CFLs are those new, small fluorescent light bulbs that screw into most regular light fixtures. You can use them to replace regular (incandescent) bulbs to save money and electricity. As the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power gets over 60% of its electricity from fossil fuels, especially coal, any time you replace a regular incandescent bulb with a CFL, it’s one small step towards reducing fossil fuel use in L.A.

CFLs come in all different shapes, but basically they’re a fluorescent tube bent this way or that or twisted into a spiral. “CFL” stands for “Compact Fluorescent Lamp.” They’re more compact than the long fluorescent tubes of our childhoods. They’re lamps, which is electrician-speak for “light bulb.” Here’s why they’re green — they save 75% of the energy that traditional incandescents use.

Here’s why they save you money — they cost more than a regular incandescent, but last a lot longer — 13 times longer. So even though each CFL costs more per bulb (about $4 for a CFL), it will also save you about $4 in bulbs as you won’t have to replace it so often.

Your electric bill will show more significant savings. Lighting costs about $20 out of $100 monthly electric bill. Because CFLs use one-quarter of the electricity of a regular incandescent, if you replace all the bulbs in your house with CFLs, you’ll save about $15 each month on a $100 electric bill.

CFLs are green, but not blue. Many people don’t enjoy the eerie bluish light of the old-fashioned long fluorescent tubes. CFLs can create all different colors of light, including warm tones. A recent study by the magazine Popular Mechanics found that even when people didn’t know which type of bulb was involved, they preferred the light of the CFL over the light from incandescent bulbs. CFLs also don’t buzz as the long tubes did.

CFLs have one downside — they each contain a small amount of mercury, which is a toxin. If a bulb breaks, you’ll need to take care to clean every bit up and to not touch the pieces. You’ll need to recycle spent bulbs or dispose of them as you would paint or other hazardous waste. However, they’re so long lasting that this will come up on the order of years, rather than months.

OK so you have a basic understanding of CFLs, now what can you do that’s simple to save money and electricity? The next time you go to the store, pick up a four-pack of CFLs. Choose four incandescent lights in your home or business that you use often and replace the incandescent bulbs with your new CFLs. You’ll start saving on your electric bill and will decrease the burning of fossil fuels to power Los Angeles.

Click here for more tips on saving electricity.

In this high-tech age, our gadgets can be essential lifelines. Smartphones, tablets, laptops and other devices are what help us connect with colleagues, avoid boredom and find our way from Point A to Point B. They can seem almost magic, but there’s one great equalizer that limits them all: battery life.

If you depend on your devices, keeping them charged is critical. But life doesn’t always work that way; you often can’t stay tethered to an outlet for an hour or more, and sometimes an outlet just isn’t there when you need it. And that’s where portable chargers come in.

Power to Go

A portable charger is like a second battery for your device, and some models hold enough juice to charge your devices a few times over. Charge your trusty portable charger at the same time you charge your phone, and you can walk around with double, triple or even quadruple the battery life you’re accustomed to.

The portable charger market is getting bigger all the time, so choosing a model can feel a little overwhelming. But that also means that if you know what factors to consider, you can find the perfect charger for your needs.

When shopping for a portable charger, consider these key attributes:

Size and weight: The smallest portable chargers are about the size of a tube of lipstick, while others may be as big as your hand and nearly an inch thick. Similarly, some are virtually weightless, compared to larger chargers that are even heavier than they look. You might want one of each -- one for your pocket and another for your briefcase.

Charge capacity: There is a huge range of available charging capacities -- that is, how much energy each charger can store at once. Capacity is measured in milliamps per hour (mAh), and models can range from around 3,000 mAh (enough to double the battery life of your smartphone) to more than 20,000 mAh, which is ideal for laptops.

Charge speed: Nobody likes to wait, and some charger manufacturers capitalize on this by emphasizing charging speed in their designs. It’s common for chargers to be marketed based on how quickly they can charge common devices, so look for this detail if speed is important to you.

Connections and cords: Virtually all portable chargers have a USB port, but some may support several types of connections and come equipped with a variety of cords.

Special features: While many chargers just stick to Job #1, others may have features like built-in flashlights or emergency alarms.

Durability: Portable chargers are particularly popular among those who like to go off the beaten path while remaining connected. That’s why some manufacturers make their chargers waterproof, shatterproof and otherwise tough as nails.

Price: When price is an object, you’ll be able to find some chargers for as little as about $10. For the most durable chargers with the highest capacities, prices can exceed $100.

When you need a recharge on the fly, portable chargers are clearly the way to go. But if you ever have trouble getting a charge in your own home, don’t hesitate to reach out to your professional local electricians!

If you’ve never visited the DIY, home renovation blog Young House Love, you’re in for a treat. John and Sherry, bloggers extraordinaire, are renovating their home step-by-step, giving their readers a detailed look into the process. Every day they have some new clever project to write about. (And the way they tell stories gets addictive, quick).

The blog has a ton of posts on home lighting, some technical, some crazy and fun. Today, I thought I’d share with you my 3 favorite DIY lighting projects from Young House Love: