CFLs rebates from Dollar General

I've been writing about replacing the incandescent light bulbs in my home with CFLs. Well, this weekend I was up north and stopped by a Dollar General to pick up a few things, including a new flashlight for the cabin. A flashlight is one of those "shouldn't be withouts" that every home should have. Unfortunately last time I was up there, I couldn't find mine. At Dollar General I not only found a nice LED flashlight, but a great deal on CFLs!

Dollar General is currently offering a $3.00 rebate on $4.00 CFLs, so your actual cost will only be a $1.00. I hadn't thought much about replacing the light bulbs at the cabin, I was concentrating on my home, but this seemed like too good of a deal to pass up. Besides, unlike my house, there are mostly "normal" lights - no dimmers or candelabras!

This also seemed like a good opportunity to try a new brand since I wasn't terribly fond of the light from the nvision CFLS from Home Depot. I've been wanting to try some other kinds to see if I have different luck and find some I like. My friend David warned me about the bad luck he had with a local store brand, so I wanted to stick with name brands. These were GE Soft White 60 Mini Spirals (I'll put a link to them at the bottom of this post.) The maximum is 2 bulbs, so I should get a $6.00 rebate. I sent everything in today.

So, how did I do?

Actually, I really liked them. The light was warm and slightly pinkish. It was still obviously a florescent, but it didn't have that cold harsh greenish color that I felt the nvisions had. I put these in two of my most frequently used lights - one in my favorite cottage reading lamp and one in the dining room. I think I will pick up a few more and put them in other similar style lamps. I may even put one in my reading lamp at home - and to be honest, I wasn't sure if I could ever put a CFL in that one.

However, I m not going to see the difference in my electrical bills for quite awhile - I use the budget plan on my utilities up at the cabin so I pay the same amount each month. I think the end of my year is in March or something like that. However, if it does make a difference then it should impact next year's bills.



Some Helpful Links:

These are like the ones I bought at Dollar General - GE 13 Watt Energy Smart Soft White Spiral T3 Light Bulb, 3-Pack #16460

Dollar General

Rebates for CFLs if you are in Modesto California - Residential Rebate Instructions

Rebates if you are living in Minnesota - CFL $2 Mail In Rebate

Mail in Rebates if you live in AZ, CA, CO, IA, MA, MD, MN, NH, NY, OR, RI, TX, VT, WA - Mail In Rebate Database from EnergyStar.gov (If anyone finds rebates like these for Michigan - let me know!)

PrariePoint.net - CFL Blues (Interesting information in the comments!)