Compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) have become more popular in recent years, but do they make financial sense? Suppose a typical 60-watt incandescent lightbulb costs $0.38 and lasts for 1,000 hours. A 15-watt CFL, which provides the same light, costs $3.05 and lasts for 12,000 hours. A kilowatt hour of electricity costs $0.114, which is about the national average. A kilowatt-hour is 1,000 watts for 1 hour. However, electricity costs actually vary quite a bit depending on location and user type. An industrial user in West Virginia might pay $0.04 per kilowatt-hour whereas a residential user in Hawaii might pay $0.25.