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Why are compact fluorescent light bulbs bad?
Older CFBs contained mercury. However, today's bulbs contain little, if any, mercury. Buying today's bulbs is a good choice, as they produce the same amount of light as an incandescent bulb, but yet uses a fraction of the energy.
What is the difference between LED and incandescent lights?
Incandescents tend to be less efficient and use more electricity. A lot of the energy used tends to be converted to heat, rather than light. Fluorescents tend to give you more light for the buck! They run less hot, which tends to mean that more energy is being converted to light, rather than heat. Compact fluorescent bulbs (CFBs) are a good alternative to incandescent bulbs. They have the same type of sockets, so no rewiring is needed, and they cost much less to use while giving out the same amount of light. Their price is going down substantially, and most use very little, if any, mercury.
Why are fluorescent light bulbs more energy efficient then halogen lamps?
Old-style fluorescent tube bulbs and the newer CFBs (compact fluorescent bulb) are considered more efficient for a number of reasons. First, they consume roughly 1/5 the energy of incandescent (ie, tungsten filament) bulbs for a comparable light output. A quick survey of the package labels tells that an average CFB is rated for 15 watts of electrical consumption, versus 60 to 75 for the average incandescent bulb. So, there is a savings in electricity, whether you choose to quantify that savings as monetary or environmental. Second, in addition to the decreased operational cost, fluorescent lights have a lifespan many times that of incandescent bulbs, which must be replaced more frequently. This translates to myriad efficiency gains; there is a financial incentive for their use, since over the long haul, they are less expensive to purchase and replace than incandescent bulbs. There is an even greater incentive for industrial and commercial consumers, since this reduced frequency in replacement translates directly into decreased maintenance and manpower costs. Take your average Wal-Mart or warehouse store -- if those thousands of bulbs were incandescent lighting, the store would have to maintain a small staff dedicated to the continuous replacement of its bulbs. Third, in addition to this obvious time and energy savings, there are more subtle efficiencies that can be found; fluorescent bulbs generate far less heat in operation than comparable incandescent bulbs -- in fact, many run completely cool to the touch. Compare this with the average incandescent bulb; although advances such as 'cool white' bulbs have decreased the heat of the incandescent bulb, all will burn a user instantly, as they generate a significant amount of heat. Since the bulk of the average electric bill (residential or commercial) is spent on air conditioning, this unwanted additional heat source is to be avoided, since it results in incrementally higher cooling bills. Even if the added heat is desirable (for example, in winter), this would still be a very inefficient means of heating. Fourth, any source of heat can be a cause of a fire. Reducing and eliminating unnecessary heat sources is good safety sense. Countless home fires have been caused by table lamps falling over, or random clothing items draped over lampshades. It's hard to question the inefficiency of everything one owns going up in smoke. Despite the many advantages of fluorescent lighting, many environmentalists have concerns about the toxic content of fluorescent bulbs, which contain Mercury. These bulbs should not be placed in ordinary residential waste collection, but should rather be recycled through a local hazardous materials collection program, which all American communities should have. On the point of Mercury toxicity, it can however be argued that the increased electrical demand of an incandescent bulb causes more Mercury to be released at the point of electrical production; trace amounts contained in coal burned to produce the electricity accumulate into more than is contained in the fluorescent bulb. Thus, simply because an incandescent bulb contains no Mercury, it isn't completely blameless. Its increased electrical consumption likely releases comparable quantities of Mercury as CFBs.
