A new and shiny argument FOR compact florescents!
By Karina | March 18, 2009
I’m not sure about you, but every once in a while I’ll be talking to someone about switching to compact florescent light bulbs and saving energy and etc. and the person will say: But what about mercury in the bulb? That’s bad for the environment, right? and, yes. yes it is. People have been concerned about what to do in the event that one shatters, and of course, everyone needs to be really clear about how to recycle them.
So, usually I don’t know what to say in response to that other than: hey! how much do you plan on breaking light bulbs, anyway? or maybe I’ll say: but you know, there are a lot of heavy metals in the innards of regular incandescent bulbs, too, and that is NEVER recovered after disposal. And it is totally true, both of those points. But they’re not really strong responses to people who are reluctant to switch to compact florescents.
Recently, though, I came across an even MORE compelling argument for CFLs that directly addresses the mercury issue! Check it out -
Yes, in fact a recent study by the Environmental Protection Agency shows that when using an incandescent light bulb, more mercury emissions are released into the air due to increased energy usage. A power plant emits about 10mg of mercury to produce the electricity to run an incandescent bulb over a 5-year period. A power plant will emit only 2.4mg of mercury to run a CFL for the same time period.
CFLs present an opportunity to prevent mercury from entering our air, where it most affects our health. The highest source of mercury in our air comes from burning fossil fuels such as coal, the most common fuel used in the U.S. to produce electricity. A CFL uses 75% less energy than an incandescent light bulb and lasts at least 6 times longer.
That was from NY state — here’s more from the EPA:
How do CFLs result in less mercury in the environment compared to traditional light bulbs?
Electricity use is the main source of mercury emissions in the U.S. CFLs use less electricity than incandescent lights, meaning CFLs reduce the amount of mercury into the environment. As shown in the table below, a 13-watt, 8,000-rated-hour-life CFL (60-watt equivalent; a common light bulb type) will save 376 kWh over its lifetime, thus avoiding 4.5 mg of mercury. If the bulb goes to a landfill, overall emissions savings would drop a little, to 4.0 mg. EPA recommends that CFLs are recycled where possible, to maximize mercury savings.
This indicates that there are STILL net savings of mercury, even if you accidentally toss that CFL into a landfill, simply because we avoid using (not-so-clean) coal and introducing mercury at the power plant smokestack from entering the atmosphere.
Have you changed your lightbulbs? How do you feel about the safety of using them in your home?
Related posts:
- Modernized Incandescents
- Easy Peasy Tip: Replace One Light Bulb
- CFLs or LEDs?
- Q&A: Turn Off The Lights?
- Home Depot CFL Recycling
- No such thing as Clean Coal
- Happy LED New Year!
Topics: General |
The other thing you can point out is that CFL bulbs have about 1/5th the amount of mercury in them as a watch battery does. When was the last time someone agonized (or even questioned) how to dispose of their watch battery?
Brilliant. Thanks for the data, Michelle!
I love it! such a small and excellent argument.
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I have a love/hate relationship with CFLs. I love the idea of them - last longer, more efficient, save money, etc. I don’t mind taking them to a recycling location. The biggest things I don’t like about them are: the danger of breakage (I have a toddler, and while no, I don’t PLAN to break bulbs, it does sometimes happen by accident) and the terrible quality of light most of them have given me. Usually they are yellowish and don’t light as crisply as as my old incandescents. Also, the quality seems to erode over time - getting dimmer and yellower. I tried getting a different brand when my bedroom ceiling bulb burned out, but that turned out to be a ghastly bright BLUE tinged bulb, and it flickered when I turned it on, and it was truly awful. So awful that after a few days of trying I just couldn’t stand to turn the light on anymore, and I had to replace it with an old-school bulb. In our house, I’ve found that the CFLs work best in lamps, and that incandescents are best for ceiling fixtures. We use both, and simply try to be energy-conscious in our usage of all bulbs.
I recently bought a big pack of them at Target and one was broken in the box when I got it home! So check the box before you leave the store. I am looking forward to the energy and cost savings and am not concerned about their safety. We have a bluish one in our bedroom and the rest of the house has the yellowish ones. I prefer the yellow.
We replaced the 4 bulbs in our ceiling fan with them, however, now the switchplate on the wall hums when we turn the lights on (so we have not been turning the lights on). Is this because the previous bulbs were dimmable bulbs? We plan to buy dimmable CFL’s and try them out.