Energy Efficient Light Bulbs
So my first task with living greener is to buy a light bulb. I’m not doing this just because so many green initiatives talk about light bulbs, but because legitimately I have a light bulb that has burnt out. There are numerous websites out there explaining why CFL (Compact Fluorescent Light) bulbs are so much better than regular incandescent bulbs. One great resources is at the Energy Star website.
I admit that I was somewhat apprehensive to changing my light bulbs to CFLs. Many years ago (back in the mid 90s), my high school had a fund raising program selling similar light bulbs and my dad bought a ton of these. I think he replaced every light bulb in the house that he could. Problem back then was that the fluorescent part gave me terrible headaches.
I talked to my friend Doug about this the other day and he assured me they have changed and are much better. So out to the store I go. I ended up buying a 6-pack of 60Watt equivalent bulbs for $9.88, which is roughly $1.64 per light bulb. So yes, they are a bit more expensive than incandescent bulbs, but I don’t consider that out of a reasonable realm. Especially when the electrical savings is supposed to be $47 over the life of the bulb (9 years).
I installed two bulbs today, trying them in different light fixtures. First, in the living room because that is the place we have the lights on the most. Yuck! The orange glow was awful and I could see a headache already coming on from the 30 seconds I had the light on. Next I tried it in the hall by the back door, and that looked nice. It actually complimented the color of the walls and was just pleasant. I also tried it in the basement in a table lamp, and that too looked very nice.
SUCCESS! I will be replacing more bulbs in my house, but probably not all of them, until I can get the right light in the living room.
A future follow-up:
From the Energy Star website, “Closing the loop” somewhat concerns me. Yes, there is mercury in CFL light bulbs, but not enough to be harmful to your health (your home thermometer has 100 times more mercury than a light bulb). Let’s consider this for a minute. At some point in the future, after the bulbs have burnt out, I will have to remember to set these aside so they can be taken to a recycling center that will properly dispose of the mercury. How am I going to store these burnt out bulbs? Where will I go to properly recycle them? Will I have to wait as long as a year for my hazardous waste round-up program?
Some answers I’ve found to these questions: IKEA has a take back program (the closest IKEA is 2 hours away, I sense an IKEA run!). A better answer does await however, Earth911.org. I just found this website and it is fantastic! You can put in what you want to recycle and where you live and it will give you a list of places you can go. Look for a post in 9 years, and I’ll let you know how recycling these bulbs go for me.
More information: For a comparison of different brands check out: Popular Mechanics
January 22nd, 2008 at 11:46 pm
Over the course of a year, I converted my apartment from incandescent to fluorescent. My electric bills dropped from $15/mo to $9/mo . Of course, I clearly don’t use much electricity to start with :>
July 30th, 2008 at 9:12 pm
[…] you been avoiding the CFL bandwagon because of the mercury content? A while back I started switching over to CFLs and at that point I was concerned with how I would recycle them, but had faith something […]