Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFLs)

An energy saving alternative to standard (incandescent) light bulbs, CFLs use less wattage to give you the same lighting power as a larger wattage standard bulb.

According to the US Department of Energy: Making improvements to your lighting is one of the fastest ways to cut your energy bills. An average household dedicates 11 - 20% of its energy budget to lighting. Using more efficient lighting technology can reduce that bill, while at the same time they are good for the environment.

• How Do They Work?
• Which Bulb Do I Need?
• How Much Can I Save?
• What About Problems?
• How Do I Dispose of Them?
• How Does This Help the Environment?

How Do They Work?

CFLs are miniature fluorescent bulbs. The CFL bulbs are filled with gas and contain a tiny bit of mercury inside the glass. The electricity travels through a ballast in the base of the CFL, and the gas transfers it to the mercury which emits invisible ultraviolet light. The ultraviolet light hits the phosphorescent coating on the inside of the CFL causing it to glow with visible light. CFLs operate at only around 100 degrees and are more efficient since they are not wasting all the energy on heat. Also, CFLs are guaranteed for a minimum of 6000 hours, and some up to 8000 or 10000 hours of use.

Standard lightbulbs work by sending electricity through a metal filament that is inside a vacuum sealed glass housing. Electricity hits the filament, heating it to 2,300 degrees Celsius (that's 5000 Fahrenheit!), and the filament glows with the heat and emits light.The light given off uses only about 10% of the energy produced. The rest of the energy the bulb uses is given off in the form of heat - the exterior can hit around 300 degrees Fahrenheit. Standard bulbs are usually good for anywhere from 500-1000 hours of use.

Which Bulb Do I Need?

The first thing to figure out is what size CFL you need. We are used to thinking of our lighting needs in terms of Watts. Actually wattage is really a measure of how much energy is being used (and what we are paying for). The actual term you need to know is "Lumens", which is a measure of the amount of light given off.

Most CFL packages will tell you the wattage of standard bulb they replace. An easy way to remember is to think of the term "Watt for?" . A standard light bulb requires wattage roughly 3.5 to 4 times that of a CFL. Divide the standard light bulb watts by 4 and you should be close to the size CFL you need.

Again, the package will probably have the information you need. Below is a quick chart that will get you started.

Matching the right CFL to the right kind of fixture helps ensure that it will perform properly and last a long time. Read the packaging to be sure the type you choose works for the fixture you have in mind. For example:

• Dimmers. If a light fixture is connected to a dimmer or 3-way switch, select CFLs that are labeled for dimmers.
• Three Way Lamps. For best results look for CFLs designed for 3-way use. Regular CFLs will give you light in only 2 of the 3 positions in a 3 way fixture.
• Outdoors. Many CFL bulbs work well outdoors but must be in enclosed fixtures that will protect it from rain and snow. The package should have a temperature rating for the bulb.
• For recessed fixtures, it is better to use a 'reflector' CFL versus a standard-shaped bulb.
• Choose the color that works best for you. For example, while most CFLs are created with warm colors for your home, you could choose a cooler color for task lighting.
• Halogen Torchiere Lamps These floor lamps are especially dangerous in the household. They have been linked to more than 350 fires, 114 injuries, 30 deaths, and millions in property damage.

  A 300-watt halogen lamp burns between 700 and 860 degrees Fahrenheit. A 500-watt halogen burns at temperatures up to 1100 degrees Fahrenheit. These temperatures are sufficient to ignite paper, wood, plastic, and fabric.

  CFL torchieres produce the same amount of light but use only 55 to 75 watt CFLs. That means not only do you save on energy costs, your household is safer using these types of lamps.

How Much Can I Save?

Save on your energy bill. Because CFLs are so much more efficient than standard bulbs the first place you'll save is on your energy bill.

Based on the average Stillwater Electric Utility rate of $0.089 cents per Kilowatt hour, and assuming you have the light on 4 hours per day, below is a chart of how much money you can expect to save on your energy bill...

Of course the longer a light is normally kept on, the more you will save. A good example (and a good place to start using a CFL) is your porch light. A 75 watt bulb that is usually on 12 hours every night adds $29.24 to your electric bill per year. Swap that out for an 18 watt CFL and that cost will drop to $7.

The Environmental Defense Organization has an Online Calculator where you can plug in your own numbers and see for yourself how much you will save.

• Changing six 100 watt bulbs to CFLs could save you $60/year
• Changing twelve 100 watt bulbs to CFLs could save you $120/year

Save on your cooling. Changing all of the bulbs could reduce your cooling costs as CFLs give off much less heat than standard bulbs

Save on the cost of bulbs. While CFL bulbs cost more intially than standard bulbs, they last years instead of months. The $3 - $5 you pay for a CFL is a great investment to save the money it would take to buy 6 to 10 of the standard bulbs.

Save time. Because CFLs last so much longer than standard bulbs, you won't have to take out time to change bulbs as often. Many people particularly appreciate it for the porch light or bulbs in ceiling fixtures: dragging out the ladder and figuring out how to take apart the fixture won't have to be done nearly as often.

What About Problems?

The first CFLs that came on the market were developed in the 1980s and had several problems.There were many complaints that the bulbs hummed or made funny noises, they flickered, the light was an odd color, you couldn't use them with a dimmer, and it was just too difficult to find them to fit in many fixtures. On top of all that they were expensive!

CFL bulbs today are a new generation. These days CFLs work silently with steady even light. There are CFLs available for almost any size fixture, including those that will work with dimmers. With today's technology you can actually pick the color tones you want to get from your lighting: warm white, soft white, cool white, and daylight are all available.

As to expense, CFLs have come down considerably in price. They still do cost more than a standard bulb initially, but because they last 6 - 10 times longer than a standard bulb, you will more than make back the initial cost over the life of the bulb.

How Do I Dispose of Them?

CFLs contain a small amount of mercury (3mg - 15mg) so they should not be simply tossed in the trash. When a CFL burns out it should be placed in a sealed plastic bag and brought to the next Hazardous Waste Disposal Day that the City of Stillwater runs every year.

Of course, since CFLs last years, it will be quite some time before you have to worry about disposing of old ones. Eventually, if you switch most or all of your standard bulbs to CFLs you will have far fewer bulbs to toss out. Instead of bulbs being tossed every 9 months or so, you will be disposing of them every few years. Over time that's a lot less trash going to the landfill.

Now accepting used CFL’s:

• Lowe’s
• M&K; Lighting

How Does This Help the Environment?

Doing something that is pretty painless, saves time, saves money AND helps the environment? Sounds almost too good to be true. But it is true. It's the power of small numbers multiplied many times.Multiply the energy savings in your home by by 100 million American homes.

If every one of 110 million American households bought just one CFL, took it home, and replaced a standard 60-watt bulb, the energy saved would be enough:

• to power a city of 1.5 million people, or
• to power all the homes in Delaware and Rhode Island together, or
• in terms of oil not burned, or greenhouse gases not exhausted into the atmosphere, equal to taking 1.3 million cars off the roads, or
• enough electricity saved to turn off two entire power plants--or skip building the next two.

And that's just with one bulb. Imagine what we could do if we changed all the bulbs.