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BANG FOR THE BITE
If 10,000 Biters replace four traditional bulbs with CFLs, we'll eliminate the weight of 18,000 elephants in CO2 from entering the atmosphere.
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home › tip library › CFLs
Heard the tittle-tattle about the mercury in compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs)?
The Bite
Don't get 'em in a twist. While CFLs do contain a little flicker of Hg, rumormongers tend to overblow the dangers. These days, CFLs fit more sockets and contain less mercury than ever (and yep, you can recycle them) - and that's no hearsay.The Benefits
- Less misinformation. Traditional incandescent lights end up generating 2-10 times more mercury than CFLs when you figure in the mercury emissions from the coal plants that usually power them.
- Lighting looks hot enough for Page Six. CFLs now come in a variety of colors, shapes, and sizes, and fit a range of light fixtures. You can even get CFLs disguised as old-school bulbs if you're not into the twisty shape.
- Bill savings to gossip about. The average American home has about 45 bulbs; replacing them with CFLs could save $180 per household per year on electricity bills.
- Recycling that's easier than namedropping. More and more places (such as any Home Depot) will accept your used CFLs for recycling (unfortch, very few places take old incandescents, but check with your local facility).
- Bow-chicka-bow-wow. New dimmable CFLs help you set the mood.
Personally Speaking
We actually haven't had to recycle any yet, since the bulbs last so damn long.Wanna Try?
- Ace Hardware - CFLs for just about any socket, including new dimmable bulbs from GE (prices vary).
- Sylvania RecyclePak - if you don't have a local drop-spot, you can recycle 6-8 large CFLs by mail with shipping prepaid ($15).
- Million Lights Project - this nonprof offers free CFLs.
- Earth911 - type in CFLs and your zip to find a nearby drop-spot for dead bulbs.
- EPA - directions for safely cleaning up mercury.
- Note: Try to leave CFL bulbs on for at least 15 minutes at a time, since turning them on and off too often can reduce their lifetimes.
Jul 10,2008
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Pop Goes the Bulb
Free stuff: Who can resist? I got my first CFL as a giveaway at an open house. I took it home, placed it on a shelf and patiently waited until the old incandescent glower in my bathroom shined no more. When that day finally arrived, I was pretty excited to fire up the new CFL. It was so fancy, so fun, so long lasting, and it was gonna save me money. I screwed it in and a week later saw only darkness when the switch was flipped.
I climbed up onto the counter to reach the light (not something I'd advise others to do) and fiddled with the bulb until - bang - the little rascal broke. I cleaned up the debris as if it were an ordinary mess, but moments later I remembered that CFLs contain mercury. I panicked and quickly decided to research what was going to happen to me.
That's when the bigger picture entered my mind. How many sanitation workers were going to be poisoned by these bulbs? Was this technology really good or was it actually bad?
The EPA explains that CFLs have "a very small amount" of mercury in them and using CFLs instead of incandescents saves energy. The main source of mercury emissions in America is from coal-fired electrical power, so saving energy reduces the amount of mercury in the environment. Yep, these Twizzler-esque bulbs really are a good choice. Now, how to protect those workers? The answer: Recycle and avoid breaking the bulbs. The CFL that is now happily lighting my bathroom, and has been for over a month, will be going to Home Depot when its time comes.
-Managing Editor Diane...off to score more freebies...
Biter Comments...
Is a little bit of mercury anything like being a little bit pregnant? Visualize this -- billions and billions of CFLs contaminating our landfills! It's my understanding that all CFLs are made in China. If this is true, where are you going to get your CFLs once we're at war with China? I've also heard that if you drop and break a CFL you must call in Hazmat -- it's California law!
I recently heard that on the news that soon at Home Depot you will be able to drop off old CFLs and Home Depot will then send them in to be recycled. Although I'm not a huge fan of the store at least it seems like they are headed in the right direction...
>> It took us a long time to find CFLs that fit, have nice light quality, and actually last as advertised. We did, but it took a lot of trying, and now all but a few of the bulbs we us regularly are CFLs.
>> Over the holiday weekend, I heard most of my friends and family, not quite as motivated (ok, obsessed) as I, have tried and given up with CFLs.
>> I think part of the problem is that there are lots of bad manufacturers out there, and most of what you get in grocery stores, drugstores, Home Depot, etc. are pretty low quality.
>> The 60w equivalent bulbs are not as bright as a 60w incandescent, and some take a few minutes to warm up to full
brightness.
>> There are also issues with color temperature. Most people are used to incandescent light which is a warm color (like sunset) and makes skin and food look nice. Bulbs marked 2700K are a similar color to most incandescents. But who wouldn't want "daylight" (usually 5000K)? So people pick daylight and find that the color is very "blue" and harsh. My sister-in-law reported feeling ill after replacing some bulbs in her basement.
>> So I am working on getting a sample of bulbs from known manufacturers with quality brands of CFL and finding online sources that sell them. I will post my reviews on my blog at http://fivepercent.us/.
>> Can anyone report either good or bad experiences, and with specific brands and models of bulbs?
>> Thanks,
Tom
There is a new organic wine on the market that is packed in a tetra pack (recycled material). It is called Yellow+Blue. (Which makes Green!) Their first offering is a Malbec. It is tasty and inexpensive! Available in the Northeast as of Aug.1.
You can't use CFLs in enclosed light fixtures (flush mount ceiling fixtures), it even says so on the box- which of course I didn't read until we burned out several in those fixtures.
When we first started getting them ~2 years ago, several burned out (enclosed fixture or not). GE will refund you if you send in the receipt and UPC. Our Lowe's store brand CFLs have lasted 6 months so far with no problems.
Can anyone comment on the advisability of throwing away perfectly good incandescent bulbs to replace with CFLs? Isn't that alone quite wasteful and anti-green? I can't bring myself to replace the incan. until they burn out, but maybe I am missing something.
I was just wondering, are all CFL bulbs made in China?
@Kara -- some CFL's are fine for enclosed fixtures, it's only specific fixtures requiring specific bulb types (e.g. PAR 20, etc.) that you need to be careful with. It is something to be aware of, though!
@Pam -- part of my experience has been that it can take a while to find the right bulb for a particular location. I would buy a few and try them out, and not throw out your incandescent bulbs yet. Maybe you'll replace half of your bulbs, then for the other half, just use the standard bulbs as they wear out.
folks probably know this already, but i wanted to add that you can also recycle both incandescents and CFLs at IKEA.
i, too, have issues with throwing out/recycling perfectly good incandescents until they burn out, which seems wasteful, so am also only putting in CFLs as the others die.... another suggestion is to freecycle any new-old incandescents?
finally, there is a somewhat helpful website (maybe i even got linked to it through ideal bite?) at environmental defense that can help you find a light bulb to suit your purposes... you can search by a number of factors, including type of fixture, location of light, type of light, brightness, and features (like dimmability--is that a word?). it's at:
http://www.edf.org/page.cfm?tagID=632&campaign=mts
also, have people seen that heinous youtube video of the congressman bashing CFLs as un-american?? search for "ted poe" (texas republican) and "energy saver light bulbs." yikes.
It seems to me that any amount of mercury in my home is something I'd like to avoid. And advice to not break a glass item is not helpful - I doubt many people break lightbulbs on purpose. The problem I see is not with most readers here, but the ignorant (and/or lazy) majority of people who are buying these bulbs because of the money they could save on energy bills and have no idea that they contain mercury, what mercury contamination can do, that the bulbs need to be disposed of properly, or lack the proper disposal facilities. Not everyone lives within driving distance of a Home Depot or IKEA. It just frustrates me when people seeming concerned about the environment push these bulbs so hard without properly warning consumers or glossing over the negative aspects.
@jen --
First, I completely agree with your general point: people are not as informed as they should be.
I think the challenge with almost any change is understanding the costs as well as the benefits. Knowing that CFLs contain mercury is becoming informed; how you respond to it is also important. In my view, the benefits of CFLs outweigh the risks.
I own a Prius. It has a battery made partly out of nickel (the metal). Mining nickel is a kind of nasty process that is harmful to the environment. Yet my car gets more than 2x the mileage of an average American car. Cost and benefit.
Cars now have airbags. Some people are injured by airbags. Many more are saved by them. Cost and benefit.
Mercury has been put in the air by using regular light bulbs and other electricity for decades. A large share of US electricity is generated by burning coal. And coal has naturally occurring mercury (amongst many other bad things) that is released into the air we breathe.
So you could look at having tiny amounts of mercury in CFL light bulbs as a step forward, in a kind of weird way. Yes: let's be careful with the bulbs, recycle them when they burn out in 3 to 5 years, and be extra careful.
But also know that mercury, while toxic is not like anthrax or something; it's just one of many (many, many, many!!) harmful substances we have been faced with for years.
Mercury is not a desirable thing to have in your house, nor is it a desirable thing to have in the air. But you already have it in your house, and have for years. Batteries, various cleaners, gas for the mower, paint, bleach, pesticides, and scores more all have some risks. We can't completely eliminate the risks, really, just do our best to reduce them, and to weigh the costs against the benefits. And continue to become more informed.
I do agree that people were not informed about the risks as they should have been. But now all we're hearing about is how bad CFLs are. Neither extreme is accurate -- somewhere in the middle might be where we should land.
The best choice will simply be to use less light and electricity. Indeed, this is a much better and easier thing to do and there are scores of ways we can all reduce our electricity use, and support less harmful ways than burning coal to make electricity.
Respectfully,
Tom
Life Expectancy
================
There are many reasons why a CFL may burn out before its published life expectancy.
If a CFL is energy star rated, a formal test was made whereby a statistical sample of a manufacturers bulbs are racked up and lit for 24 hrs a day , 7 days a week. The rated life expectancy is based on when 50% of the bulbs die. Some die earlier , some later. If its a quality bulb the distribution should be fairly tight around the 50% mark. Bulb manufacturers usually publish a graph with the statistical distribution.
BTW: LED's don't generally die ..they just get dimmer over time .. So the new energy star rating for LED's stipulates that an LED is considered dead when it has lost 30% of its luminosity. Some manufacturers program the LED's to shutdown automatically (for safety concerns etc).
So poor life from a CFL can be due to...
1) You have very bad luck and seem to get the CFL in the early tail of the distribution. BTW: You've made someone else very happy because his/her bulbs have been going strong for many years :-)
2) The CFL is in a fixture which doesn't provide proper ventilation. Heat is the CFL's (and other bullbs) biggest enemy. If you put a sprial cfl in a small pot lamp (especially if the ceiling is insulated) it won't last very long. Pot lights are designed to hold spot lights (PAR30,BR30,PAR20 etc ...)
3) The CFL is on a circuit with a dimmer. Most CFL's are simply not designed to work on a dimmer. Most folks don't know that and the markings on the box are usually very small.
4) The bulb is poor quality. If you buy a non energy star bulb rated at 6000 hrs (vs 10,000 hrs for a good one ) then the components inside are probably very low quality. The heat factor is especially important in this case.
Bulbs Made in China?
====================
I asked around at the lightfair show in June. There are no plants making CFL's in North America. Most are in China. Some in other parts of asia. Ironically , most products that are useful in reducing carbon footprints are made in china ...where they are firing up 1 new coal power plant per month to keep the lights on.
Wait before my Inca's Die?
==========================
Maybe if its a bulb you use for 5 minutes every day (e.g. closet) but generally speaking a CFL will save $40 over the its life ... so the sooner you switch ... the earlier you save. But $ aside the CO2 factor is more important. The CO2 cycle is out of balance and even if we stopped emissions today, the levels would keep on going up for many years .... its like stopping the engines on a ocean liner ... it won't come to a full stop for a long time. So delaying the switch by 1 year probably delays our fight on climate change by X years (don't know the answer .. perhaps others can chime in here).
Mercury in CFL
=================
Search CFL mercury on google. You'll spend a few hours looking at pros and cons. My take away ... Mercury in Landfill is better than Mercury in the Air ..even though there's no reason for us not to recycle CFL's. There are 2 hazordous waste depots and 4 big box stores within 10 miles of my home that will recyle the bulbs.
CFL's are much better than incandescent in most states and provinces where coal is used for at least 25% of electricity production. Having said that , Quebec and Manitoba (95% Hydro, no coal) have very good conservation programs partially based on switching to CFL's because they can then export more clean power to dirtier areas (NY,MN). Its all goodness in the end.
A good approach is to buy Low mercury CFL's (1 Mg vs 3-5 Mg)or open your wallet for some good LED's.
CFL Color Temperature?
=======================
There's lots of choice on-line. You can even get 2250K dimmables CFL's (a warmer white than an incandescent). See
http://store.carbonberry.com/c-16-bulb-dimmable.aspx
Cheers
If you break compact fluorescent they are to be handled as hazardous waste.http://www.epa.gov/mercury/spills/index.htm#fluorescent
There are other options. I have dimmers on all my incandescents, which cannot be used with all compact fluorescent bulbs or LED's at this time. I look forward to more dimmable LED's and OLED's. The good thing about dimmer's is that it allows me to adjust my light usage; getting energy savings in the mornings and evenings when I like my lights dim, while still preserving the warmer light and ability to adjust to full brightness when needed.
Tom- if your sis in law felt ill after using them, it may be because fluorescent lights in general can trigger migraines. I know they do for me. While these smaller lights don't affect me as badly, they still give me trouble.
I wish more effort were put into promoting halogen or LEDs that don't give me headaches, but still use less power than incandescents. I have no idea if there's mercury in them, though.
Regardless, losing productivity, being sick with a headache is not good.
We switched to compact fluorescent bulbs and all was well for awhile, but then one of the bulbs in a four-bulb fixture began to smoke! It wasn't broken, the light was still on, but the bulb was emitting a lot of smoke. I wound up with a rather violent coughing fit and I couldn't get those bulbs out of my house fast enough. I wonder how that smoke will affect me, our five cats and my 73-year old Mom in the long term... I know my lungs were crappy for a couple of days, and the room stank until I did a major cleaning of all surfaces. I'll never use them again. I'm just glad we were home to deal with the smoke; I shudder to think what might have happened had we been away that day.
Well, I'm glad to see there isn't a love-fest for these lousy light bulbs.
And I'm glad to see someone else talk about the kind of light they give off.
I absolutely HATE it!
I use G.E. 'Reveal' bulbs in ALL my lamps! I love the soft, natural look of the light and I use the 3-way 30-50-100's to give off only as much light as I need at any given time.
I use only one CFL, and that's to light the basement stairs at night. This is because my 83 year old mother fell down those stairs one night, as she was sleep walking, and didn't turn the light on...so that one is lit all night; just in case. BTW she broke her hip!
I've bought many a CFL,and they do not last as long as advertised by a long shot.I have many children at home,and after reading the EPA's website,and Maine's report on cleanup of CFLs at home,I won't be buying them.....I find it quite ironic that a website touting "natural" and "eco-consciousness" glosses over the dangers of broken CFLs in the home,or of disposed CFLs in the trash.Its quite a disservice to your readers,especially those with children who would be affected the most by this ecohazard.
Does anybody have any alternatives other that CFL lights? I can't have them in my house as they are a trigger for my migranes. Would love to get rid of the incandesents but they are the only ones that don't trigger migranes.
Lara, I get migraines from fluorescents, too. But not from halogen. And, I don't think LEDs do, either, but can't be sure, as the only LEDs I've had are xmas lights. But I've had an actual halogen lamp for a while and it seems OK.
PHOTO ALBUMS
Posted by: Karen | July 10, 2008 at 05:25 AM