Who would have known? This summer I went around the apartment, systematically, room by room, replacing my regular light bulbs with compact fluorescents lights (CFLs) at the recommendation of councilman Eric Garcetti. In the end, I replaced nine.

The effects on our next two electricity bills we're amazing, yet confusing. Why was it considerably less? It really should be costlier in the summer due to our not-so-well insulated 1960's apartment when the AC must go on around 5 p.m. so our laptops won't explode. This year, the bill went down and hell, I know there wasn't a rate cut worth $80 per household.

So I continue on my journey to replace CFLs throughout the apartment. Luckily, my roommate is out of town, so here is my chance to sweep into his office on a clandestine mission, switching out lights in his room and bathroom replacing his light bulbs. There's at least two he won't notice. As for the others, he's a lighting designer, there's no way I'm getting away with this that easily.

The problem is that those warm and fuzzy CFLs have not found their way into my collection. Nor have the ones that you can dim. I have two lights in my bathroom that I once replaced, but quickly undid. Honestly, vanity won out -- for a few days, I was wondering why I looked like those depressed people in an Ambien CR commercial when looking into the mirror. It just didn't make a great start to the day. This doesn't happen in other parts of the house because lamp shades filter the light, making a major difference in perception.

I count at least seven more light bulbs that could be replaced with CFLs in my household. Maybe another surprising discount is on its way. Time to go shopping for those specialized ones, see you at the store!

Photo by AZAdam via Flickr