Compact fluorescent lightbulbs

[Bugman]

I'm just wondering if anyone has tried these,and what do you think about them?I have heard a lot of people are not happy with them as they seem to take a long time to come on.Some of the complaints i also hear are more a matter of aesthetics,such as when they are used in a chandelier.Also i understand these bulbs will not work with a reostat switch.

There is also an issue with proper disposal due to the mercury these bulbs contain.I also heard that if one of these bulbs should be broken on a carpeted floor that section of carpet would have to be cut out and replaced.I have no idea if thats true or not and i don't recall where i heard it.

Any thoughts or opinions?

 

[EBunbury]

I switched over about a year ago, and am very happy with them. When I first tried them a few years before, they were dim, but the ones I've bought recently are actually just slightly brighter than the incandescents they replace; a CF rated to replace a 60 Watt incandescent is just a bit brighter, for example. As a photofrapher, I notice the color balance; the ones I tried a few years back were more like fluorescent tubes, the new ones are a very close match for incandescents.

So far, as far as I know, they still can't be used with dimmer switches or three-way fixtures, and they don't come in all shapes. I just saw some candelabra-base CFs for chandeliers in Home Depot two weeks ago.

Lighting is number three in my electric bill, after A/C and refrigeration, but they do seem to have cut my electric bill by between 10% and 15%.

As a chemist, I did read up on the mercury issue. Like fluorescent tubes, CFs do contain a bit of mercury. Breaking one isn't nearly as bad as breaking a regular fluorescent tube, but they do come with instructions to ventilate the room while you clean up. They're not going to be the major mercury source in the average home. And they should be taken back to the store for recycling rather than tossed in the trash Hasn't been an issue for me yet, as I've only been using them 18 months, so none have burned out. Supposedly, they last much longer than incandescent bulbs.

Overall, I'm very pleased.

🙂 E. Bunbury

 

[Oddjob0226]

They now have "quick start" bulbs that light up with no delay.

Also, the mercury nowdays isn't stored in the bulb, it is protected in the end of the bulb where it screws into the fixture (where all the 'technical hardware' is).

If you break a bulb you should sweep it up into a paper plate or something disposable while wearing disposable gloves (no vaccuming). A disposable yardwork mask wouldn't be bad, either. This is in case any mercury does leak. Then thow all of that away - paper plate, gloves, mask & broken bulb.

The bulbs themselves can be taken to a hazardous waste disposal business (they are in the phone book and should take the bulbs for free).

There are some ideas cooking that any place selling mercury bulbs would/should also have a disposal kiosk on site but so far no such laws have been passed and businesses are not volunteering to install such things.

Or, if no one is looking, if a bulb burns out just dump it in the regular trash. You know plety of that is already going on!

 

[Bugman]

Thanks for the feedback guys.I'm just starting to look into the whole issue,its nice hearing from some people who have tried them out.😀

 

[kurchatovium]

Personally for me as a chemist I have sucked in enough mercury vapor to last a lifetime. So until they can safely contain the mercury in these bulbs or come up with another alternative I will stick with incandesents.

 

[Bugman]

Personally for me as a chemist I have sucked in enough mercury vapor to last a lifetime. So until they can safely contain the mercury in these bulbs or come up with another alternative I will stick with incandesents.

You won't have much choice soon Kurch,and thats something that bothers me that i didn't bring up in my first post.

I don't like the the idea of the government telling me what kind of lightbulb i must use,and giving me no choice in the matter.

 

[kurchatovium]

You won't have much choice soon Kurch,and thats something that bothers me that i didn't bring up in my first post.

I don't like the the idea of the government telling me what kind of lightbulb i must use,and giving me no choice in the matter.

I dont much like that idea either. 🙁 Hopefully the mercury issue will be better worked out by the time we are forced to buy them.

 

[Redmage]

Personally for me as a chemist I have sucked in enough mercury vapor to last a lifetime. So until they can safely contain the mercury in these bulbs or come up with another alternative I will stick with incandesents.

Actually that will expose you to more mercury than you'd get from the CFL.

Approximately 0.0234 mg of mercury—plus carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide—releases into the air per 1 kwh of electricity that a coal-fired power plant generates. Over the 7500-hour average range of one CFL, then, a plant will emit 13.16 mg of mercury to sustain a 75-watt incandescent bulb but only 3.51 mg of mercury to sustain a 20-watt CFL (the lightning equivalent of a 75-watt traditional bulb). Even if the mercury contained in a CFL was directly released into the atmosphere, an incandescent would still contribute 4.65 more milligrams of mercury into the environment over its lifetime.

The amount of mercury contained in these bulbs is really fairly trivial.

I'm just wondering if anyone has tried these,and what do you think about them?I have heard a lot of people are not happy with them as they seem to take a long time to come on.

That's not been a problem for the ones I used.

Some of the complaints i also hear are more a matter of aesthetics,such as when they are used in a chandelier.

I suppose. Though the spiral forms look good to my eye, and they can be contained in holders so that you can't see the shape at all.

Also i understand these bulbs will not work with a reostat switch.

Used to be true, but not any more. You do need to look for dimmable CFLs, but they're out there.

I also heard that if one of these bulbs should be broken on a carpeted floor that section of carpet would have to be cut out and replaced.

Not true. We're talking mercury, not plutonium. See my comments to Kurch above.

 

[kurchatovium]

Actually that will expose you to more mercury than you'd get from the CFL.

Approximately 0.0234 mg of mercury—plus carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide—releases into the air per 1 kwh of electricity that a coal-fired power plant generates. Over the 7500-hour average range of one CFL, then, a plant will emit 13.16 mg of mercury to sustain a 75-watt incandescent bulb but only 3.51 mg of mercury to sustain a 20-watt CFL (the lightning equivalent of a 75-watt traditional bulb). Even if the mercury contained in a CFL was directly released into the atmosphere, an incandescent would still contribute 4.65 more milligrams of mercury into the environment over its lifetime.

The amount of mercury contained in these bulbs is really fairly trivial.

The point is if the bulb breaks in my room I am exposed to all the mercury in the bulb. The mercury exposure from increased energy usage is spread all over the enviroment. Not specifically in my room. How many millgrams of mercury are in the bulb actually? Do you know off hand. If the amount of mercury in the bulb is in the micrograms then perhaps it is worth the risk. If its significantly more then I am not so sure.

I have rather bad arthrtits in both knees so changing light bulbs is not so trivial for me. I have dropped and broken incasdescents before because its not so easy for me to climb a ladder. I like the fact the bulbs last longer then incasdescents cause that would mean I would have to change bulbs less often. They savings in energy would be good too especially with the energy costs now being very high. The only hold up for me now is mercury issue.

 

[kurchatovium]

Ahhh from your article each bulb has 5 millgrams of Mercury. Thats a bit too much for me thank you. 😀

 

[Redmage]

You really ought to know that you would not be exposed to 5mg of Hg in the event of a broken bulb. At worst, you'd be exposed to whatever vapor the Hg emitted before you got it cleaned up - probably in the nanogram range. And that's IF a bulb breaks.

Let's say you break 20% of the bulbs you handle. That's a high estimate, since I've never broken one myself. Even distributed through the environment, your Hg exposure from the incandescent bulbs those CFLs would replace is going to be mighty high. I don't think a whiff of mercury vapor from one bulb in 5 is going to do you any more damage.

Let's put it this way: if you're that concerned about mercury, then I hope you never eat tuna salad, or have amalgam fillings in your teeth.

 

[Oddjob0226]

You know, you can still get candles.

There is the chance of fire leakage, though.

 

[kurchatovium]

You really ought to know that you would not be exposed to 5mg of Hg in the event of a broken bulb. At worst, you'd be exposed to whatever vapor the Hg emitted before you got it cleaned up - probably in the nanogram range. And that's IF a bulb breaks.

Let's say you break 20% of the bulbs you handle. That's a high estimate, since I've never broken one myself. Even distributed through the environment, your Hg exposure from the incandescent bulbs those CFLs would replace is going to be mighty high. I don't think a whiff of mercury vapor from one bulb in 5 is going to do you any more damage.

Let's put it this way: if you're that concerned about mercury, then I hope you never eat tuna salad, or have amalgam fillings in your teeth.

I am not worried about the whiff of vapor my friend as I have probably inhaled more vapor then I care to admit on a short term basis. 😀 😛 I am talking long term. I am worried about a small ball of mercury rolling out on the floor from a broken bulb and hiding itself somewhere. I have cleaned mercury spills before and mercury goes all over the place sometimes even under your floor boards or places where you cant reach. It can be a real pain. Now if the bulbs are designed to avoid this all well and good. If you tell me no matter how the bulbs break that little bitty ball of mercury wont come out then hey I might go for it and replace the bulbs in my overhead fixtures. If thats not the case though then I have some reseverations.

 

[Redmage]

I am worried about a small ball of mercury rolling out on the floor from a broken bulb and hiding itself somewhere. I have cleaned mercury spills before....It can be a real pain.

Yes, I've cleaned up Hg before as well. I've never found it an immense hassle though.

5mg is the upper limit. Some designs contain as little as 1mg. And as the bulb ages more and more of the Hg adheres to the inner surface of the bulb (this is what causes the bulb to wear out, in fact). Such adsorbed Hg can't be released in liquid form through a breakage. By the end of the bulb's life (when you'll be changing it), as little as 11% of the original mercury may still be in a releasable form.

As I said, I think you're overblowing the danger here. Mercury can be released only if a bulb breaks, and I can't believe you break all that many bulbs. But if you're really that paranoid, just use a ziploc bag to change your CFLs - since they aren't hot, you can put the bag directly over a CFL and use it like a glove to unscrew the bulb. Then if you do happen to drop it, and it does happen to break, most or all of the fragments will be contained in the bag. Or put down newspaper as a dropcloth under your lamp, to cushion any falling bulbs and simplify cleanup from any that do break.

 

[kurchatovium]

Yes, I've cleaned up Hg before as well. I've never found it an immense hassle though.

5mg is the upper limit. Some designs contain as little as 1mg. And as the bulb ages more and more of the Hg adheres to the inner surface of the bulb (this is what causes the bulb to wear out, in fact). Such adsorbed Hg can't be released in liquid form through a breakage. By the end of the bulb's life (when you'll be changing it), as little as 11% of the original mercury may still be in a releasable form.

As I said, I think you're overblowing the danger here. Mercury can be released only if a bulb breaks, and I can't believe you break all that many bulbs. But if you're really that paranoid, just use a ziploc bag to change your CFLs - since they aren't hot, you can put the bag directly over a CFL and use it like a glove to unscrew the bulb. Then if you do happen to drop it, and it does happen to break, most or all of the fragments will be contained in the bag. Or put down newspaper as a dropcloth under your lamp, to cushion any falling bulbs and simplify cleanup from any that do break.

We actually had a major problem in one lab where mercury had apparently rolled under a piece of large equipment and collected there. It had been there for years. Finally when the equipment was moved we had discovered a nice little pool there. Luckily it was a lab that was rarely occupied, used more for storage so no one was in there every day getting exposed.

I have actually broken 3 incandescents. You should see me on a ladder 😛 A scary site to be sure. 😀

Now the bag idea I really like. Never thought of that. Thanks. 😀

How much longer do the bulbs last then incandescents?

 

[Bohemianne]

I'm just wondering if anyone has tried these,and what do you think about them?I have heard a lot of people are not happy with them as they seem to take a long time to come on.Some of the complaints i also hear are more a matter of aesthetics,such as when they are used in a chandelier.Also i understand these bulbs will not work with a reostat switch.

There is also an issue with proper disposal due to the mercury these bulbs contain.I also heard that if one of these bulbs should be broken on a carpeted floor that section of carpet would have to be cut out and replaced.I have no idea if thats true or not and i don't recall where i heard it.

Any thoughts or opinions?

^ Have tried those. They are more efficient to use, less heat emitted...but please don't use them on chandelliers. 😱 You can't make a warm space with them. For functionality they work well, last longer compared to incandescent bulbs. Like Ebunbury said, true they can't work with dimmers but work well with three-way switch set-up...

Cylindrical long flourescent bulbs improve well and aesthetically with diffusers.

 

[Redmage]

Now the bag idea I really like. Never thought of that. Thanks. 😀

How much longer do the bulbs last then incandescents?

They last 8-15 times longer.