Buying a light bulb has gotten more complicated in recent years. During the California electricity crisis of 2001 many of us switched from using the traditional incandescent light bulb to using compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs in our homes. With today's soft economy, even more people are turning to CFL bulbs in order to save money on home utility bills. Electric lighting burns up 25% of the average home energy budget. Switching to CFL bulbs from incandescent bulbs will use 75% less of this energy. Whether you're concerned about the environment or about your budget (or both), compact fluorescent bulbs make a lot of sense.By 2012 new federal efficiency standards will make traditional incandescent bulbs effectively obsolete. Consmers will be forced to gradually make the switch to high efficiency bulbs. Current high-efficiency technology gives us a choice of either fluorescent or LED bulbs. Standard fluorescent bulbs are those long tube things that fit utility fixtures. Compact fluorescent light bulbs are the ones that fit into all the other fixtures in your house. So let's talk about compact fluorescent bulbs.
Compact Fluorescent Lighting
The new CFL bulbs are noting like the old fluorescent lighting - they don't make that buzzing noise, they come in soft warm colors, and they fit almost any kind of fixtures. The biggest complaint that people have about CFL bulbs these days is low quality. The first thing to do when shoping for high quality CFL bulbs is to look for the Energy Star label. Energy Star certified bulbs have a two-year warranty, must last at least 60,000 hours, must be low in mercury, can emit no audible noise, and must produce quality light.Light Color
The colors of light bulbs are described in terms of light temperature in degrees Kelvin (k). The lower the number, the warmer the light. 2700k is the color of incandescent light. 3000k is warm white, 3500 is neutral white, 4100 is cool white and 5000 to 6500 is called "full spectrum", "daylight", or "color corrected". Surprisingly, "daylight" color is a very bluish light and not attractive for interior environments. The City Lights Bulb Store in San Francisco has a very useful display of fluorescent lights showing all the different colors next to each other for easy comparison.
The colors of light bulbs are described in terms of light temperature in degrees Kelvin (k). The lower the number, the warmer the light. 2700k is the color of incandescent light. 3000k is warm white, 3500 is neutral white, 4100 is cool white and 5000 to 6500 is called "full spectrum", "daylight", or "color corrected". Surprisingly, "daylight" color is a very bluish light and not attractive for interior environments. The City Lights Bulb Store in San Francisco has a very useful display of fluorescent lights showing all the different colors next to each other for easy comparison.
Incandescent vs. Fluorescent wattages
Most people are familiar with the light output of incandescent bulbs, and know which incandescent wattages they prefer. CFL bulbs often list a conversion on the package. Here some useful equivalents:
40 w incandescent = 10 w fluorescent
60 w incandescent = 13-15 w fluorescent
75 w incandescent = 20 w fluorescent
100 w incandescent = 26-29 w fluorescent
150 w incandescent = 38-42 w fluorescent
250-300 w incandescent = 55 w fluorescent
Most people are familiar with the light output of incandescent bulbs, and know which incandescent wattages they prefer. CFL bulbs often list a conversion on the package. Here some useful equivalents:
40 w incandescent = 10 w fluorescent
60 w incandescent = 13-15 w fluorescent
75 w incandescent = 20 w fluorescent
100 w incandescent = 26-29 w fluorescent
150 w incandescent = 38-42 w fluorescent
250-300 w incandescent = 55 w fluorescent
CFL Fun Facts
Fluorescent and CFL bulbs have a warm-up time of about 3 min before they come to full brightness and full efficiency. They are best used in light fixtures that will be on for a minimum of 15 minutes at a time.
Because of the tiny amounts of mercury used in manufacturing, CFL bulbs need to be disposed of properly. Consumers should avoid breaking them and releasing the mercury vapor. Check www.earth911.org or www.lamprecycle.org to learn about disposal methods available in your area.
You need to buy special fluorescent lights for use with a dimmer switch, and for use in vibrating environments like a ceiling fan or a garage door opener.
Incandescent lights last 1500 hours, fluorescent lights last 10,000 hours, and LED lights last 60,000 hours.
Fluorescent and CFL bulbs have a warm-up time of about 3 min before they come to full brightness and full efficiency. They are best used in light fixtures that will be on for a minimum of 15 minutes at a time.
Because of the tiny amounts of mercury used in manufacturing, CFL bulbs need to be disposed of properly. Consumers should avoid breaking them and releasing the mercury vapor. Check www.earth911.org or www.lamprecycle.org to learn about disposal methods available in your area.
You need to buy special fluorescent lights for use with a dimmer switch, and for use in vibrating environments like a ceiling fan or a garage door opener.
Incandescent lights last 1500 hours, fluorescent lights last 10,000 hours, and LED lights last 60,000 hours.
Cost Calculator
Several websites have calculators that can help you figure out how much money you save buying fluorescent bulbs to replace incandescent bulbs. Check out the Energy Star Lifecycle Cost Estimate for one CFL www.energystar.gov. Exercise your inner geek with a spreadsheet that lets you input data for your own house - the Light Bulb Comparison Spreadsheet in the article "Incandescent vs. CFL vs. LED Light Bulb Challenge" at www.productdose.com.
Doesn't seem so complicated any more does it?
CFL's are better than all of them from year 1, it takes 17 years for LED's to beat CFL's but then need replacing after year 35. LED's beat Incandescent globes after 3-and-a-bit years.
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