Compare Incandescent light bulbs to CFLs

Soft-white and frosted incandescent light bulbs have proven to provide superior quality lighting. By comparison, reports have shown that even when they are new, CFLs produce the worst quality of any major light source. And a CFL bulb can lose nearly 25% of its lumens as it ages. One of the major problems with the spiral design of a CFL is that too much of the light is focused inward. By comparison, incandescent bulbs will radiate light outword from the center. and they have the advantage of being designed for specific fixtures to maximize the useable light output . And incandescent bulbs do not take 3 to 15 min. to 'warm up'.
Our government has put in place legislation that will eliminate incandescent bulbs by the year 2014. You will need these bulbs for some fixtures, so it's time to think ahead and stock up.

Some of the best applications for incandescent light bulbs are in accent lamps, buffet lamps, reading lamps, desk lamps, floor lamps, hurricane lamps, display lighting, bath/vanity lighting, wall sconces, swing arm lights, chandeliers, close-to-ceiling mounts, directional lights, flush mounts, kitchen island lighting, pendants, landscape lighting, path lights, post lanterns, spot/flood lights, garage door openers, and ceiling fans. All of these applications can be used with a dimmer switch.

By comparison, CFL bulbs in all reality are not designed for normal household use.
Not only does a CFL take at least 3 minute to warm up, but each time you turn it off and on again, you shorten its life. Installation in an enclosed fixture or base down position will further shorten the life of CFLs by a substantial amount. Using a dimmer switch will nullify the warranty of a CFL bulb.

By installing a dimmer switch, you will not only save power but can extend the lifetime of the incandescent bulb to ten years or more. The clever display by eco-dim that is show above was found at a local big box store. Customers can slide the dimmer switch to see how much energy can be saved and how much longer each setting can make a light bulb last. This is true. I have incandescent bulbs in my kitchen fixture that I use everyday. They have lasted 8 years and counting with the use of a dimmer switch.

Many more choices are available for incandescent bulbs such as Long Life, Clear, Soft white bulbs, and Frosted bulbs. Incandescent bulbs are manufactured for specific applications. These include Reflector bulbs, Bent tip bulbs, Appliance bulbs, Tube, Globe, Blunt tip, Type-C(nightlight) and 3-way bulbs. Incandescent bulbs also are available in a variety of bases including: Candelabra Bases, European Bases, Medium skirted bases, Mogul bases and more. Many fixtures can only accept incandescent bulbs.

Incandescent bulbs can help LOWER your total energy costs. Read that one again. At least in the cooler climates it's true. Let the heat byproduct of incandescent bulbs work in your favor. The warmth of an incandescent bulb next to your work area or reading chair will allow you to turn down the thermostat a few degrees for the entire house and save on your heating bill. Is this idea too simple to mention? Also, since the CFLs need a few minutes to warm up they will tend to be left on when they should be turned off. This can result in them being left on for up to 20 times or more longer than an incandescent bulb. These are the kind of 'facts' that are left out of most equations when the light bulbs are compared. For those of you who have made the change to CFL bulbs, How much has your electric bill really changed? Has it gone down at all?

Take a look at the mercury content of one of the CFL bulbs. Even when you factor in the so called "low mercury bulbs", they average about 4mg per bulb. The makers of these bulbs will try to justify the mercury content by saying the energy saving and longer life will result in less mercury being released by power plants. That seems to make sense until you examine the issues a little closer. Read the next section for some interesting facts concerning the environment.

Top ranking Chinese diplomats not only have declared that "It's their turn to pollute the environment." they are going about it on an almost unimaginable scale. So what does this got to do with my light bulbs? Since almost all of the CFL bulbs are produced in China, jobs in the U.S, related to the lighting industry are being eliminated almost daily along with any chance to limit the environmental impact of their manufacture.
Let's take a look at the pollution from Chinese factories and the amount of energy required to produce CFLs, keeping in mind that there are over one hundred factories in China manufacturing these bulbs.
Read this quote from the Wall St. Journal
"On a recent hazy morning in eastern China, the Wuhu Shaoda power company revved up its production of electricity, burning a ton and a half of coal per minute to satisfy more than half the demand of Wuhu, an industrial city of two million people."
This is high sulfur content coal that is being burned with virtually no pollution controls. These power plants are being built and put online in China at a staggering rate of one per week. Now consider that it takes over 600% more energy to produce a CFL than an incandescent bulb. With the power plants in China spewing out nearly 400% more mercury than the average American power plant, that's 2400% more mercury being put into the atmosphere when you compare a Chinese made CFL to an American made incandescent bulb. Now add the 4mg of mercury that's actually in the bulb itself.
By comparison, since the introduction of 'scrubbers', coal-fired power plants in the United States contribute less than 1 percent of the total global mercury emissions. You can check the data at the U.S Dept of energy website at:
fossil.energy.gov/powersystems/pollutioncontrols
The pollution continues all the way to the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. Some of the massive container ships sailing from China have over 100,000 horsepower engines weighing over 2,300 tons. These engines are using low-grade ship bunker fuel containing up to 2,000 times the sulfur content of diesel fuel used in American automobiles.(27,000ppm vs. 15ppm) Marine heavy fuel oil is the residue of the world's oil refineries and is so thick that when cold it can be walked on. Research has shown that just one of these massive container ships can emit almost the same amount of cancer and asthma-causing chemicals as over 50 million cars. Although the EPA has begun regulating emissions from American ships, these regulations do not govern foreign-flagged vessels that account for over 90% of the ships that call on U.S. ports. You can examine the EPA's own data at: http://www.epa.gov/oms/oceanvessels.htm

Other than issuing millions of dollars worth of studies, reports and ignorable guidelines, the EPA has done virtually nothing to protect us from the hazards of CFLs. This is especially true when it come to disposing of them. The following statement concerning CFL bulbs is from the EPA own website.
"When lamps are broken, whether during storage, transport, disposal, or crushing, a substantial portion of the mercury contained in the lamp is released as mercury vapor. If the mercury vapor is not controlled or contained, it could be readily inhaled by anyone in the area and be hazardous to the health of those exposed individuals. Additionally, mercury released from broken lamps is persistent in the environment, where it can be chemically transformed to methyl mercury, which is more toxic than elemental mercury and which bioaccumulates up the food chain.
When lamps are disposed of in a landfill, rather than recycled, a substantial percentage of the lamps are broken and virtually all of the mercury contained in the lamps is released into the environment. In addition, lamps may be broken during collection, shipping, or handling." Is this the same EPA that just classified carbon, a fundamental for life as we know it, as a hazard to human health? How do you spell politics? E-P-A
It's hard to believe that these mercury laden cfls' are being pushed by the environmental crowd. Life is much simpler with incandescent light bulbs. All you have to do is throw them in the trash when they burn out.

The environmental impact of the CFL bulbs does not end with the mercury and pollution issues. Take a look at the amount of plastic that is used to package a CFL bulb. It's way too much for a consumable product and will end up clogging our already crowded landfills. The simple biodegradable corrugated cardboard box that comes around a standard incandescent bulb gives it the most environmentally friendly packaging.

For those of you concerned about CO2 emissions, replacing your incandescent bulbs with CFLs might not have near the impact as you hoped. It all has to do with when the bulbs are being used. Examine the data from the electric power companies and you will see that off peak electric generation hours are normally sometime after 9:00 pm. This just happens to be when it gets dark outside and is when most residential lighting is used. The source of off-peak electrical power is more likely to be of what is considered to be 'green power', such as:
- Hydroelectric// Some of these plants can produce more power than they can sell during off peak hours.
--Wind turbines and nuclear power plants// It seems strange to classify the nuclear plants as 'green', but at least as far as CO2 emmisions they are. These run without reduction 24 hours a day.
Power companies will only increase the output of coal fired plants during peak demand hours.

The cost for a CFL is still around 10 times the cost of an incandescent. This is the reason that these new bulbs are being pushed so aggressively. The prediction here is that the CFLs' will come way down in price to a point that the profit margin will be minimal. This may coincide with calls for the total ban on CFLs because of environmental issues. At that point, a NEW type of expensive bulb will be promoted as the solution to the growing mercury problem. (LED's are the leading candidate and coming on strong.-GE has just come out with a new super long life LED) If you are still inclined to choose a CFL over an incandescent bulb, it may be in your best interest to at least wait until the prices become more reasonable.
You can also check out this link to an interesting new LED lighting technology.
http://www.physorg.com/news185048189.html

Akron, Ohio based FirstEnergy Inc. was reconsidering one of the most ridiculous marketing promotions of all time. First they anounced the giveaway of a pair of CFL bulbs to each of their customers. Then it came out that their custumers would be charged not only for the bulbs, but the customers would bear the cost for the bulbs to be hand deleverd. To top it off, the custumers will also be charged for the transmission of the imaginary electricity that the CFL bulbs will supposedly save.
Some custumers have already vowed to smash the bulbs as soon as they are delivered. It's a shame to see the once proud First Energy Corporation sink to a stupid ploy like this one. We were hoping that they would bury this promotion forever, but now First Energy is planning to unleash an even more ridiculous 'giveaway' to it's customers. It appears that they will try to unload 6 CFLs onto their customers now. Stay tuned for the latest. Just wondering, Does First Energy think their custumers are stupid?

-Did you know that the earths' atmosphere weighs 5.5 quadrillion tons? That's a lot of hot air.

How to spend a trillion dollars:
While the United States is one trillion dollars in debt to China, that communist nation is using its enormous stockpile of foreign currency to secure access to natural resources in all parts of the globe. .

Here is an FCC warning on the package of a CFL bulb.
"This product may cause interference to radios, televisions, wireless telephones and remote controls. Do not install this product near critical navigation or communication equipment.

The short answer: No, CFL bulbs don't effect the weather
The long answer: Maybe- The container ships that bring these imported bulbs from China to the ports of LosAngeles and Long Beach are heavily polluting the shipping lanes. This pollution may be seeding the clouds and causing the rain destined for California to fall prematurely into the Pacific ocean. We are still researching this and looking for sattelite images for the shipping lanes.