I grew up being reminded by my dad he didn't work for the electric company (which was odd, since my cousin did in fact work for it, and he never got electricity for free), and so I've long been accustomed to turning off lights when not needed, etc.

I replaced the 5 decorative bulbs over the master bath vanity with CFLs.

Three of them have burnt out already, after less than 6 months.

If there is an energy savings, it certainly doesn't outweigh the costs involved in buying them (not to mention the added cost in disposing them). With all due respect to the intentions of our legislators and the president who signed the bill into law, outlawing the incandescent bulbs was a pretty stupid idea (in my opinion).

I have done some preliminary research into erecting a turbine, but between the start up costs and the concerns that they cannot operate during heavy wind storms, I've had to let it go.

As for heat, I've used a coal stove for over a dozen years, and am looking into moving to a pellet stove perhaps next year.

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