BED's Smartlight program leases compact fluorescent bulbs to its customers. After the lease ends the customer owns the bulb. Participating customers receive an immediate savings on their electric bills because the monthly energy savings is greater than the small monthly lease fee. Compact fluorescents (CFLs) use about 75 percent less electricity than incandescent bulbs and last about seven times longer.

BED celebrated the 10-year anniversary of the Smartlight program in September 1999. As of 2004, BED had leased nearly 73,000 compact fluorescent light bulbs to more than 7,600 Burlington homes and businesses, resulting in an annual electrical savings of more than $390,000.

Residential:   20¢/month, 5-year lease term ($12.00 total)
Commercial: 35¢/month, 3-year lease term ($12.60 total)

Customers are billed for Smartlights on their monthly electric bills.  

The net savings is about $50 per SmartLight over its 10,000-hour lifetime. CFLs last about seven times longer than incandescent bulbs, reducing the time and expense of frequent bulb replacements.

Used Smartlights are available from BED for $3 plus tax. The used bulbs come with a one-year guarantee that BED will replace the burnt-out bulb with a comparable used bulb.

BED service territory is limited to the City of Burlington. When customers move within Burlington, they may transfer their SmartLight lease to their new location, payoff the unpaid lease fee on their final bill, or end the lease fee by returning the bulbs to BED. If a Smartlight leasee moves outside of Burlington, they can pay the balance of their lease and keep the bulbs or they can end the lease by returning the bulbs to BED. If the bulbs are kept, the unpaid portion of the lease will appear on the final bill. 

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