It's increasingly common knowledge that there are energy-efficient options in the fluorescent lighting market that significantly reduce energy consumption compared to traditional bulbs. For instance, Osram's fluorescent tubes reduce electricity costs by 10 percent over the course of their lifetimes.

Still, consumers might find there is a way to get more from their eco-friendly light bulbs. You can actually cut your energy consumption - and electric bills - even more with electric ballasts.

According to the Illuminating Engineering Society Lighting Handbook, electric ballasts are most commonly used with fluorescent lights because of their nifty ability to reduce the flicker sometimes associated with the bulbs. But they have the side effect of reducing energy consumption by an additional 9 percent.

Some fluorescent bulbs, like the new Osram Lumilex fluorescent tubes, come with a built-in control gear. But others don't. Consumers might benefit from doing their homework on whether their bulbs come with ballasts so they can buy them to maximize savings if necessary.

This is what officials at the Richmond International Airport recently did. According to a report from NewsAdvance.com, airport representatives said they updated their lighting to T8 bulbs, and made sure to buy electric ballasts to go with them.

Whether you're using fluorescent lights in your home or at your office, you might find electric ballasts put some extra "savings" in your energy-saving light bulbs.