By MATT MAURY

³Seattle City Light Increases Rates by 10%,² ³Power Shortages Face Northwest,² ³BPA to Raise Power Costs by 33% Next Fall.²

The headlines are in the papers, on radio and TV. And, now you are looking at the word ³conserving² in the headline on this page and thinking to yourself, ³Not another article telling me to turn the heat down, run the family wash at 11 in the evening, or generally change my life-style.²

Good news! Itıs none of the above. Today, we are going to address one of the major consumers of energy in the average home ‹ light bulbs. Did you know that there is a new type of light bulb that provides the same brightness as an existing bulb, yet uses about quarter of the power? Itıs a new technology fluorescent bulb.

Before hearing about it though, think first about a soft ice-cream or frozen yogurt cone. Visualize the way it swirls up a peak. That is how these new bulbs look. A small fluorescent tube is twisted into a unique design that looks like a swirled cone the size of a regular, old incandescent light bulb. Not only do they look similar, but also they work like traditional bulbs. Gone are many of the objections that people had about converting table and floor lamps to fluorescents. These new bulbs light up almost instantly and they do not flicker. They provide the same soft, white light that we expect from standard incandescent bulbs.

The best part of changing residential lights to these new bulbs is in the energy savings. To get the comparable light output, as measured in lumens and shown on the packaging of bulbs, the fluorescents require about 25 percent of the watts of traditional bulbs. For a current 100-watt bulb that is on for four hours every day, there will be energy savings of over $7 a year at Seattle City Lightıs current residential rates. Obviously, the savings will grow as the rates increase.

All of those savings will be taken in the first year by the purchase of the bulb, which range in price from $7 to $12, depending on the style, the manufacturer and the retailerıs markup. Yet, these new bulbs, often called CFLs (Compact Fluorescent Lamps), are rated to last five or more years (about the life of eight incandescent bulbs). So, over the life of one bulb, there is a savings of at least $35 in operating costs (five years at $7), plus not having to change bulbs seven times.

For people interested in calculating the possible savings for their own homes, there are a number of Web sites available. Two popular bulb supplier sites are: Technical Consumer Products (www.springlamp.com), and General Electric (www.gelighting.com/na/home). For GEıs bulb supplier site, select ³Lighting Solution Center² from the menu near the top of the page, then select ³Energy Optimizer.²

When looking at the next electric bill and deciding that itıs time to make the switch to CFLs, homeowners will be glad to know that they are available at the mass merchandisers as well as lighting stores. And, before making a purchase, it would be wise to check with the electric company to see if there are any promotional rebates available.

Seattle City Lightıs Consumer Conservation Information phone number is 206-684-3800. Puget Sound Energy Conservation Services can be reached at 1-800-562-1482.