Shedding Light on Frugal Bulbs

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RISMEDIA, March 12, 2008-(MCT)-It’s hip to be twisty these days. Compact fluorescent light bulbs are praised as energy-efficient and environmentally friendly. They’re also the wave of the future-the U.S. government recently approved new lighting efficiency standards, which likely will mean the end of the traditional incandescent light bulb perfected in the 1870s by New Jersey’s Thomas Alva Edison. A look at CFLs.

Why are CFLs all the rage?

Energy. At a time of soaring energy prices and fears about greenhouse emissions from power plants, CFLs use about 75% less electricity than the standard incandescent bulb-and last up to 10 times longer.

According to the U.S. government, if every American home replaced one light bulb with an Energy Star-rated CFL, the nation would save enough energy to light more than 3 million homes for a year-and save more than $600 million in electric bills

How bulbs work

The key to the efficiency of CFLs is that they waste far less energy in the form of heat.

In incandescent bulbs, electricity superheats a tungsten filament inside the bulb; the heat makes the filament white-hot, which produces visible light. About 90% of energy is wasted as heat. The filament slowly burns away, with the tungsten deposited on the inside of the bulb-which is why dead bulbs look dark.

In fluorescent bulbs, electricity evaporates a tiny bead of liquid mercury, turning it into gas. The gas gives off ultraviolet light that excites a white powder-phosphor-coating the inside of the bulb. The coating emits the visible light. About 30% of energy is wasted as heat.

Halogen lamps work like an incandescent, but the filament is inside a capsule filled with halogen gas. The halogen redeposits the tungsten on the filament, extending the bulb’s life. About 90% of energy is emitted as heat.

Light-emitting diodes (LEDs), the tiny bulbs used in Christmas tree lights and traffic signals, run an electric current through a semiconductor, which gives off light as a byproduct but little waste-heat. These are more expensive than CFLs. LEDs cast light only in a tightly focused beam, making them less useful for general lighting. Some see LEDs as the light source of the future.

Why that funny shape?

General Electric engineer Ed Hammer invented the spiral fluorescent bulb in the mid-1970s in response to the 1973 oil crisis. Hammer was seeking a way to use the traditional fluorescent bulb-a long, straight tube-in household light fixtures. It wasn’t until 1992 that GE overcame the manufacturing challenges posed by the spiral shape and put a bulb on the market. It took Chinese factories, with their cheaper labor costs, to make CFLs economical.

How long do they really last?

Most average close to 10,000 hours, about 10 times longer than standard bulbs.

But the duration depends on use. Turning a CFL on and off frequently shortens its life, so the government’s Energy Star program recommends using them only in areas where the light is left on at least 15 minutes at a time.

Dimmers, bathrooms and other issues

You’ll need specially made CFLs for use in dimmable or three-way lighting fixtures. Manufacturers also don’t recommend CFLs in recessed lighting that is completely enclosed because of the high temperatures that can occur.

When a CFL is used in a bathroom, the humidity could shorten its life.

CFLs can be dim when first turned on.

Hard on the eyes?

The first CFLs had a limited range of tones, often casting a bluish-white light that turned off consumers. Makers insist they’ve made great strides. CFLs with “Kelvin temperatures” of 2,700 to 3,000 offer a softer, redder light that’s closer to traditional bulbs. Kelvin temperatures of 5,000 to 6,500 produce a white, more intense light.

Mercury: The dark side of CFLs

Each bulb contains 5 milligrams of mercury, so some worry about the cumulative impact of tossing tens of thousands of the bulbs into the trash and releasing all that toxic mercury into the environment.

Don’t throw CFLs out in the trash. Drop them off at your region’s household hazardous waste collection point. Among retailers, only Ikea accepts old CFLs.

If a bulb breaks, open the windows to disperse any vapor that may escape, carefully sweep up the fragments and wipe the area clean with a paper towel. Don’t use a vacuum because it might spread the mercury. The EPA recommends placing all fragments in a sealed plastic bag.

Are mercury-filled bulbs good for the Earth?

Yes, says the EPA. The nation’s biggest source of mercury pollution in the air comes from coal burned to produce electricity. Using bulbs that use a lot less electricity will cut down on that pollution. A power plant emits 10 milligrams of mercury to operate an incandescent light, compared with 2.4 milligrams to run a CFL, the agency says.

Sources: Environmental Protection Agency. Energy-star.gov, General Electric, Smithsonian Institution, Lamptech.co.uk, howstuffworks.com.

© 2008, North Jersey Media Group Inc.
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

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