You're Going to Save Energy if it Kills me!

Here's something I saw advertised on the side of a bus the other day.

Six of Ontario’s largest local electricity distribution companies (LDCs) along with the Ontario Ministry of Energy are working cooperatively under the name powerWISE® to deliver this multi-year, initiative designed to promote energy conservation to consumers and reduce the demand for electricity in their respective service areas.

Why does this stuff have to be promoted? Never mind the whole environmental bit for a second. Even if you don't believe a word of that "global warming/climate change" stuff, you're looking at saving money by doing something as trivial as changing a light bulb. Who wouldn't be interested in that?

I've mentioned before that I'm a big believer in compact fluorescent lights. I also recently explained that I'd suggested to the fine folks building our next home (Tamarack Homes, childishly referred to by some as "Tabernak Homes") that they partner with Project Porchlight to include CFL's in their welcome package.

While Project Porchlight was willing to play ball, Tamarack was not. For one thing, they apparently already include CFL's in their new homes, so adding one more wouldn't provide huge benefits (you can be damn sure I'm going to inspect this claim very closely). But the gentleman who replied to me also said that people will occasionally replace them with the regular kind. Reasons for this were unstated, but I assume that it's because some CFL's will sometimes take a few seconds to achieve their full brightness.

Insane. Probably the same kind of people who drive an extra half mile to find a gas station that sells gas at 0.20 cents cheaper.

Well the next owner of this dump...huh...delightful abode likely won't do that! When I bumped into a Project Porchlight display on Earth Day this year, they gave me my freebie CFL. I replaced the burnt out Christine impulse buy that we had in the backyard (a purple light, for crying out loud. We couldn't see a damn thing back there...) with that one. You can't really see in there to tell that it's a CFL though.

Now, those very same Project Porchlight folks unexpectedly dropped off another one recently. I weathered driving rain and snow early on Sunday and replaced the light above the garage.

So now the buyer got himself a decent price AND he's going to save a few bucks because of me. You're welcome, stranger.