Talk about tedious tasks with most excellent outcomes …

According to the New York Times, on Tuesday the six full-time light-bulb-replacers (AKA “wiremen”) at Grand Central Station in New York City completed a somewhat lofty mission: Replacing the last of the approximately 4,000 incandescent light bulbs in the station’s public areas with CFLs.

 

For those who still can’t wrap their heads around the environmental and economical perks of switching to compact fluorescents at home, take a gander at these figures. Thanks to the lighting overhaul at the 48-acre Grand Central terminal, over $200,000 a year will be saved, twice the amount of the annual estimated light bulb budget of around $100,000.

 

CFLs began sprouting up around the station in around 2002 but at the time it was more of an effort to decrease the need for risky, intensive light bulb changing operations than an environmental one.  But as the incandescents kept burning out, it made sense just to replace every single bulb with a CFL.

 

It’s reported that even though the lighting at Grand Central is now officially green through and through, the six wiremen will still have plenty of screwing and on screwing to do. Here’s hoping that some of the massive energy savings will be earmarked to give the six brave wireman of Grand Central Station a paid vacation to somewhere warm where they can give put their feet up and give those wrists a rest.  

 

Via [NYT]