CFL’s

Photo Source: samamarshallsign

With environmental awareness mainstream these days the popularity of Compact Fluorescent lights is rising dramatically.  While CFL’s are more expensive then their incandescent counterparts, CFL’s use 75% less electricity and last up to 10 times longer.  Using Compact Fluorescents can save you money over the long run and the environmental impact of America switching to these bulbs is enormous. 

• Lighting accounts for 10% of our residential energy use.
• If every American switched one bulb to a CFL, the national energy savings would be more than $600 million.(Source: http://www.epa.gov/)

A minor controversy has erupted by some people because CFL’s contain a trace amount of mercury.  While the amount is small (a tip of a pin) it can still cause environmental issues.  Even with this development the National Electronics Manufacturing Association still says that using CFL’s still has a net environmental benefit.  Coal-burning power plants release many pollutants, including mercury, to produce electricity.  The NEMA estimates that four to five times as much mercury is emitted into the air by power plants to generate the electricity to run a standard incandescent bulb than a CFL, since a CFL is more efficient.  To avoid mercury leaching into topsoil in the landfills from broken bulbs, properly dispose of old CFL’s at recycling centers.  To find a recycling center near you visit http://www.earth911.org/. For more information on Compact Fluorescent Lights visit http://www.gelighting.com/.