In a January 2 article about compact fluorescent light bulbs, The New York Times suggests that the energy efficient bulbs "are to the nation’s energy problem what vegetables are to its obesity epidemic: a near perfect answer, if only Americans could be persuaded to swallow them."
At $2-3 a bulb, CFL's aren't prohibitively expensive anymore, especially if you consider how much they save on electric bills. The new genereration of bulbs comes in a wide variety of shapes and color ranges. You can find CFL's that work with dimmer switches. And unlike the first CFL's, the new bulbs turn on right away. Still, some people aren't too sure about them.
The Times article sums up the pros and cons like this: "A compact fluorescent has clear advantages over the widely used incandescent light — it uses 75 percent less electricity, lasts 10 times longer, produces 450 pounds fewer greenhouse gases from power plants and saves consumers $30 over the life of each bulb. But it is eight times as expensive as a traditional bulb, gives off a harsher light and has a peculiar appearance."
I use CFL bulbs throughout my own house, the light suits me fine, and I appreciate the savings. But then again, I also like vegetables. And since PEC launched Enlighten, a number of people have contacted me about the particular qualities of light from CFL bulbs--about ways that it affects their mood or the aesthetics of their home or office. If CFL bulbs are like vegetables, these people want to find the best, organic produce.
For instance, I've learned that "daylight-balanced" CFL's are available for people who are sensitive to the shortage of sunlight in winter or just enjoy the qualities of fuller-spectrum light. These are more expensive, but I'm told they're worth it. If you can't find what you're looking for in local stores, you might be able to locate it online: www.bulbs.com carries a pretty impressive variety.
Since Enlighten got started, people have gotten in touch with me wanting to know how they can find the best bulbs for them. I'm hoping that as folks experiment with CFL's, they can use this blog to share their knowledge and experience, so more of us can get great light while using less energy.
Enlighten
Thursday, January 4, 2007
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5 comments:
I have seen 3 different types of CFLs. They all have different "Color tempatures". The typical overhead Floressent light is 4100K. I do not like that spectrum muself. The "cool" CFLs have a tempature of 2700K. That is very close to the standard "Soft white" incadesent bulb. "Bright White" is arround 3500K. The Daylight buls are 500K to 6500K. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compact_fluorescent_lamp
I notice on the bulbs I just bought that it says "Not for use where directly exposed to the weather." My plan included to put one right out front in an enclosed lantern fixture by the walkway, as a statement of support for this campaign. Do you think it'll be okay in there? The lantern enclosure is closed on all four sides and on bottom and top.
-Marshall Va.
Outside but enclosed should be fine! Let us know how it works out?
If you look for the ENERGY STAR label on the packaging, then you can be more confident about the quality of the bulb. (http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=cfls.pr_cfls)
Pertaining to the harshness of the light given off by CFLs: as part of my high school research class I did illumination and spectrum testing on CFLs and incandescents. At distances greater than one meter the lux (lumens per square meter) given off were essentially identical for both bulbs. Upon closer examination, however, the CFL produced up to 20% more lux at distances less than a meter (part of the difference in harshness). The spectrascope also revealed that the incandescent bulb had a slightly wider color spectrum with smooth color transition. The CFL's spectrum was banded and slighty narrower.
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