Compact Flourescent Lightbulbs...Are They Worth It?

Everyone seems to be up in arms about the whole Compact Fluorescent Lightbulb (CFL) issue. There are those that, from Day 1, could not wait to switch over their lights to the new bulbs, and then there are those that won’t be caught within 100 feet of them, and have even complained to public institutions that have CFL’s in them that they want them removed.

The process of how a CFL bulb works is, frankly, more boring than the instructions to a piece of put-together furniture, so I won’t bore anyone with the process. Suffice to say, they do not work the same way as a traditional bulb. In a traditional bulb, the electricity warms the filament in the bulb until it glows, generating light. In a CFL, the process is handled by electric current being sent through a tube that contains both argon and a small amount of mercury vapors. They take longer to warm up, but in the end, they use less energy because they give off less heat. CFL bulbs even have a “ballast” in them that will kick start the heat and keep the current flowing.

Was that short enough without being boring?

This post was not meant to be a lengthy, technical rambling – I’ll let EnergyStar and the EPA handle that. They have wonderful directions (complete with schematics!) on their websites. No, this post was meant to focus on the top five complaints I have garnered in looking into the different facets of Compact Fluorescent Bulb.

Complaint #1: They have mercury in them!

Solution: Don’t break them.

Yes, it’s true that CFL bulbs contain mercury. However, they expend no mercury when lit or as long as they remain intact. While it is true that they are something that requires special disposal due to the mercury, again, as long as the bulb remains intact, that’s all they require.  And personally, I’ve dropped one from a height of about 3 feet, and it didn’t break – luckily. That’s not to say that you should replace, water balloons with CFL bulbs the next time you have a contest. Just don’t drop them and you should be fine. And by the way, the average thermometer growing up (for those of us that remember mercury thermometers) contained about 11% mercury, and we were sticking that in our mouths! CFL bulbs contain less than 4% mercury, and if you’re sticking that in your mouth, well…I just don’t want to know.

Complaint #2: The government is making me buy them!

Solution: Stockpile the traditional bulbs.

While legislation was introduced that will ban the selling of traditional light bulbs along about the year 2014, they are still widely being sold. Just walk into any store and ask – you will be directed to an aisle’s worth of traditional light bulbs. They go on sale fairly regularly, and are not as perishable as, say, milk or eggs. They will keep for a long time and, with any luck, you can stockpile enough to hold out until the next big breakthrough – LED bulbs, which are currently on the market but still priced too extravagantly for those that have to choose between the LED bulb and their next month’s worth of groceries.

Complaint #3: The light they give off is this funny color…

Solution: Try a different bulb.

The CFL bulb has long had a rocky relationship with some consumers, mainly those that raced to try the first ones on the market. Past CFL bulbs have indeed caused funny, blu-ish or green-ish light, but today’s CFL bulbs come in a variety of shapes and colors, and can cause anything from soft white to almost daylight conditions in bulbs. Save the receipt, return it to the store or give it to someone else that needs it, and try a different bulb. Most stores are happy to accept exchanges – at least the last time I checked. And if you have friends that are die-hard users of CFL bulbs, hey – they make great Christmas presents!

Complaint #4: They don’t work with dimmer and/or three-way switches

Solution: Yes, they will, you just have to find the right bulb.

Okay, I’m not saying that “one size fits all”, because it doesn’t. CFL bulbs specifically say that if you plan to use them with a dimmer switch you should buy one specifically for a dimmer. It’s the same with a 3-way lamp. But there are CFL bulbs on the market that will work with dimmer switches. There are also CFL bulbs on the market that will work with 3-way lamps – for example, GE Lighting makes a 3-way 12-23-29 bulb that is comparable to a 50-100-150 incandescent bulb for $14.99 at staples.com. The bulb advertises that it lasts 6 years. That’s a lot of incandescent bulbs.

Complaint #5: They give me headaches, blurry vision, and nausea.

Solution: …

This one was a toughie, because it actually is a valid complaint. Medical studies have actually been done on this subject. In a study done by the Louisiana State University Department of Medicine on patients with systemic lupus, 13 out of 30 participants actually showed an increase in disease activity. Parents of children with autism have complained as well, that the bulbs have caused changes in symptoms of their children, and not in a good way. There are others that have complained that CFL bulbs have given them headaches, nausea, and caused them to miss out on daily activities. Is there the possibility that CFL’s could adversely affect people? Yes. But then again, so can a lot of other things. I don’t live in a house with anyone that has lupus, or autism, or any other disorder, so I don’t know for sure…if anyone wants to chime in on this, please, feel free.

The point of this post was not to persuade or dissuade those against CFL bulbs, simply to point out the top five things I seem to have found while researching them. I can, for absolute certainty, say that we have 41 bulbs in the house, 24 of which are CFL bulbs, and I get a bigger headache looking at my computer screen than with a CFL bulb. They don’t give off a funny color, and while they do take a while longer to warm up to “full glow”, when they get there they stay lit longer and give off a more consistent light. I’m also the first to admit, though, that we don’t have any dimmer switches, and our 3-way lamps that have a CFL in them are just connected a wall switch, so we don’t have to worry about it, but we haven’t had any problems thus far.

To be honest, we have experienced only positive things about our CFL bulbs, such as the fact that the four inset lights in the kitchen, before CFL bulbs, would regularly blow out. Since putting in CFL bulbs, they have not once done this.  The same cause and result was seen in the garage. So, I guess the CFL bulbs are here to stay – at least in this house.

Please, comment on your thoughts on CFL bulbs. Are they worth it? Have they worked for you? Would you keep using them, or never use them? I’m curious to know – where do people stand on this?

Rules of the Road...Er, Project!

(Originally published on lifetimeprojects.wordpress.com on July 25, 2011)

As the first week of the current family project comes to a close, it occurs to me that I never quite defined exactly what the “rules” were for it, especially in regards to saving energy in the house. While we usually don’t make a big deal of these things (the ‘rules’), as far as the projects go, because each project is different and because the main factor is personal growth, it does help to define at least some parameters to make sure that everyone is on the same page.
It also helps to state that though there are parameters and rules that define all of the projects, they are flexible, with really no hard-and-fast consequences on ‘breaking’ said rules. For example, if during this family project someone accidentally left the computer on, there wouldn’t be much done about it except to note that the computer had been on all night in our notes and take that into account when the next energy bill came.
The rules that we have come up with are as follows:

1. All appliances will be turned off when not in active use by someone, except in cases where they are necessary to our health and survival (e.g. the stove – has anyone ever tried to get behind their stove and unplug it? I think not!)
2. All lightbulbs will be switched over to Compact Flourescent Lightbulbs (CFL’s) wherever possible. In cases where it is cost-prohibitive to do so (there are several inset, flood-type lights throughout the house), these lights will be used for no longer than absolutely necessary.
3. Either the television OR one desktop computer can be turned on, but not both at the same time.
4. Laptops and cell phones will be expected to run on their individual battery power, not house energy.
5. All laundry will be washed only once a week, including hot-water loads, except in cases of emergency (e.g. household illness, etc.). Family members may have input on the day chosen.
6. Outside spigots may be turned on for no longer than 1 hour per day. It is strongly recommended that, unless necessary, watering the garden and washing the cars be limited to 1/2 hour per day unless garden or other conditions deem otherwise.
7. For charging devices, such as for cell phones and/or laptops, these devices will only be used to charge said electronics, not run them, and may only be plugged in for active charging when the battery is completely depleted.
8. The thermostat will be set no lower than 76 degrees during the daytime, and will be allowed to reset to 72 only for nighttime sleeping conditions from 11:00PM-7:00AM.
9. Showers are limited to 10 minutes per person or less. Taking longer than the allotted time runs the risk of someone shutting off the hot water! (We’re just kidding on this one, but don’t tell the kids that…)
10. Low-flow aerators will be installed in the house – don’t take all day to wash hands, brush teeth, etc. If possible, turn the water off during the parts where you are not actually using it.
11. Should the temperature outside be lower than 75 degrees during the daytime and/or 70 degrees at nighttime, the air conditioning will be turned off and the windows opened.
12. Blinds and window treatments will remain shut during the daytime hours, especially on south and west-facing windows, to allow the cool air to remain in the house.
13. Most importantly: All family members are to think about what they are doing! Think before turning on a light, the television, a computer, the gaming consoles, etc. Is there something else that needs to be done instead? Could you instead read a book, take a walk, do something else? Make sure all electronics or other things are turned off when done, especially lights when leaving a room. Be aware of your surroundings. We’re not saying do not turn a light on when going down stairs in the dark – we’re saying that when you are done with the light, turn it off, don’t leave it on and go wandering elsewhere.

While these are the guidelines that we’ve set out to follow during the project, there are others that have been kicked around and thought about but not ‘finalized’ yet. Examples include a No-Electricity Night – where we use no electricity or energy, instead playing board games, talking as a family, reading books, having an ‘indoor (or outdoor!) campout’, or just going to bed early. Also discussed has been a  No-Stove Night – in which everything for dinner is cooked on the grill, or we have a cold dinner/picnic in the park, something like that. Since the stove is gas, this might prove to be beneficial!
While we encourage and hope everyone in the family will help us out with this project, we understand that there will be slipups. For example, the other night I forgot to unplug the television, which is also on the same power bar as the DVD system and  surround sound. Fortunatley the gaiming console that we have long suspected of raising our electric/gas bill $10.00-$30.00 per month stays unplugged no matter what unless someone is actively using it.
So, there are the guidelines for this family project. Keep the lights off (we’re not Motel 6), think about what you’re doing, and keep energy costs in mind. The rest we’ll figure out as we go along – just like we always do.