At Team Earth, we’ve often made the point that changing some light bulbs to CFLs is a good way to tackle the challenge of fighting climate change. CFLs use less energy than traditional bulbs, which means they send fewer greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.
But there are still some misconceptions around the issue. So here are 10 things you need to know about CFLs:
1. CFLs save money. When you consider only the initial cost of purchase, sure, CFLs cost more than incandescent bulbs. But when you consider energy efficiency and durability, you get the true picture: One CFL bulb can save you as much as $50 over its lifetime.
2. CFLs work. In the past, the market has been flooded with cheap CFLs. But these days, especially with the U.S. phasing out incandescent bulbs altogether, the quality of bulbs is much higher. If you do get a CFL that burns out early, it’s a bum bulb. Demand your money back!
3. You can find a CFL that looks good. We won’t deny that a lot of CFLs from the past had poor light quality. Now, though, there are all kinds of CFLs , and the technology has improved. Given so much choice and variety, it’s likely that you can find a CFL bulb that looks good to you.
4. You can use CFLs outside. You just need to look on the packaging to make sure the CFL is labeled for outdoor use. These bulbs are typically sold right alongside normal, indoor bulbs.
5. CFLs have mercury, but the risks are likely minimal. Mercury holds a lot of people back from buying CFLs. It can, indeed, be nasty at high levels of exposure. But the amount of mercury in a CFL is small, and the amount that gets in the atmosphere if a bulb breaks is smaller still. Bottom line: If a bulb does break, you can open windows, put on gloves, put the broken pieces of glass in a bag, and clean up the area with paper towels – and you should be fine. Be cautious, though, and make decisions based on what’s important to you.
6. It’s not hard to recycle CFLs. Because of the mercury issue, you shouldn’t throw CFLs in the trash or include them in your regular recycling. But a recycling center is closer than you think. In the U.S., retailers including Home Depot, Ace Hardware, and IKEA will recycle bulbs. So will local recycling centers – and, barring those, mail-in programs. Visit Earth911.com to find recycling locations near you.
7. Quickly turning CFLs on and off can reduce their life (though for most normal uses, this isn’t a problem). The U.S. government says you should, in general, leave a CFL on for about 15 minutes to maximize lifespan. So you’re good for most normal household uses, though you might want to consider alternatives for places like the bathroom where the average trip is fairly short.
8. Turning on a CFL on doesn’t use much energy at all. The belief that it does is an old wives’ tale. Turning on a CFL uses, per government figures, about 5 seconds’ worth of energy – hardly enough to justify keeping a bulb on.
9. CFLs are good for the environment. Changing six bulbs to CFLs will keep almost 5,000 pounds of toxic greenhouse gases out of the atmosphere. Plus, the less energy we use, the less mercury is emitted by coal-fired power plants. People tend to be concerned with the mercury in CFLs, but they don’t realize that the mercury emitted by coal plants dwarfs the amount found in CFL bulbs.
10. CFLs are just the next step in society’s journey toward green lighting. Put another way, they’re not perfect – they’re just better, in both cost and environmental impact, than energy-hogging, short-lived incandescent bulbs. LED bulbs, for example, look to be the lighting of the future … though at $40 for a typical bulb, even one that lasts 20 years, prices might need to come down before widespread adoption.
Second photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/asurroca/ | via Creative Commons
