Saskatchewan, Canada, 2014-4-25 — /EPR Retail News/ — Here’s a bright idea: switching your light bulbs can save you money and power.
And for Saskatchewan residents, Co-op is helping to make that switch even easier. In partnership with SaskPower, FCL and participating Co-op Home Centres are offering a $5 instant rebate on selected light-emitting diode (LED) light bulbs between April 1 and May 31, 2014.
“We want to be cognizant of the environment and offer our customers the choice of energy efficient products,” said Michael Yantz in the Home and Building Supplies Department at Federated Co-operatives Limited. “When we partner with corporations like SaskPower, it helps get the word out there.”
Yantz said the promotion initially ran from Oct. 1 to Dec. 24, 2013, and included LED Christmas lights. The first event’s success was surprising, surpassing the original forecast of 15,000 bulbs.
Customers purchased over 24,000 rebated bulbs and over 1,200 rebated Christmas light strings, which will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 659,732 kilograms of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e). To put this number in perspective, it is equal to the annual power consumption of 103 Saskatchewan homes or planting 146,607 trees every year.
“I heard stories from retails that contractors were buying batches of 200 bulbs at a time,” he said. “We had great prices.”
The event was so successful that Co-op had purchased all the stock of one particular 40-watt-equivalent LED bulb in Canada.
According to SaskPower, one LED bulb can save $120 over the lifetime of the bulb when compared to an incandescent bulb. LEDs use up to 80 per cent per cent less electricity and last on average for more than 20 years.
Yantz said LED light bulb prices have traditionally been too high for consumers to consider purchasing, but recent price reductions and rebate programs help make the bulbs attractive. He noted that with programs such as this one, more popular models are an investment that pay for themselves within one or two years.
There’s another reason to switch to LED bulbs, though. Incandescent bulbs are being phased out as a result of the federal government’s revised lighting standards, effective Jan. 1, 2014, for 75 watt and 100 watt incandescent light bulbs and Dec. 31, 2014, for 40 watt and 60 watt bulbs.
Also, don’t forget to recycle your CFL and LED bulbs at the end of their lifespan. Recycling facilities are available in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba.
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