Ok, so my friend (who wishes to remain nameless) and I have been emailing each other about hybrid cars. I like the concept of a hybrid and he is about ready to buy one. My problem with them is that they just don’t seem cost effective yet. This is a break down of costs that I did to come to this conclusion. I am not saying that it is 100% so I am sure I will revise this:

Honda Civic Sedan Hybrid starting at $22,150
Honda Civic DX “Regular” starting at $14,760

Civic Hybrid gets a maximum of 51 MPG
Civic “Regular” gets a maximum of 40 MPG

11 MPG difference

The national gasoline per gallon average is $3.03 (Midwest average is actually higher at $3.05) per gallon

The average person drives about 15,000 miles per year

So with that you get an extra 81 miles per year [(15,000/40) - (15,000/51)]

81 x $3.03 = $245.43 in gasoline savings per year with a hybrid. (We will round up to $250 to give it a little extra oomph)

$22,150 – $14,760 = $7390 is the extra cost to buy a Honda Civic Hybrid

$7390/$250 = 29.56. That’s right is will take you 29 years to get your money back from the gasoline savings alone

Now, let’s add in the tax credit you get. Right now you can get $2,100 off of you taxes form buying a Honda Civic Hybrid. So, let’s calculate that savings:
$7390 – $2,100 = $5290
$5290/$250 = 21.16 Years

I don’t know about you but 21 years hardly seems like a savings.

Now, I could be wrong on my figures. I am going to double check them and update this post if I made a mistake, which is most likely the case.

Go here to see the savings you can get with a hybrid:
CNet’s Hybrid Buying Guide

By the way, I was correct in my above calculations. I think it is time the auto manufacturers put their R&D money towards making E85 run better. See my upcoming post on E85.

To be fair I was comparing the lowest model of Civic compared to the Hybrid version. I am sure the hybrid has more bells and whistles and the regular version does not. My point is why can’t you get a hybrid without all of the bells and whistles? I am sure once you start adding options to the basic model you will drive that savings up and potentially getting closer to a break even point. It should also noted that the hybrid does have 25% less emmissions which is something to be happy about.

Where I think the savings becomes better is with the bigger vehicles like the SUVs and larger sedans. Simply because those have a lower MPG and the hybrid helps get that MPG up.

Who would think that I would be writing about light bulbs. Go figure. Anyway, I am starting the expensive process of replacing regular light bulbs with fluorescent lights bulbs in my house. As light bulbs go out I buy the newer fluorescent bulbs that look like real bulbs. They don’t even look like the spiral ones anymore. They look like real bulbs. And they have the glow of a regular bulb, not that stark look of a fluorescent bulb. They have come a long way with fluorescents. Pretty cool. They turn on instantly but, they still have a short warm up period until they are full strength. In the morning it is nice because it give my eyes time to adjust with the lights as they get brighter. So far, I have replaced my outdoor lights in the front of my house with fluorescents. I have replaced my closet with 2 of them. I have them in both of the kids’ rooms and the kid’s bathroom. Check this out, I replaced the ones in the kid’s bathroom and they are those big round bulbs that just stick out. They actually had those in fluorescents. Pretty cool.This is the type of bulb I use for my outdoor lights:

This is what I used for the Kids bathroom:

This is the bulb I use for lights where you can see the bulb, like a table lamp:

I use these in lamp where you don’t see the bulb, like overhead lights. These are cheaper:

I am thinking of using these for all of my recessed lights in the house:

I have to give credit to 1000bulbs.com for the pictures.

I am just starting to learn about alternative fuels and renewable energies. I have been doing some research on solar energy and wind power for the home. As I learn more, I will post it here. I would love to have some type of renewable energy system at my house. But, we will see how that goes.