your car
more than 1000 miles over the life of the lamp.  Check them out!
(The PG+E rebate is good through the end of April).

				Max Behensky

That's fluorescents, not flourescents.....