Lights are going green all over Butler County.

"That's the buzz word," said Tom Hackwelder of The Hite Co., an electrical supply retailer with offices in Butler and Cranberry Township. "Environmentally conscious and aware."

Hackwelder said one out of every five customers he sees is looking for a way to upgrade energy efficiency and lower their carbon footprint.

The easiest way to do this in lighting, he said, is to rethink bulbs.

Lighting, according to Pennsylvania Utility Commission spokeswoman Jennifer Kocher, accounts for about 20 percent of energy bills in average homes that do not use electric as a heat source.

Hackwelder said some customers still opt for traditional, or incandescent, light bulbs because they are less costly up front and more familiar to customers than the other options.

But newer types of bulbs, like compact fluorescent light bulbs, or CFLs, use less electricity so they save on electric bills, and they last longer providing a long-term economic benefit.

Consider this comparison of bulbs equivalent to a traditional 60-watt light bulb as taken from the packaging:

An incandescent bulb costs about 50 cents and lasts 1,000 hours, or about one or two years.

A CFL, which usually is in a twist shape, costs about $1.50 and lasts 8,000 hours, or about three to five years.

And CFLs, according to the PUC, use 75 percent less electricity than an incandescent light bulb, therefore saving an average consumer $30 over the bulb's lifetime.

That can be multiplied throughout the whole house as the average home in the county has 12 to 20 indoor lights, according to Ed Rupert, county assessment director.

"People don't think this will make a difference," Kocher said. "But you will see a difference on your electric bill, and that difference adds up over the course of the year."

Another bonus to picking CFL bulbs is most electric companies offer incentives to buy them, thanks to a statewide initiative that began in 2008.

For example, Allegheny Power since the beginning of the year has offered customers mail-in rebates of $1.50 for each purchase of a single pack of qualified CFL bulbs and $3 for each multi-bulb pack purchase.

Through July, only 144 of the company's 42,000 customers in the county cashed in on the rebate, said company spokesman Doug Colafella.

In August, the company offered the same savings at point of purchase at participating retailers.

Electric companies such as Allegheny Power give details about their individual rebate programs on their websites.

"Ten years ago, when you first started seeing CFL, the twist-type was the only type available," Hackwelder said. "Now, you see many versions."

CFLs now are sold in casings meant to look like a chandelier bulb, or a traditional pull-chain closet light. Some are available in "envelopes" to look like a traditional flood light or in long, narrow tubes for effect.

They also are made to accommodate dimmable or three-way fixtures.

There is a CFL product available to fit almost every fixture, Hackwelder said. And retrofitting kits are available for most fixtures that cannot accept the bulbs.

But there is a downside to the CFLs in that they contain a small amount of mercury, about 4 milligrams.

"The question asked of us (at the PUC) most is, 'What if it breaks?'" Kocher said, adding the PUC's website, www.puc.state.pa.us/, offers cleanup tips for different surfaces.

"The second question we are asked is, "What should I do with it once it burns out?'" Kocher said.

Most retailers that sell CFL bulbs, like Lowes and Home Depot, will accept and properly dispose of the burned out bulbs, she said.

On the horizon are light emitting diodes, or LEDs, which last even longer than CFLs, have no disposal issues and appear more like a traditional bulb.

But for now, Hackwelder said, the cost prevents many customers from picking LEDs.

One LED bulb costs about $25 and lasts about 25,000 hours, or about 15 years.

"As the market changes, companies will adapt, and the price will go down," Hackwelder said.