As part of its continuing mission to encourage energy-efficient living in the area, the Garfield New Energy Communities Initiative will be giving away free energy-saving compact fluorescent light bulbs at town halls throughout Garfield County.

The light bulb giveaway is for two spiral-style CF bulbs. The 15-watt bulb is the equivalent of a 60-watt incandescent bulb, and the 20-watt bulb puts out the same light as a 75-watt incandescent, according to the Garfield NECI.

The bulbs are available at town halls from Parachute to Carbondale.

“If these two energy efficient bulbs replace two standard bulbs that are used an average of two hours a day, together they'll save nearly $6 a year in electricity costs,” said Glenwood Springs City Councilwoman Shelley Kaup, a Garfield New Energy Communities Initiative Advisory Board member.

“These bulbs burn for 8,000 hours, which would be about 11 years,” Kaup continued. “So that's $66 in savings over the life of the two bulbs, and that's not even counting the cost of the replacement bulbs you won't have to buy over the next 10 to 11 years.”

The free light bulbs are provided by the City of Glenwood Springs, Garfield County, Holy Cross Energy and Xcel Energy.

Garfield NECI is a collaborative project of Garfield County, the six towns from Parachute to Carbondale, the Garfield Library District, the Roaring Fork Transportation Authority, Colorado Department of Local Affairs and the Governor's Energy Office.

For more information on home energy efficiency, including special rebate offers on home insulation upgrades, visit www.GarfieldCleanEnergy.org.