The Green Light Effect – CFLs Vs Incandescent Bulbs

There are many ways home and business owners can save money by making a few simple adjustments and taking advantage of the savings opportunities available with green products. Not only are you playing nice with the planet, but you’ll also save money on your energy bill every month. One tweak comes in the form of those cool little curly bulbs called CFLs or Compact Fluorescent Lamps. The old obsolete and energy-hungry incandescent light bulbs have been around since Edison introduced them to the world, but the old ones are gone and the new curly CFLs are in.

The old incandescent worked when electricity heated both sides of a carbon filament, producing an emission of light. A CFL light bulb works completely independently. The CFL is actually a closed glass tube with a fluorescent coating that glows when electrical current is connected to the argon and mercury vapors inside the tube.

It is true that incandescent bulbs are much cheaper up front than CFL bulbs. However, using traditional light bulbs will cost you much more in the long run with any significant usage. Incandescent bulbs wear out much faster and require much more electricity to run. For comparison, a CFL bulb, with average usage, will save you over $25 over its lifetime and won’t need to be replaced unlike incandescent bulbs. The CFL will pay for itself in less than half a year.

There is also a variety in the intensity and spectrum of light available with CFL bulbs. It can help set the mood in a particular room through various colored CFL bulbs and output intensities. CFLs are available in a bluish or warm yellow hue. Incandescent bulbs give off a warmer yellowish light output. One possible downside to CFLs is that some heavy blue-emitting bulbs can be a bit harsh and can be sensitive to some.

A great guide for consumers to use is the Kelvin rating found on the package of CFL bulbs at the store. This rating is a temperature rating for the bulb. A cooler white emitting bulb will have a Kelvin rating of about 3500 to 4000k and a warmer yellowish bulb is rated up to 3000k. A blue bulb has a higher Kelvin rating of 5000k and up.

It is also very interesting to see the electricity outputs of the CFL compared to the incandescent bulb. The same light output for a 40 watt incandescent bulb can be achieved with just 9 watts for the CFL bulb. You can replace a 100-watt incandescent bulb with a 23- to 30-watt CFL.

To further protect the environment, used CFL bulbs should be recycled when available due to a small amount of mercury in the bulb. Many home supply stores use recycling programs for these bulbs. Now, if decorative lighting is on your to-do list, then you want to keep your theme green and use LED (light-emitting diode) bulbs. They are even more energy efficient than incandescent bulbs, requiring 90% less energy to operate. Also, LEDs are used in outdoor solar lighting fixtures and their power source comes exclusively from the sun. So you can make a couple of green changes that benefit your wallet and the environment by simply converting your old household light bulbs to CFLs indoors and LEDs outdoors.