Compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) have rightfully become the little darling of energy savings, one easy way to begin to curb carbon emissions thus helping in the battle against global warming. By changing your household bulbs to CFLs you will definitely save on your energy bills. Lighting accounts for close to 20 percent of the average homes electric bill and CFL’s use up to 75 percent less energy than incandescents. Also, the average CFL bulb will last nine times longer. So what’s the catch, you say?
Most people are unaware of the dangers of improperly disposing of these bulbs once they finally do burn out. It is absolutely imperative that old CFLs are properly disposed of and recycled.
An average CFL contains about 5 milligrams of mercury sealed within the glass tubing (about enough to cover the tip of a ballpoint pen.) While this is an extremely small amount, it must be kept out of the landfill and disposed of responsibly. And, for some perspective, the amount of mercury released into the atmosphere by smokestacks at our power plants is exponentially higher. The Environmental Protection Agency reports that U.S. electric utilities released 48 tons of mercury in 1999, the latest year for which data is available. This comprises about 40 percent of manmade mercury emissions in the U.S., 10 percent of total North American emissions, and just 1 percent of total global mercury emissions. So the power required to keep your incandescent bulbs burning will be emitting more mercury than the CFL’s that would replace them contain.
It could be that a more adequate lighting solution is just around the bend. Many companies are currently working on improving the technology of bulbs that use light-emitting diodes (LEDs.) While they are available today, contain no mercury and can last ten times longer that CFLs and 133 times longer than incandescents , they can be very expensive ($50-100+ per bulb) and many people complain that the light given off is not bright enough. But with future scientific and industrial improvements, quality may be raised and costs brought down. Will LEDs be our next “little darling?”
I absolutely do believe that today, changing your household bulbs from incandescents to CFLs is the best choice and the right thing to do, provided that your bulbs are disposed of properly when they need to be replaced. For more information and resources on CFL’s, visit the Energy Star FAQ sheet here.
