Abstract
Project Title: Compact Fluorescent vs. Incandescent Bulbs
Project Division Category: Middle School 7th Grade
Student Researcher(s): Chase McCord
School and City: St. Timothy’s School, Raleigh
The purpose of my project was to determine if switching a home from
incandescent
bulbs to Compact Fluorescent (CFL) bulbs would save money for the home
owner.
I built a test fixture to measure the current of six bulbs at a
time. One side measured the current of three CFL bulbs and the
other
three incandescent bulbs.
The current going through each group of bulbs at five different
Wattages was measured three different times and averaged.
The raw data collected was in Amps or Amperes. The raw data was
converted to Watts and kilowatt hours (kWh), which is the measure used
in
electric bills.
The Data showed that CFL bulbs use a lot less current than an
incandescent bulb and while a typical CFL could save the homeowner from
.18 cents to .69 cents (depending on Wattage)
for every hour it is used, that won't amount to a lot unless a lot of
bulbs are on for a long time.
I projected that in our house we could save about $15.00 every month if
we switched all the bulbs.