[Iowa-dx] Controversy Over Energy Saving Bulbs

[Libris Fidelis]

There is a new controversy over the new Energy Saving Bulbs.  We're
going to all have to consider the pros and cons in this, as there are
some real issues here.  I personally bought my first set of bulbs and am
using them quite happily, but now there are some considerations.

I heard today on Ira Flatow's National Public Radio programTalk Of The
Nation, over WSUI AM 910 today, that the new Energy Saving
compact bulbs contain mercury, as do all florescent bulbs.  One caller
to the radio program said she considers the issue to be a serious
trade-off between two evils.

On the radio program, Ira Flatow (prounounced "flay-toe") introduced
Professor Russell Leslie, Professor and Associate Director of the
Lighting Research Center of the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in
Troy, New York.  He said that the Energy Saving compact light bulbs,
the kind with the swirling coil shape, use 75% less energy than do
traditional incandescent bulbs.  They reportedly also last 10-times
longer in life than do the incandescent bulbs.  However, all florescent
light bulbs, such as the new Energy Saving compact bulbs, require
mercury to function.

Now, quite frankly, I have purchased three of them, and I am quite
happy with them, at the present time.  But what the radio program's
callers brought up has made me think this over somewhat.

Dr. Leslie said that Mercury is most harmful if it goes up into the air.
Coal-fired power plants produce 50% more mercury pollution by
providing electricity for incandescent bulbs than if they provide
electricity for the new Energy Saving compact bulbs, which use
75% less energy.

There are 3 to 4 milligrams of mercury per Energy Saving compact
bulb.  In respect to other uses of mercury, there are 300 milligrams
of mercury in a nurse thermometer, and 3000 milligrams of mercury
in a thermostat.  So, the old bulbs should not simply be thrown into
the trash, they need to be reclaimed and recycled.  There are some
some states now that are considering placing a refundable deposit
on the new Energy Saving compact bulbs to encourage people to
return them for recycling.  To think of all of the times I've seen
commercial florescent bulbs being thrown into the trash bins ! ! !

He also said that the energy savings is relative to the Kelvin rating.
Not all of the new Energy Saving compact bulbs have the same
efficiency, although none of them require as much energy as the
older incandescent bulbs. You have to look at the label on the bulb
container to see what that is.  It is true that the new Energy Saving
compact bulbs use 75% less energy on the average, but the more
white light they are designed to emit, the less like sunlight they are,
and that equates to more energy expended.

For instance, the color of the new Energy Saving compact bulbs is
more "white" the more Kelvins the bulbs are rated at, and that is
the energy efficiency of the bulbs.  The measurement for halogen
light bulbs is 3000 Kelvins, for instance.

Light Emitting Diodes (like they now use on traffic signals and on
commercial vehicle lights) do not use mercury.  But it is expensive,
according to Dr. Leslie, because it is a rapidly-changing technology.
Today's LED lights require temperature control in order to work
right, as the LED's drop in performance due to heat.

One problem with the new Energy Saving compact bulbs is that
they emit light in all directions, they do not focus the light into
certain directions like incandescent bulbs do.  To provide shields
that reflect the light back into one direction causes a heat
build-up, and that affects the efficiency and life of the new
Energy Saving compact bulbs and also, as with all florescent bulbs,
each time the switch is turned on and off, the light life is shortened.

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