COMPACT FLUORESCENT LIGHTS

         There is a lot of hype about using energy saving Compact Fluorescent Light bulbs; even suggesting every light in the house should be change over to CFLs.  That is a definite mistake, as many can attest, after spending many times more money, just to have them burn out in no time.  The reason is the small print, that is seldom read, or all together missing;  To get the 6000 to 12000 hrs claimed, they need to be in a fixture that is on for 3 hours at a time.  In a bathroom, where the light is on and off all day,  CFLs will burn out in a very short time.  Storage rooms and most bed rooms would also be poor applications for these lights.  The right use of CFLs is in security lights that are on for long hours or all night and many kitchens.  They will also burn out early if used in non-CFL rated dimmers, electric eyes, and timers.  It should also be noticed that it is a two part product, ballast & bulb, thereby having a double failure rate compared to other single part products.

         Now what about the hype of $100's of power savings.  This will not be true in my case nor for the average home owner.  If we switch from a 60 watt incandescent to a 13 watt CFL, we save about 50 watts.  When that is divided into a kilowatt (1000 watts), we notice it takes 20 hours to save 10 cents,
give or take depending on your market.  I do not know of a lot of bathrooms with lights on for 20 hrs a week, but if you mistakenly used a CFL, the savings would be $5 a yr. per bulb.  Most homes I see have 2 lights on the garage and one light on the porch;  3 bulbs at 10 hrs per night (30 hrs x 7 days = 210 / 20 = 10 x .10) is a $1 week saved or $52 a yr.  A kitchen with 6 bulbs and on 5 hrs a day would be equivalent.  That is a savings and worth the use of the CFLs in the right application, but not as good as the hype and propaganda. 

         The quality and price of the CFL is of course an important factor.  Now if we can save $17 a yr. ($52/3) on power for a bulb that will last 2 or 3 yrs. when used right, then we can justify the 5 to 10 times higher cost of the CFL.  You can buy cheap CFLs just like cheap incandescents or get CFLs with reflectors to match floods or spots in recessed cans.  You can also get "instant start" if you hate the 30 sec. warm up period.  There is also some value in getting the smaller, longer life, Type 2 Technology CFLs. 

         One of the best benefits of CFL's (and all fluorescent tubes) is that you can choose your color.  I prefer to match sunlight with a 5000K (Kelvin Temperature) bulb.  This color helps with depression (best if Full Spectrum with 90% CRI or better), makes reading easier, (thereby reducing eye strain), brightens colors, makes whites white, and reduces monitor glare.  If you want a little yellow for mood or to enhance light colored woods, choose a 4100K (cool white) bulb.  Daylight, at 6500K, is available, but is too blue for my taste.  The common (warm white) colors of 2700K to 3500K are less expensive and found in multi-packs.  Note that this is the color of fluorescents we have hated for decades, draining our energy in office buildings, but this has its' place if we need to high-light yellow objects.

         For depression it is best to get Full Spectrum Lights with 90% CRI or better. CRI is the Color Rendering Index. Typically 60% to 95% If the CRI is less than 90% it is better to call it Color Corrected, but their are no legal mandates.  Brightness or lumen count is important and can drop as CRI increases.

         CFLs need to be disposed of carefully because of the mercury content, but be aware that mercury salts are what is toxic not elemental mercury.