Every swirl sold will eliminate demand for six to eight regular bulbs.
Related StoriesSitting humbly on shelves in stores everywhere is a product, priced at less than $3, that will change the world. Soon. It is a fairly ordinary item that nonetheless cuts to the heart of a half-dozen of the most profound, most urgent problems we face. Energy consumption. Rising gasoline costs and electric bills. Greenhouse-gas emissions. Dependence on coal and foreign oil. Global warming.
The product is the compact fluorescent lightbulb, a quirky-looking twist of frosted glass. In the energy business, it is called a "CFL," or an "energy saver." One scientist calls it an "ice-cream-cone spiral," because in its most-advanced, most-appealing version, it looks like nothing so much as a cone of swirled soft-serve ice cream.
Most people have some experience with swirl bulbs, but typically it hasn't been happy. In the early 1990s, you would step into a room in a business traveler's hotel, flip on the lights by the door and between the beds, turn on the desk lamp and the floor lamp, then stand in the gloom looking around and thinking, "There must be another switch somewhere that actually turns on the light." Every one of the bulbs flickering to life was a compact fluorescent--and five of them together didn't provide enough light to read the card listing the lineup of cable-TV channels.
For two decades, CFLs lacked precisely what we expect from lightbulbs: strong, unwavering light; quiet; not to mention shapes that actually fit in the places we use bulbs. Now every one of those problems has been conquered. The bulbs come on quickly; their light is bright, white, steady, and silent; and the old U-shaped tubes--they looked like bulbs from a World War II submarine--have mostly been replaced by the swirl. Since 1985, CFLs have changed as much as cell phones and portable music players.
One thing hasn't changed: the energy savings. Compact fluorescents emit the same light as classic incandescents but use 75% or 80% less electricity.
What that means is that if every one of 110 million American households bought just one ice-cream-cone bulb, took it home, and screwed it in the place of an ordinary 60-watt bulb, the energy saved would be enough to power a city of 1.5 million people. One bulb swapped out, enough electricity saved to power all the homes in Delaware and Rhode Island. In terms of oil not burned, or greenhouse gases not exhausted into the atmosphere, one bulb is equivalent to taking 1.3 million cars off the roads.
That's the law of large numbers--a small action, multiplied by 110 million.
The single greatest source of greenhouse gases in the United States is power plants--half our electricity comes from coal plants. One bulb swapped out: enough electricity saved to turn off two entire power plants--or skip building the next two.
Just one swirl per home. The typical U.S. house has between 50 and 100 "sockets" (astonish yourself: Go count the bulbs in your house). So what if we all bought and installed two ice-cream-cone bulbs? Five? Fifteen?
Says David Goldstein, a PhD physicist, MacArthur "genius" fellow, and senior energy scientist with the Natural Resources Defense Council: "This could be just what the world's been waiting for, for the last 20 years."
Swirl bulbs don't just work, they pay for themselves. They use so little power compared with old reliable bulbs, a $3 swirl pays for itself in lower electric bills in about five months. Screw one in, turn it on, and it's not just lighting your living room, it's dropping quarters in your pocket. The advantages pile up in a way to almost make one giddy. Compact fluorescents, even in heavy use, last 5, 7, 10 years. Years. Install one on your 30th birthday; it may be around to help illuminate your 40th.
In an era when political leaders and companies are too fainthearted to ask Americans to sacrifice anything for the greater good, the modern ice-cream swirl bulb requires no sacrifice. Buying and using it helps save the world--and also saves the customer money--with no compromise on quality. Selflessness and self-satisfaction, twirled into a single $3 purchase.
So far, the impact of compact fluorescents has been trivial, for a simple reason: We haven't bought them. In our outdated experience, they don't work well and they cost too much. Last year, U.S. consumers spent about $1 billion to buy about 2 billion lightbulbs--5.5 million every day. Just 5%, 100 million, were compact fluorescents. First introduced on March 28, 1980, swirls remain a niche product, more curiosity than revolution.
But that's about to change. It will change before our very eyes. A year from now, chances are that you yourself will have installed a swirl or two, and will likely be quite happy with them. In the name of conservation and good corporate citizenship, not to mention economics, one unlikely company is about haul us to the lightbulb aisle, reeducate us, and sell us a swirl: Wal-Mart.
Digg
StumbleUpon
Facebook
Twitter
Buzz Up!
LinkedIn
Recent Comments | 5 Total
April 30, 2008 at 4:02pm by Phyllis Brown
I would like to know if these CFL bulbs are harmful if they break. Also how do you dispose of them. I understand they have mercury in them.
June 20, 2008 at 3:34pm by Carolyn Sampson
There's information about that at the U.S. Department of Energy/Energy Star website. Go to Energystar.gov and click on Contact Us and then Find/ASk a question about Energy Star. In the list is a question that says "How do I dispose of CFLS?" And "How do I clean up a broken CFL?"
November 23, 2008 at 12:04pm by Papa Giorgio
New & Old Info:
There’s a lot most people don’t know about compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs). The advertising message tells people that CFLs are “green” solutions that will help save the planet, and a few bucks on household electric bills. It’s also a common belief that the bulbs last five years between replacements. This notion probably stems from the 5- year guarantee on GE’s CFL bulbs. Here’s the catch: The guarantee is based on 4 hours of use per day for five years, and the bulb must be mailed back with receipt and proof of purchase for a refund if it fails to last 7,300 hours. The price of postage may exceed the cost of replacing the bulb and this expense is borne by the consumer. Probably not many get sent back, but anecdotal evidence suggests that they do not last the advertised five years under normal conditions. Some have been reported to burn out in a year or less.
CFLs, as many consumers have discovered to their dismay, do not function properly with dimmer switches. They need the full voltage to operate and attempting to use a CFL with a dimmer switch voids it’s warranty.
According to GE, CFLs should not be used in an enclosed fixture, like a ceiling fan light because this can cause them to overheat. Applications that produce vibration should also be avoided, so CFLs are a poor choice for garage door openers and are doubly bad for ceiling fans. Additionally, CFLs tend to literally burn out at the end of their life, melting plastic and other components, emitting smoke and toxic vapor. In rare instances this has led to house fires.
Compact fluorescent lights are known to cause radio frequency interference with wireless networks and cordless phones.
Beginning in 2012, thanks to a new federal law enacted in 2007, Edison’s incandescent light bulb, the very symbol of American innovation for over a century will be banned. Many people are unaware of the approaching light bulb ban, probably due, at least in part to the fact that Congress designed the ban to take effect seven years after it was passed. Compact fluorescent lights will soon be the only electric lighting option for household use.
Most people have heard that CFLs contain mercury, but they’ve probably also heard the message from CFL manufacturers and some government agencies that the amount of mercury in each CFL is small and not a serious concern.
Let’s take a look at what the EPA has to say about mercury and then a specific look at what they say about CFLs.
General Information From Mercury Response Book (for Emergency Responders)
Adverse human health effects can result from acute or chronic exposure to mercury. Exposure occurs primarily through inhalation, and to a lesser extent through skin absorption or ingestion. Acute exposure to high levels of elemental mercury vapor can affect the brain and the central nervous system. Exposure to high levels of mercury vapor can also cause symptoms such as irritation to the lining of the mouth, lungs, and airways; increased blood pressure and heart rate; nausea; vomiting; diarrhea; skin rashes; eye irritation; and a condition known as acrodynia. Acrodynia is a syndrome characterized by red peeling skin, especially on the hands, feet, and nose. Exposure may also include symptoms such as weakness, fretfulness, sleeplessness, excessive salivation or sweating, itching, swelling, fever, memory loss, and elevated blood pressure.
Even a small amount of mercury remaining in a room after a spill can continue to evaporate slowly over time, resulting in elevated concentrations of mercury in the air, thus presenting the threat of chronic exposure. Symptoms of chronic exposure to elemental mercury include personality changes (irritability, shyness, nervousness); tremors; vision changes; deafness; lack of muscle coordination; loss of sensation; and memory difficulties. For pregnant women, mercury exposure is of particular concern because mercury readily passes across the placenta and can accumulate in higher concentrations in the developing fetus. Young children also are susceptible to the effects of mercury because it affects the central nervous system, which is still developing in the first few years of life. Even low levels of mercury exposure have been associated with learning problems in children. Mercury absorbed through the lungs, gastrointestinal tract, or the skin can accumulate in the brain and kidney, and it is excreted slowly from the body. Because mercury can accumulate in the kidneys, the kidneys are particularly sensitive to damage. Exposure to mercury can be verified by testing blood, urine, or hair samples. Individuals who have elevated levels of mercury in their body can be treated with “chelating agents” to increase the rate of excretion of mercury from the body (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, ATSDR, Toxicological Profile for Mercury, Update, March 1999).
February 1, 2009 at 9:30am by A CFCL Fan
Last time I was in Wal-mart, I did not see a place to drop off my used CFCL bulbs for recycling. Has this changed?
March 10, 2009 at 9:30pm by David O'Keefe
The WellnessLight saves you money AND keeps your air cleaner.