Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs
If you want to save money and reduce carbon dioxide emissions then you might want to switch to compact fluorescent light bulbs. These light bulbs use around 75% less energy than standard incandescent bulbs and can last up to 6 times longer. Not only do they use less energy but, due to them generating less heat, they reduce the cost of cooling your home or office.
Just to give you an idea of the possible energy savings, the US Environmental Protection Agency states that replacing regular incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescent light bulbs would save enough energy to light more than 2.5 million homes for a year. Even switching just a few of your bulbs to compact fluorescents can make a difference.
Advantages of compact fluorescent light bulbs:
- They use less electricity.
- They reduce air pollution (including sulphur dioxide, carbon monoxide, and mercury)
- They reduce CO2 emissions.
- They give off little heat (making your home cooler).
- They last much longer (up to 7 years).
- They are cheaper in the long run.
Disadvantages of compact fluorescent light bulbs:
- Some people don’t like the colour they produce (although this is improving).
- Turning them on and off regularly (such as in a hallway) reduces their life.
- They contain mercury which needs to be properly disposed of.
- They are more expensive than regular bulbs (in the short term).
Even though there are a number of disadvantages to these bulbs, the advantages definitely out weigh the disadvantages.
The colour given off by compact fluorescent bulbs varies with the manufacturer so it’s worth trying a couple of different brands until you find one you like. Plus the colour is improving with new technology so it’s not really so noticeable these days.
To avoid shortening the life of your compact fluorescent bulbs, don’t use them in hallways where you will most likely turn them off after a short period of time. As a general rule, turn off the light if you plan on leaving the room for more than 3 minutes (as opposed to a few seconds with an incandescent bulb).
Although these light bulbs contain some mercury, more mercury is produced when coal is burnt to produce electricity to power an incandescent light bulb. It is important to recycle these light bulbs correctly. Some retailers may take them back at the end of the life of the bulb.
Overall, compact fluorescent bulbs can result in significant energy savings which are better for the environment as well as saving you money. In the future, you can expect to see LED lights become more affordable. These have a much longer life than compact fluorescents and are probably the best energy saving option.
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I read the compact fluorescent light bulb page, and I was suprized. I had heard that there were only advantages of the fluorescent light bulb.
I am doing a seprate project currently on the advantages, and now, disadvantages of this light bulb. Don’t get me wrong, I want to reduce the energy bills in our household, and I want to have a longer life for the bulb, but my family gets headaches from this bulb. My mother complains of nausea, my brother complains of vomiting, my son complains of headaches, and my husband complains of, well, price.
I want very much to use this lightbulb, but considering these disadvantages, I will need to think twice before buying.
How on earth could these light bulbs cause headaches, nausea and vomiting and what proof do you have that the bulbs are causing this in your family?
As for the price, compact fluorescent light bulbs are much cheaper in the long run so I’m not sure why exactly your husband is complaining.
Fluorescent lightbulbs can cause nausea, headaches etc in some people due to the fact that they flicker. They operate at 60Hz, or cycles per second - the frequency of the AC voltage they run on. This means that each lamp switches on and off 120 times per second, resulting in a barely perceptible flicker and a noticeable hum (sounding like a buzzing low ‘A’ note on a piano). About 25% of the population is sensitive to ballast flicker and hum and actually can become physically ill, with symptoms such as headaches, nausea, itching and burning eyes, tension, eye fatigue, and general fatigue.
What I object to is that these globes contain Mercury. There is no safe way of disposing of them and if one explodes then you have a toxic atmosphere in your home. Price cannot outweigh the threat to personal health and the environment. When all the incandescent bulbs are replaced we will then have a whole new dilemma on our hands. Mercury is intensely toxic and must be disposed of carefully, which at this point has not been considered by anyone.
THINK AGAIN about using these globes.
Until the Mercury is removed they are NOT a viable alternative
Andrea,
Before you jump down someone’s throat you should do some research. These lightbulbs can infact cause headaches. I made the jump and switched all the bulbs in my house. I have since ripped them out. They gave me constant headaches they went away as soon as I switched back.
The price could be better in the long run, as they are supposed to last for years but now I read turning them on and off can decrease their life span. Isn’t the entire point of a lightbulb the ability to gain light when needed? I am concerned about spending all of this money and they really aren’t lasting as long as they say.
Lastly, I am always concerned about the mercury. We can’t get people to recycle paper and bottles. How can we trust that they will recycle the mercury? In about 20 years that mercury is going to seep into our land and water and we are going to be crying about it trying to understand what happened!
I am stockpiling regular light bulbs in hopes that I can use them until a better environmentally friendly version is produced.
Well, I was just surprised that compact fluorescents can cause headaches. I have heard it mentioned a few times now so yeah, my comment was a bit harsh.
Obviously, mercury in the light bulbs is of concern and the govt should educate and facilitate recycling of the bulbs. However, the production of incandescent light bulbs releases more mercury into the atmosphere than compact fluorescents do as mentioned in this BBC article:
The article also discusses the savings made when using compact fluorescents over incandescents.