| Changing out one traditional incandescent bulb for | | | | using a light-meter and 4 lighting and interior |
| a compact fluorescent bulb will save a home or | | | | design experts the CFL bulbs actually produced a |
| business approximately $30 in power over the | | | | better and more appealing light. |
| course of the bulbâs life. This savings does | | | | CFL bulbs have also come a long way in form. At |
| not take into account that you would need to | | | | first CFL bulbs were only available in a long tube |
| replace the iridescent bulb TEN TIMES before the | | | | or coiled. This made it impossible to connect a |
| CFL bulb burns out. | | | | shade onto the bulb as many older light fixtures |
| If everyone in America changed out just one | | | | do. This has also changed and CFL bulbs come in |
| Incandescent light bulb for an compact fluorescent | | | | as many shapes and forms as traditional bulbs |
| bulb it would annually save over $600 million in | | | | including standard form, flood light, globe and |
| power costs, reduce greenhouse emissions by the | | | | candelabra. |
| equivalent of 800,000 vehicle emissions and would | | | | Additionally most manufacturers are guaranteeing |
| lessen the amount of power currently used | | | | the CFL bulbs for at least 5 years. Home Depot is |
| enough to light 3 million additional homes without | | | | even accepting burned out CFL bulbs with no |
| adding any additional power plants, or even turning | | | | receipt to be exchanged for a good bulb since |
| on any additional generators. | | | | Home Depot receipts only have and expected |
| The average incandescent bulb lasts for 750-1000 | | | | 2-year lifespan. |
| hours. CFL bulbs last 7500-10,000 hours with | | | | Opponents of CFL lighting have cited that CFL |
| some lasting upward of 20,000. | | | | bulbs contain mercury as one of the major |
| CFL bulbs produce much less heat than | | | | downsides and an environmental concern. CFL light |
| incandescent bulbs. As a result they use 25% of | | | | bulbs do contain mercury. Most of them have 5 |
| the power of incandescent bulbs to output the | | | | milligrams or less, and amount equal to the size to |
| same amount of light. This is because a lot of the | | | | the tip of a pen. 100 CFL bulbs contain the same |
| power used by and incandescent bulb is used up | | | | amount of mercury as a standard mercury |
| in heat generation while creating light. | | | | thermometer. Such a small amount of mercury is |
| CFL wattage------------Equivalent | | | | not considered a significant environmental concern; |
| 8-10-------------------40 watt | | | | however the EPA still recommends that CFL bulbs |
| 11-17------------------60 watt | | | | be recycled. If they can not be recycled because |
| 18-22------------------75 watt | | | | there is no glass recycling program in the area, it |
| 23-28------------------100 watt | | | | is then recommended that they be disposed of in |
| 34-42------------------150 watt | | | | a landfill type disposal and never incinerated. |
| CFL manufacturers also now print on the | | | | When you consider that 1 CFL bulb will last as long |
| packaging what the incandescent equivalent is | | | | as 10 incandescent bulbs and each CFL bulb |
| since it is commonly understood what amount of | | | | produces the same amount of recycling material |
| light an incandescent bulb will put out at a given | | | | or garbage as 1 traditional bulb 5 milligrams of |
| wattage and CFL wattage is much lower. | | | | mercury seems a small consequence. |
| CFL technology has been in widespread use since | | | | CFL bulbs are such a positive upgrade from |
| the early 1990s. The early bulbs produced a | | | | incandescent bulbs that in 2007 a bill was |
| whiter and âcolderâ light than | | | | proposed in California to ban the sale of |
| incandescent bulbs and produced less light output. | | | | incandescent bulbs in the entire state. The bill was |
| The bulbs also cost upwards of $5-7 each. In the | | | | not passed, but just the fact it was proposed |
| long run a cost savings would have been realized | | | | shows how positive the change is. |
| over the purchase of 10 incandescent bulbs, but it | | | | On the horizon is Light Emitting Diode (LED) |
| was hard for anyone to pay that much up front | | | | technology, which requires less than 10% the |
| for an inferior bulb that might last 10 times as | | | | amount of power as incandescent lighting and last |
| long. | | | | even longer than CFL, however those bulbs cost |
| Today compact fluorescent bulbs can match and | | | | more than $75 at the moment and are not |
| exceed the quality of incandescent bulbs in every | | | | readily interchangeable with incandescent bulbs like |
| way and only cost roughly the same to double | | | | CFL bulbs are. |
| the price. In and independent double-blind lab test | | | | |