The light bulb guys stopped by my house, and replaced 32 incandescent bulbs with energy-conserving fluorescents. They seemed to be feeling pretty good about themselves. And now, my house is aglow with a fluorescent haze that works better in some rooms than in others.

As you may recall, New York City’s utility company, fearing another electrical outage like the one endured by hundreds of households in Queens last summer, is paying conservation companies to help ordinary people like me make the energy-smart conversion to fluorescent household lighting.

“So what am I saving in the end?” I asked them.

“Well, do the math. For every incandescent bulb of yours we switch to fluorescent, you go from 60 watts to 14.”

My best guess is that I’ve cut my electrical expenditure down by one third, since electrical bulbs are not my only drain on current. That’s really impressive.

So I was deliriously happy until the sun set and the fluorescent bulbs in the bedrooms assumed an eerie blue glow I’m not sure I can read by…or stand for long. Somehow, the piercing intensity of fluorescent light works best in kitchens, hallways, foyers and bathrooms. But in the overhead ceiling fan fixtures of all of our bedrooms, I fear I’m going to have to take the fluorescents out and go back to less energy-saavy full-spectrum incandescents. I haven’t changed anything back yet; I’m just thinking about it as I also contemplate other ways to make this 100-year-old house more green. (Check out the “This Old House” website for information about their green remodeling TV show out of Austin, Texas.)

My hip and friendly bulb technicians made the mistake of telling me that their boss–the successful entrepreneur behind their company–once waited until his wife was out-of-town to switch their New Jersey home completely over to fluorescent lighting. When she returned, she started screaming and swearing “No way! No way! I know what you’re #%&! up to!” before insisting he put all their incandescents back.

We’re all in for a ride, I guess, and a debate over how far to inconvenience ourselves to keep the planet clean and safe.