Sales of Compact Fluorescent Lights Leap to 20% of the Market

Sales of Energy Star-qualified compact fluorescent lights (CFLs) nearly doubled last year, according to the estimates of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). In 2007, 290 million CFLs were sold, and the energy-saving bulbs now account for about 20% of the light bulb market in the United States. Energy Star-qualified CFLs use approximately 75% less energy and last up to 10 times longer than traditional incandescent bulbs.

The sale of CFLs has been on the rise since 2006, when their market share jumped from 5% to almost 11%. An Energy Star CFL can save about $30 or more in energy costs over the length of its lifetime. If every U.S. household replaced just one light bulb in their homes with a CFL, the United States would save more than $600 million each year in energy costs and prevent greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to those of more than 800,000 cars.