Everything you wanted to know about Compact Fluorescent Bulbs, including the Mercury Problem

Well I have just read the article. Mercury is one of the banned substances under the RoHS regulations. So why are they (CFLs) being sold in Europe or the USA or Australia or anywhere else for that matter????

Replacing one problem with another does not seem good science or engineering. Or is it just that the big Dollars involved really don't give a damn about the environment and the law makers have not noticed?

Cheers

BigBirdAustralia

BigBird- You may have missed the crux of the article and that is the difference between containable Hg in CFL vs. uncontainable Hg emissions from coal fires power plants which I believe are not yet outlawed. Seemed from the article that the trade off although small was still a net reduction in Hg.

I agree. I wonder how many 1.5mg doses of Mercury it would take to make a water supply "officially" contaminated?

Also, those CFLs make my eyes go nuts when I read. I need my 100w incandescent! I've noticed CFLs put out good light for the first few months and rapidly get dimmer. I'll give them credit as a solution to reduce electricity usage which in return reduces consumption of non-renewable resources, but something better needs to be presented.

LEDs maybe? Giant space mirrors that make it daytime all the time? Ok, that wouldn't generate global warming! Fusion power? Enough power for everyones lighting needs, plus ice cold AC, electric heat, source to recharge your fuels cells in your "flying" automobiles, and so on... ...ignorant oil companies, they have the cash to make it all happen, just they will only ride on the tails of government funded R&D!

Yes I agree the wattage levels are grossly optomistic.

I've found they also take considerable time to reach full brightness (or is this an optical illusion whereby the darker it is outside, the brighter the light seems?)

A big irritaion for me has been unreliability, I've had quite a high failure rate, and of course they are unrepairable!

My Dad used to say 'If it can be manufactured, it can be mended'...sadly not so true these days.

I have converted almost all my lighting to CFL's. Local electric rates just recently went up 25% so there is some motivation. I love them. I had reliability problems with a few cheap ones when they first came out but for the most part they have been very reliable and they last a very long time. I recently changed a security light from a 75W and a 150W incandescent to two 18W CFL spotlights and for 16% of the prior energy usage I am quite happy with the results. Oh they take a couple of seconds to come up to full brightness but I can't see how this is a problem. I think people are just used to instant light and resistant to change. If it had always been that way you would be glad to have light and wouldn't know the difference!

Loved the BLOG, and just now subscribed to it.

I cannot add much to that astute article on CFL's it all seems to be pretty accurate.

However, 10,000 hours is a stretch on anybodys CFL... 90% of all Spirals are made in China, and unless you have an American, German, or Japanese Plant manager, with a list of 10,000 more Chinese looking for employment, you will be VERY lucky to get even 8,000 hours out of ANY brand Spiral.. Actually, the Chinese standard is 6,000 hours for good quality.. But you know, they will print whatever you want on the box, CE ? you got it, UL, you got it, Fake Zippos, you got it..Spiderman 3 for a buck, you got it.

ONE note of interest, we have been selling a TON on the new 25,000 hours CCFL's,

(Cold Cathode Fluorescent Lamps).

At this time, only the 5, and 8 watt are really selling, but they have 9 watt, 13 watt, 18 watt, and plans are for much larger wattage.

You know the CCFL has been used for years for backlight for Televisions, and for LCD displays.

These little bugers use cold cathode, but High Voltage little boards, and the Glass outer shell is VERY EASILY broken, so beware....

Donald

Everything LED/Campbell Lighting

If instant on is a requirement, and the wattage (light wise) needed is not too high, then buy LED lamps, they come on faster than a normal bulb!! Today there are a big range with both mains and 12volt versions.....

I use both LED & Fluorescent, depending upon the requirements.

One point you should watch out for is that the Fluorescent types sometimes have a high switch on surge, that can bust Triacs in those "movement sensor" outside lamps, especially the cheap ones. I just replace the Triac with something beefier....Less than a $....

Remember that fluorescents are only cheaper if switched on for longer period, due to that inrush of current at switch on. If you only need light for a very short period, then LEDs are best, or even normal bulbs. Furthermore, Fluorescents age quicker with a lot of switch ons /offs........

Hi Campbell Lighting. Here it the UK we will not be able to buy ordinary incandescent light bulbs after 2010. Our government is getting so green that they have passed a law banning ordinary incandescent light bulbs by then. I have used the CFL light bulbs for 20 years and I have never had a problem with them, the really good thing about them is that they use much less electricity thus saving you a pile of money. Spencer.

....the bottom line is to use LED lights wherever possible.

They are getting very powerful now, I recently bought a flashlight with a SINGLE LED and I can light up houses 60-100 meters away at night!!!

It is recommended, NOT to look into the light, it appears to give a similar light to the newer type car headlights with Xenon bulbs.....e.g. most painful to look at!!

Cars will also be fitted with LED front lights very, very soon now....

Andy in Germany wrote:

the bottom line is to use LED lights wherever possible.

They are getting very powerful now, I recently bought a flashlight with a SINGLE LED and I can light up houses 60-100 meters away at night!!!

It is recommended, NOT to look into the light, it appears to give a similar light to the newer type car headlights with Xenon bulbs.....e.g. most painful to look at!!

Cars will also be fitted with LED front lights very, very soon now....

Cars are already being fitted with LED Headlights,

and after reading about that expensive cleanup when the CFL bulb broke in the childs bedroom,

that REALLY makes the LED bulbs more desireable,

and also the FACT that they DO NOT contain mercury at all..

We have had considerable experience with L.E.D. products,

and even as I write this my desk is illuminated with a 1 meter section

of the new strip light that gives GREAT, non-shadowy light on my keyboard,

and only consumes 2 watts..

Donald,

Everything LED/Campbell Lighting

Lots of very good comments. Haven't seen any comments here on the potential electromagnetic interference effects of using these lights as compared to incandescent? I know from other folks that some of these are noisier than others. I like to use HF and VHF and above radio equipment and while not compact flourescent I had garage lights with electronic ballasts - T8 tubes, that totally wiped out any possible reception on HF and made VHF very noisy.

I've been using CFL's for years in some applications. If you read the package, it says they last 'up to 7 years' or whatever. Your results WILL vary... It takes a while for them to reach full brightness. I use them in areas that are lit for extended periods, and in places where my wife forgets to turn the light off before leaving for work (i.e. the garage). If I break one, I'll hold my breath and sweep it up, then put it in the trash. I'm not going to call come HazMat crew in to clean up a light bulb, sorry!