Environmental Defense: Why Today’s CFLs Are So Much Better
By Erica Rowell, Environmental Defense Writer, Editor, Producer
CFL and incandescent bulbs side by side
Quality was spotty in the 70s, but this is a new millennium
Apple computers. Punk. Compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs). What do they have in common? They were introduced in the 1970s and are now back in style.
CFLs have improved dramatically from their inauspicious beginnings. They took a while to come on, flickered as they lit and gave off an unpleasant green hue. That was then. CFLs not performing well today is a myth—as fictitious as the urban legend that says Mikey from the Life cereal ad died from noshing on Pop Rocks. He's alive. CFLs rock.
Brighter, whiter, faster
Thanks to improved technology, CFLs are now like familiar old-fashioned incandescent bulbs (ICs) in just about every way. CFLs can be as bright, come on as quickly and provide warm white, eye-pleasing hues. They can even be dimmable and used in 3-way sockets. If you haven't tried a new-fangled CFL, go on, "Try it—you'll like it."
Plus, as their prices have come down and energy rates have ticked up, the savings keep improving. CFLs slash global warming pollution, too.
How CFLs save money and global warming pollution
Turning on a light taps electricity from your local utility. About half our electricity comes from coal-burning power plants and another 20 percent comes from from natural gas, so powering things on generally means spewing lots of heat-trapping pollution. These greenhouse gases drive climate change. So using less electricity means less global warming pollution—and lower electricity bills.
How much savings CFLs rack up
Crunching the numbers is eye-opening. Let's compare a 25-watt CFL costing $3 (a good average price) to a 60-cent, 75-watt IC.
Now, let's turn on both our 10,000-hour CFL and our 750-hour IC bulb at 12:01 a.m. on January 1 and keep them running 24/7 for a year. On December 31, our CFL has racked up extraordinary savings in cash and pollution.
| 75-watt IC | CFL | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial cost | .60 * 12= $7.2 | $3.00 | Because the IC bulb only lasts 750 hours, we’ve had to buy 12 of them. The CFL, on the other hand, has over 1,000 hours left. |
| Energy used | 657 kWh | 219 kWh | |
| Energy costs (.10/kWh) |
$65.70 | $21.90 | Oh, to have this electricity rate! Very few places in the U.S. are so lucky. (Check your bill to compare your rate.) |
| Energy costs (.20/kWH) |
$131.40 | $43.80 | Here's a more realistic energy rate. |
| Carbon dioxide (CO2) pollution | 880 lbs | 293 lbs | These calculations use the national average of 1.34 pounds CO2 per kWh. State averages vary widely [PDF], from 0.03 (Vermont) to 2.24 (North Dakota). |
| Total savings from the CFL: $48-$91.80 and 587 lbs of CO2 | |||
What to look for in energy-saving bulbs
To replace a 75-watt bulb look for a CFL with these specs:
- 20 to 25 watts. CFLs use roughly a quarter of the energy to produce the same light.
- 1200 lumens. This minimum level of brightness provides what you're used to.
- Warm white (or 2700-2850 degrees Kelvin). This color temperature mimics an incandescent light.
- Energy Star symbol. This label indicates high-standards and ensures that the CFLs' claims (brightness, longevity, power used, etc.) are real.
- Get more CFL tips
Time to switch to CFLs and save
Bottom line: CFLs save you money and cut heat-trapping pollution. How much of each depends on things like your electricity rate, the energy mix your utility uses, and which CFLs you buy. (See our chart for info on other bulbs.)
Check out the Environmental Defense CFL guide to get started and see which CFLs are right for your needs. And then turn on your new Mac, crank up the Ramones, and dim your new dimmable CFL.
March 21st, 2007 at 11:07 pm
The first ice caps originated on earth about 6 million years ago — ice caps and ice ages are recent events in Earths history. The warmest times of Earth history are marked by the greatest variation of animal life (intensive evolutionary activity) and greatest population of animal life. So why are we so afraid of global warming — is there a good side to global warming, or are we all consumed by political directions?
My personal experience with CFL lighting is not as idealistic as CFL “proponents” seem to be. The failure rate of CFLs makes them not such a great buy, and the manufacturing of CFLs is far more energy intensive and polluting than the manufacturing of incandescent lamps. My Son-in-law had proudly replaced every incandescent lamp in his brand new 3700 square foot home in Kennewick,WA, with CFLs. His failure rate was very high, and after one year his attitude was considerably modified by the reality of poor CFL reliability.
Also, CFLs have a small amount of mercury in them (about 4 to 7 mg), consequently disposing of millions of CFLs in our landfills might just provide a serious environmental problem in the future. Granted, a coal-fired power plant will emit about 10 mg of mercury to power an incandescent lamp (PVNGS has no such problem), vs. about 2.4 mg for a CFL lamp over the same period of time, but then the coal powerplant has single source accountability for emissions, but CFLs tossed in the trash by millions of CFL consumers have no accountability.
The real long-term answer to today’s incandescent bulbs are LED lamps (on their way), which are far more reliable and energy efficient than CFLs. Also, GE will be releasing a new incandescent bulb in about 2011, that will equal the energy efficiency of CFLs, a bit later, GE will produce incandescent lamps that are more efficient than today’s CFLs.
Of course, in winter, using incandescent bulbs isn’t really such an energy waste — they provide needed heat in cold weather while producing light. In summer, replace them with CFLs — or better, in a couple of years, LED bulbs!
BTW, I just re-lamped my fathers Wickenburg home bathroom with CFLs, to see if the reliability has improved since my last dismal experience with CFLs.
Question every invitation to rush into global changes, which claim simplistic global resolutions to problems. Question your own premises — there are no contradictions, only false premises.
Sincerely,
-Lou Boliou
April 2nd, 2007 at 2:18 am
Erica,
Thanks for the info - very helpful!
April 5th, 2007 at 11:11 pm
Can anyone tell me the cost to manufacture/produce one CFL bulb, including the materials???
MRO
April 26th, 2008 at 4:05 pm
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