A Compact Florescent Light (CFL) bulb is now the lighting source of choice for households and for good reason.  In the philosophy of saving energy they line up nicely with current sentiments about green living and benefits for the planet.
Some might not be aware of what these bulbs are and how they can be so energy efficient, so the facts are given here for further illumination.

What are CFL bulbs? The CFL bulb is an illuminating device based on florescent principles that is used in many applications to generate light for indoor uses.  Incandescent bulbs have been the standard for many years, but now CFL bulbs are taking their place.  A CFL bulb uses the same components to generate light as do their long counterparts which do the same.

How are they made? There are two main components of a florescent light.  First is the gas-filled tube and the ballast.  The ballast is either electromagnetic or electrical and its function is to charge the gasses in the tube to create the light source.  The electrical ballasts are the newer of the two and are more reliable and almost completely eradicate the slow starting of the light bulbs.

How do they work? When the ballast is charged with electricity, then it energizes the gasses in the bulb which emits an ultraviolet light.  That light then excites a phosphor on the inside of the bulb wall which in turn, emits visible light.

What are the advantages? The main advantage of CFL bulbs is that they are much more efficient than standard incandescent bulbs.  This means that with less energy, they produce more light.  And not only do they do that well, but they have a longer life span.  This means less electricity is consumed in their use which also decreases the amount of electricity needed to power our electrical grid.  That has the net effect of allowing us to burn less coal.

The CFL bulbs use between one-fifth and one-third of the power equivalent to incandescent bulbs.  How much can you save on your electricity bill?  It depends on the rates that you are paying, but you can generally expect about a 12% decrease in your utility bill if you completely outfit your house with these bulbs.

What are the disadvantages? The CFL bulb has disadvantages that are easy to overcome.  First is that they use a small amount of mercury in order to operate.  Mercury is a known toxin which is harmful to animal life on earth.  This fact makes it clear that you should always dispose of these bulbs in an environmentally acceptable manner when they are completely spent.  Next, they are much more expensive than incandescent bulbs.  But this is overcome by their longer life spans.  As more and more are produced, the prices will drop accordingly as well.  Finally, they are not known for their dimming properties, although dimmable models are available.

Saving money means having plans in place in and around your home that includes CFL bulbs.  Even if you care nothing about environmental issues, making these a part of your life will save money over their life span.  And that alone makes them worth the money.

Tags: conserving energy, cutting ultility costs, saving money

This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 15th, 2009 at 7:43 am and is filed under tips. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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