Compact fluorescent lamp

File:Compact-Flourescent-Bulb.jpg

A spiral-type compact fluorescent lamp. This style has slightly reduced efficiency compared to tubular fluorescent lamps, due to the excessively thick layer of phosphor on the lower side of the twist. Despite this, it has become one of the most popular types among North American consumers since its introduction in the mid 1990s.

A compact fluorescent lamp (CFL), also known as a compact fluorescent light bulb (or less commonly as a compact fluorescent tube [CFT]) is a type of fluorescent lamp. Many CFLs are designed to replace an incandescent lamp and can fit in the existing light fixtures formerly used for incandescents.

Compared to incandescent lamps of the same luminous flux, CFLs use less energy and have a longer rated life. In the United States, a CFL can save over 30 USD in electricity costs over the lamp's lifetime compared to an incandescent lamp and save 2000 times their own weight in greenhouse gases. The purchase price of a CFL is higher than that of an incandescent lamp of the same luminous output, but this cost is recovered in energy savings and replacement costs over the bulb's lifetime.

CFLs radiate a different light spectrum from that of incandescent lamps. Improved phosphor formulations have improved the subjective color of the light emitted by CFLs such that the best 'soft white' CFLs available in 2007 are subjectively similar in color to standard incandescent lamps.

History

The compact fluorescent lamp was invented by Ed Hammer, an engineer with General Electric in response to the 1973 oil crisis. While it met its design goals, it would have cost GE about 25 million USD to build new factories to produce them and the invention was shelved. The design was eventually leaked out and copied by others.

Market

A compact fluorescent lamp used outside an office complex.

Globally introduced in the early 1980s, CFLs have steadily increased in sales volume. The most important advance in fluorescent lamp technology (including CFLs) has been the gradual replacement of magnetic ballasts with electronic ballasts; this has removed most of the flickering and slow starting traditionally associated with fluorescent lighting. There are two types of CFLs: integrated and non-integrated lamps.

Integrated CFLs

Integrated lamps combine a tube, an electronic ballast and either a screw or bayonet fitting in a single CFL unit. These lamps allow consumers to easily replace incandescent lamps with CFLs. Integrated CFLs work well in standard incandescent light fixtures. This lowers the cost of CFL use, since they can reuse the existing infrastructure. In addition, incandescent light fixtures are relatively inexpensive. For example, recessed lights (can lights) cost (in 2007) around 10 USD per can; however, caution must be taken in using such a fixture if totally enclosed as excessive heat build up may cause the lamp to fail.

Non-integrated CFLs

Non-integrated lamps allow for the replacement of consumable bulbs and the extended use of electrical ballasts in a light fixture. This fluorescent bulb itself does not include a ballast. Since the ballasts are placed in the light fixture they are larger and last longer, vis-a-vis the integrated ones. Non-integrated CFL housings can be both more expensive and sophisticated, providing options such as dimming, less flicker, faster starts, etc.

The ballasts make these light fixtures relatively expensive. They cost anywhere from 85 to 200 USD for each recessed can. If a ballast with dimming capabilities is desired the cost is anywhere from 125 to 300 USD per recessed can. Non-integrated CFLs are more popular for professional users, such as hotels and office buildings. The more advanced capabilities of these sophisticated external ballasts (e.g., faster starts, limited flicker, dimming, longer lifespans, etc.) are starting to appear in integrated CFLs.

CFL power sources

CFLs are produced for both alternating current (AC) and direct current (DC) input. DC CFLs are popular for use in recreational vehicles and off-the-grid housing. Poor families in developing countries are using DC CFLs (with car batteries and small solar panels) and/or wind generators, to replace kerosene lanterns.

CFLs can also be operated with solar powered street lights, using solar panels located on the top or sides of a pole and luminaires that are specially wired to use the lamps.

Comparison with incandescent lamps

Lifespan

Modern CFLs typically have a lifespan of between 6,000 and 15,000 hours, whereas incandescent lamps are usually manufactured to have a lifespan of 750 hours or 1000 hours. These lifetimes are quoted according to IEC60969, which specifies that "life to 50% of failures shall be not less than value declared by the manufacturer". The lifetime of any lamp depends on many factors including manufacturing defects, exposure to voltage spikes, mechanical shock, frequency of cycling on and off and ambient operating temperature, among other factors.

The life of a CFL is significantly shorter if it is only turned on for a few minutes at a time: In the case of a 5-minute on/off cycle the lifespan of a CFL can be up to 85% shorter, reducing its lifespan to the level of an incandescent lamp. The US Energy Star program says to leave them on at least 15 minutes at a time to mitigate this problem.

CFLs give less light later in their life than they did at the start. The light output depreciation is exponential, with the fastest losses being soon after the lamp was new. By the middle to end of their lives, CFLs can be expected to produce 70-80% of their original light output. Our eyes' response to light is logarithmic: Each f-number (or photographic 'f-stop') reduction represents a halving in actual light, but is subjectively quite a small change. A 20-30% reduction over many thousands of hours represents a change of about half an f-stop, which is barely noticeable in everyday life.

Energy consumption

The chart shows the energy usage for different types of light bulbs operating at different light outputs. Points lower on the graph correspond to lower energy use.

For a given light output, CFLs use between one fifth and one quarter of the power of an equivalent incandescent lamp. For example, lighting accounted for approximately 9% of household electricity usage in the United States in 2001, so widespread use of CFLs could save most of this, for a total energy saving of about 7% from household usage.

Interaction with other energy sources

All operating electrical lamps contribute heat to a building and therefore, when considering the energy savings of CFLs versus incandescent lamps, it is necessary to consider energy used for illumination as well as energy used for heating or cooling.

If incandescent lamps are replaced by CFLs the heat produced by the building's lighting system will be reduced. At times when the building requires both heating and lighting, the building's central heating system will then have to work harder to maintain the same temperature. Depending on the sources of energy used for heating and for electricity production, this may result in either a small increase or a small decrease in the total cost and environmental impact of changing to CFLs.

Conversely, if the building requires both illumination and cooling, then CFLs will use less electricity themselves and will also reduce the load on the cooling system compared to incandescent lamps. This results in two concurrent savings, and since most air conditioners are also electrically powered, they are directly comparable.

There is a third case where electric lighting is used with natural ventilation and without either heating or cooling. In this case the energy savings due to CFLs are simpler to estimate, as described above.

When the energy used for both heating and lighting is considered, the use of CFLs saves three quarters to four fifths of lighting energy in temperate climates and ventilated buildings. More energy than this is saved in hot climates and cooled buildings, and less in cold climates and heated buildings.

Energy efficiency

Further information: Luminous efficacy

In order to compare the actual energy efficiency of CFLs with various other lamp technologies such as incandescent, LED and halogen, factors to compare include lumens, the subjective usefulness of different frequencies of light, the distribution of light over imaginary 360° spheres around the lamps and other factors. In round figures, typical incandescent lamps are around 2% efficient and domestic CFLs are currently 7%-8% efficient (life cycle comparisons are necessarily more complex).

Cost

In addition to the above savings on energy costs, CFLs' average life is between 8 and 15 times that of incandescents. While the purchase price of a CFL is typically 3 to 10 times greater than that of an equivalent incandescent lamp, the extended lifetime (less lamps to replace and reduced labor) and lower energy use will compensate for the higher initial cost in many applications. A US article stated "A household that invested $90 in changing 30 fixtures to CFLs would save $440 to $1,500 over the five-year life of the bulbs, depending on your cost of electricity. Look at your utility bill and imagine a 12% discount to estimate the savings."

CFLs can fail prematurely if overheated and so current recommendations for fully enclosed, unventilated light fixtures, such as those found recessed into some insulated ceilings, are either to use 'reflector CFLs' (R-CFL) or to replace such fixtures with those designed for normal CFLs.

Noise

CFLs, much as other fluorescent lights, often emit a high-pitched buzzing sound, where incandescents do not. Such sounds are particularly noticeable in quiet rooms, and can be annoying.

Cold weather function

Incandescents give light almost immediately upon the application of voltage. CFLs take a moment to brighten up, and can take much longer in very cold temperatures. Coupling this with the shorter life of CFLs when turned on and off for short amounts of time may make incandescent bulbs more attractive for things like outdoor and/or motion-activated lighting.

Comparison with induction lamps

As a fluorescent based lighting source, induction lighting also has greater efficiencies per watt, higher powers than CFLs and a lifetime currently between 15,000 and 100,000 hours. By 2007, several manufacturers have already introduced dimmable induction lamps, making their application even more flexible and accommodating.

Currently, this type of light source is struggling with a high cost of production, stability of the products produced in China, establishing an internationally recognized standard and problems with EMC and RFI. Induction lighting is excluded from Energy Star standard for 2007 by the EPA.

Comparison with LED lamps

While CFLs are an important development in energy conservation for most lighting, LED lighting has already filled a few specialist niches such as traffic lights and may have the potential to compete with CFLs in the near future. LED lamps have current efficiencies of 30% with higher levels attainable (recently up to 85 lm/w LED`s are available) , and a lifetime of around 50,000 hours, but currently are struggling to deliver the required intensity of light output for domestic uses while maintaining a reasonable working lifespan, at a reasonable cost.

CFL availability

Standard/Integrated CFLs

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the US Department of Energy (DOE) run the Energy Star program, which evaluates the energy efficiency of electrical components, including integrated CFLs. Those CFLs with a recent Energy Star certification start in less than one second and do not flicker. There is ongoing work in improving the 'quality' (color-rendering index) of their light.

• Energy Star List of Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs is a list of the thousands of Energy Star qualified CFLs. This list of lamps can be downloaded as an Excel file, which shows Lamp model, lumens, light quality (CRI), Watts, and test dates.
• List of Standard CFLs from Energy Federated Incorporated, most of which have Energy Star certification.

Dimmable CFLs

As of 2007, dimmable CFLs are an emerging category. Below are lists of CFLs that have this capability. The dimming range of CFLs is usually between 20% and 80%. By way of comparison, incandescent lamps have a 0-100% range.

• List of Reflector CFLs that work well in recessed lights. These lights tend to have a very high temperature environment, which used to shorten lamp lifespan. This list has PNL and Energy Star certification. However, most of these Reflector CFL (R-CFL) lamps are not dimmable. Reflectors are recommended for recessed lights because they do not send light in all directions, they focus their light downward.
• List of Dimmable CFLs from the Environmental Defense Fund - most do not yet have Energy Star certification.
• List of Dimmable CFLs from Noli Control Systems (appear to be GreenLite CFLs), they claim they work on existing dimmer circuits, photocells, and timers, etc. Appears their dimmable CFLs have been temporarily discontinued. They expect to have them available again Summer of 2008.
• List of Dimmable CFLs from 'One Billion Bulbs' - most do not yet have Energy Star certification.

There is not much data yet on whether dimmable CFLs will work on standard incandescent dimmable circuits. There have been reports of limited range of dimming and buzzing. The Noli Control Systems claim that their CFLs work on standard incandescent circuits. On the other hand, Leviton sells a dimmer designed to work specifically with Philip's dimmable CFLs.

In the UK, Varilight offer 20 Watt spiral T3 dimmable CFLs that operate with standard dimmers, with a dimming range between 2.46% and 100%. Colour temperature 2700 K, Energy Class A1, Power Factor Correction of 0.93, Colour Rendering Index of 81Ra and mercury content of 2.5mg.

In 2007, Omicron in the UK launched a range of fully dimmable CFLs that can operate with standard rotary or inline dimmers, dimmable from 100% to 40% and available in 4 different shapes such as candles, and GLS.

Colors

A photograph of various lamps illustrates the effect of color temperature differences (left to right): (1) Compact Fluorescent: General Electric, 13 watt, 6500 K (2) Incandescent: Sylvania 60-Watt Extra Soft White (3) Compact Fluorescent: Bright Effects, 15 watts, 2644 K (4) Compact Fluorescent: Sylvania, 14 watts, 3000 K

Color temperature can be indicated in kelvins or mireds (1 million divided by the color temperature in kelvins).

Color temperature	kelvin	mired
'Warm white' or 'Soft white'	≤ 3000 K	≥ 333 M
'White'	3500 K	286 M
'Cool white'	4000 K	250 M
'Daylight'	≥ 5000 K	≤ 200 M

Color temperature is a quantitative measure. The higher the number in kelvins, the 'cooler', i.e., bluer, the shade. Color names associated with a particular color temperature are not standardized for modern CFLs and other triphosphor lamps like they were for the older-style halophosphate fluorescent lamps. Variations and inconsistencies exist among manufacturers. For example, Sylvania's Daylight CFLs have a color temperature of 3500 K, while most other lamps with a 'daylight' label have color temperatures of at least 5000 K. Some vendors do not include the kelvin value on the package, but this is beginning to change now that the Energy Star Criteria for CFLs is expected to require such labeling in its 4.0 revision.

CFLs are also produced, less commonly, in other colors:

• Red, green, orange, blue, and pink, primarily for novelty purposes
• Blue for phototherapy
• Yellow, for outdoor lighting, because it does not attract insects
• Black light (UV light) for special effects

Black light CFLs, those with UVA generating phosphor, are much more efficient than incandescent black light lamps, since the amount of UV light that the filament of the incandescent lamp produces is only a fraction of the generated spectrum.

Being a gas discharge lamp, a CFL will not generate all frequencies of visible light; the actual color rendering index is a design compromise (see below). With less than perfect color rendering, CFLs can be unsatisfactory for inside lighting, but modern, high quality designs are proving acceptable for home use.

Other terms that apply to CFLs:

• Full Spectrum
• High Definition

Environmental issues

Energy savings

Since CFLs use less power to supply the same amount of light as an incandescent lamp of the same lumen rating, they can be used to decrease energy consumption at the location in which they are used. In countries where electricity is largely produced from burning fossil fuels, the savings reduces emissions of greenhouse gases and other pollutants; in other countries the reduction may help reduce negative impacts from radioactive waste, hydroelectric plants, or other sources; see environmental concerns with electricity generation for details.

While CFLs require more energy in manufacturing than incandescent lamps, this is offset by the fact that they last longer and use less energy during their lifespan.

Mercury use of compact fluorescent lamp vs. incandescent lamp if powered by electricity generated completely from coal, though coal accounts for only about half of the power production in the United States.

Mercury emissions

CFLs, like all fluorescent lamps (e.g., long tubular lamps common in offices and kitchens), contain small amounts of mercury and it is a concern for landfills and waste incinerators where the mercury from lamps is released and contributes to air and water pollution. In the USA, lighting manufacturer members of the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) have made a voluntary commitment to cap the amount of mercury used in CFLs:

Under the voluntary commitment, effective 15 April 2007, NEMA members will cap the total mercury content in CFLs of less than 25 watts at 5 milligrams (mg) per unit. The total mercury content of CFLs that use 25 to 40 watts of electricity will be capped at 6 mg per unit.

A June 2007 article calculated that the overall mercury emission by CFLs is less than the mercury released into the atmosphere by coal-fired power generation for series of equivalent incandescent lamps over the same period. Of course, not all electricity is coal-fire generated, but the mercury from spent CFLs in landfills is not released into air, and with proper disposal, will not be released into the subsurface or groundwater in the foreseeable future.

Although they make up only 19% of power generation in Canada, Coal power plants are "the largest uncontrolled industrial source of mercury emissions in Canada". According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), (when coal power is used) the mercury released from powering an incandescent lamp for five years exceeds the total of (a) the mercury released by powering a comparably luminous CFL for the same period and (b) the mercury contained in the lamp. It should be noted, however, that the "EPA is implementing policies to reduce airborne mercury emissions. Under regulations issued in 2005, coal-fired power plants will need to reduce their emissions by 70% by 2018." In places like Canada where 81% of power generation is from sources other than coal fired plants, the use of these bulbs effectively increases the net amount of mercury potentially available to the environment, especially if they are not disposed of in an environmentally conscious manner.

Some manufacturers such as Philips and GE make very low mercury content CFLs. In 2007, Philips claimed its Master TL-D Alto range to have the lowest mercury content of any CFL on the market, at 2mg.

Safe disposal requires storing the bulbs unbroken until they can be processed. Consumers should seek advice from local authorities. Usually, one can either:

• Return used CFLs to where they were purchased, so the store can recycle them correctly; or
• Take used CFLs to a local recycling facility.

Broken CFLs are an immediate health hazard due to the evaporation of mercury into the atmosphere. The United States Environmental Protection Agency publishes guidelines on how to clean up after CFL tube ('bulb') breakage and recommends that, in the absence of local guideline, CFLs be double-bagged in plastic bags before disposal.

The first step of processing CFLs involves crushing the bulbs in a machine that uses negative pressure ventilation and a mercury-absorbing filter or cold trap to contain and treat the contaminated gases. Many municipalities are purchasing such machines. The crushed glass and metal is stored in drums, ready for shipping to recycling factories.

According to the Northwest Compact Fluorescent Lamp Recycling Project, because household users have the option of disposing of these products in the same way they dispose of other solid waste, "a large majority of household CFLs are going to municipal solid waste". They additionally note that an EPA report on mercury emissions from fluorescent tube lamp disposal indicates the percentage of total mercury released from the following disposal options: municipal waste landfill 3.2%, recycling 3%, municipal waste incineration 17.55% and hazardous waste disposal 0.2%.

How they work

Parts

Electronic ballast of a compact fluorescent lamp

There are two main parts in a CFL: the gas-filled tube (also called bulb or burner) and the magnetic or electronic ballast. Electrical energy in the form of an electrical current from the ballast flows through the gas, causing it to emit ultraviolet light. The ultraviolet light then excites a white phosphor coating on the inside of the tube. This coating emits visible light. CFLs that flicker when they start have magnetic ballasts; CFLs with electronic ballasts are now much more common. See Fluorescent lamp.

End of life

Both the ballast and the burner (tube) are subject to failure from normal use. A detailed description of the failure modes of fluorescent lamps is given in the Fluorescent lamp article.

At end of life, CFLs should be recycled by specialist firms. In the European Union, CFLs are one of many products subject to the WEEE recycling scheme. The retail price includes an amount to pay for recycling, and manufacturers and importers have an obligation to collect and recycle CFLs.

Many territories do provide recycling facilities for fluorescent lamps. However, many CFLs are crushed in landfills, exposing air and water to mercury vapor.

Design issues

The primary purposes of CFL design are high electrical efficiency and durability. However, there are some other areas of CFL design and operation that are problematic:

• Quality of light: A phosphor emits light in a narrow frequency range, unlike an incandescent filament, which emits the full spectrum, though not all colors equally, of visible light. Mono-phosphor lamps emit poor quality light; colors look bad and inaccurate. The solution is to mix different phosphors, each emitting a different range of light. Properly mixed, a good approximation of daylight or incandescent light can be reached. However, every extra phosphor added to the coating mix causes a loss of efficiency and increased cost. Good quality consumer CFLs use three or four phosphors — typically emitting light in the red, green and blue spectra — to achieve a 'white' light with color-rendering indices (CRI) of around 80 although CFLs with a CRI as great as 96 have been developed. (A CRI of 100 represents the most accurate reproduction of all colors; reference sources having a CRI of 100, such as the sun and incandescent tungsten lamps, emit black body radiation.)

• Size: CFL light output is roughly proportional to phosphor surface area, and high output CFLs are often larger than their incandescent equivalents. This means that the CFL may not fit well in existing light fixtures.

• Electronics: Dimming control can be added to the lamp with support from the driver electronics; only CFLs designed for use in such lighting fixtures should be used. According to BC Hydro and Environmental Defense, new dimmable screw-in fluorescent lamps are now available, although these models only dim to a certain percentage such as 10 or 20% before turning off completely. Westinghouse claims to have released a dimmer that can dim non-dimmable CFLs.

• Heat: Higher luminosity CFLs, such as those designed to replace 100W GLS lamps, get warm in operation. As a result, many such CFLs are recommended not to be run with the electronics/ballast above the bulb/tube, as the heat generated will significantly shorten the ballast's service lifetime. This makes such CFLs unsuitable for use in pendant lamps and especially unsuitable for recessed lighting fixtures. CFLs intended for use in such fixtures are available.

• Large deployments of CFLs require specialized electronics with low levels of electronic distortion to avoid disturbing the electricity supply. This is usually not a problem with home use because of the few lamps deployed per site.

• Time to achieve full brightness: Compact fluorescent lamps may provide as little as 50-80% of their rated light output at initial switch on and can take up to three minutes to warm up, and color cast may be slightly different immediately after being turned on. This compares to around 0.1 seconds for incandescent lamps, and microseconds for LED lamps, although LED response speed can vary depending on the LED and the electronics that drive it. (For example, LED stoplights have a 0.01 second response rating.). In practice, this varies between brands/types. It is more of a problem with older lamps, 'warm (color) tone' lamps and at low ambient temperatures.

• Interference: Electronic devices operated by infrared remote control can interpret the infrared light emitted by CFLs as a signal limiting the use of CFLs near televisions, radios, remote controls, or mobile phones. Broadband over power lines, shortwave radio, and AM radio receive radio interference from the CFLs.

• Use with timers: Electronic or digital (but not mechanical) timers can interfere with the electronic ballast in CFLs and can shorten their lifespan.

• Fire hazard: Inferior electronic components used in some CFLs can cause excessive heat or fire.

• Outdoor use: CFLs that are not designed for outdoor use may perform poorly in cold weather; CFLs are available with cold-weather ballasts, which may be rated to as low as -23°C (-10°F).Standard compact fluorescents may fail to operate at low temperatures. Light output drops at low temperatures.

• Differences among manufacturers: There are large differences among quality of light, cost, and turn-on time among different manufacturers, even for lamps that appear identical and have the same color temperature.

• CFLs generally get dimmer over their lifetime, so what starts out as an adequate luminosity may become inadequate. In one test by the US Department of Energy of 'Energy Star®' products in 2003-4, one quarter of tested CFLs no longer met their rated output after 40% of their rated service life.

Other CFL technologies

Another type of fluorescent lamp is the electrodeless fluorescent, known as a radiofluorescent lamp or fluorescent induction lamp. Unlike virtually all other conventional lamps that have hardwired electrical connections to transfer energy to the lamp core, the electrodeless fluorescent accomplishes this solely by electromagnetic induction. The induction is effected by means of a wire-wound ferrite core that projects upward into the bulb encased in an inverted U-shaped glass cover. The wire is energized with high frequency electricity often 2.65 or 13.6 MHz; this ionizes the mercury vapor, exciting the phosphor and producing light.

Another variation on existing CFL technologies are bulbs with an external nano-particle coating of titanium dioxide. Titanium dioxide is a photocatalyst, becoming ionized when exposed to UV light produced by the CFL. It is thereby capable of converting oxygen to ozone and water to hydroxyl radicals, which neutralize odors and kill bacteria, viruses, and mold spores.

The Cold Cathode Fluorescent Lamp (CCFL) is one of the newest forms of CFL. CCFLs use electrodes without a filament. The voltage of CCFLs is about 5 times higher than CFLs and the current is about 10 times lower. CCFLs have a diameter of about 3 millimeters. The lifetime of CCFLs is about 50,000 hours. The lumens-per-watt value is about half that of CFLs.

CCFLs were initially used for thin monitors and backlighting, but they are now also manufactured for use as lamps. The efficacy (lumens/watt) is actually lower than that of CFLs. Their advantages are that they are instant-on, like incandescents, they are compatible with timers, photocells and dimmers, and they have an amazingly long life of approximately 50,000 hours. CCFLs are a convenient transition technology for those who are not comfortable with the short lag time associated with the initial lighting of CFLs. They are also an effective and efficient replacement for lighting that is turned on and off frequently with little extended use (e.g. a bathroom or closet).

Efforts to encourage adoption

Due to the potential to reduce electric consumption and hence pollution, various organizations have undertaken measures to encourage the adoption of CFLs, with efforts ranging from publicity to encourage awareness and make CFLs more widely available to direct measures to provide CFLs to the public. Some electric utilities and local governments have subsidized CFLs or provided them free to customers as a means of reducing electric demand (and thereby delaying additional investments in generation).

More controversially, some governments are considering stronger measures to encourage adoption of CFLs or even entirely displace incandescents; some proposed efforts involve tax measures, while others have gone further by instituting bans on future production of incandescent light bulbs. Ireland has announced it intends in 2009 to be the first country to implement such a ban, but the proposal is yet to be subject to public consultation and EU approval. Norway has abandoned attempts to introduce a ban which it calls 'virtually irreconcilable' with EU market rules. It has opted for voluntary agreements. Elsewhere Australia has announced a plan to phase out the use of incandescent lamps by 2010 while Canada has also committed to phasing out incandescent lamps starting in 2012.

Voluntary measures

The Home Depot gave away 1,000,000 CFLs on Earth Day 2007.

IKEA in the UK gave 6 free CFLs to staff, and will replace them free when they run out in a 'bulb for life' campaign as part of World Environment Day. IKEA in Sweden has also handed out free CFLs to their customers.

Wal-Mart announced in September 2006 that it was starting a campaign to endorse CFLs. The store aims to sell one CFL to every one of their 100 million customers within the next year.

In Ottawa, Canada, there is an effort to get every household to change at least one lamp. Project Porchlight went door-to-door to provide one CFL to every household for free. More than 225,000 bulbs were delivered in 2005 and 2006. Project Porchlight is undertaking similar campaigns in the provinces of Alberta and Ontario and in the Yukon Territory in 2007.

In other locations in Canada, local utilities regularly undertake 'energy audits' to customers to suggest ways to reduce consumption (and reducing investment requirements for the utilities); CFLs are often given away or provided at subsidized prices to raise awareness of the potential savings.

The Ontario Power Authority has a voluntary program providing immediate cash rebates via coupons for the purchase of CFLs. The campaign is driven by posters, ads and their web site Every Kilowatt Counts.

The US Environmental Defense initiated a campaign in June 2006 called Make the Switch to encourage the public to switch from incandescent lamps to compact fluorescent lamps. It asked every household in the US to replace three 60-watt incandescent lamps with CFLs. Environmental Defense claims that if every household were to do this, the change could reduce pollution as much as taking 3.5 million cars off the road. In the Netherlands, Greenpeace are attempting to mobilize people to Change 1 million light bulbs to CFLs.

In February 2007, the 18seconds campaign was launched with leaders from business (Yahoo! and Walmart) and US Government (EPA and DOE) to increase awareness of energy efficient lamps as a way to slow global climate change . The coalition was named 18seconds to reflect the amount of time it takes for one person to change a lamp. To coincide with the launch of this campaign, Yahoo has created a Web site 18seconds.org that will track lamp sales and energy savings nationwide and encourage lamp switching competition among cities and states.

In South Africa, the main electricity supply company Eskom has launched a program to exchange incandescent lamps for CFLs for free. Its aim is to reduce the electrical demand at peak times. [14]

Another web site, Onebillionbulbs.com, is behind a campaign to replace one billion incandescent lamps with CFLs across the US. The site has a fifty-state map; each state is a certain color from white to green. The closer to green, the closer to the state's goal.

Recognizing that lower income households are less likely to lay out the significantly greater retail price for compact fluorescent lamps, which can cost 5 to 6 times the cost of an incandescent lamp, the non-profit organization Wattsaver [15] is accepting donations that will be used to give compact fluorescent lamps to these lower income households.

In New Zealand an organisation called Energy Mad was established in 2004. Energy Mad is promoting CFL adoption with a target of introducing five of their branded ecobulbs into 55% of New Zealand homes. They are using various promotions with retailers and discount coupons to attempt to achieve this. By utilising these vouchers you give Energy Mad the carbon credits due to the implied replacement of your incandescent lamp with the CFL.

In October 2007, electro distribution companies in Slovenia will give away 800,000 21W Osram CFL light bulbs (one to every household in Slovenia). Project initiator is Slovenian powerplant holding - HSE Group.[16]

Government efforts to encourage adoption of CFLs

Australia

On 20 February 2007, the Federal Government announced that by 2010, incandescent light bulbs would be banned in Australia, making it the first country in the world to announce such a ban. It is estimated that greenhouse gas emissions will be cut by 800,000 tonnes (Australia's current emission total is 564.7 million tonnes), a saving of approximate 0.14%. The Government has not announced any concurrent recycling program for old incandescent lamps. The South Australian government has published an energy saving calculator in order to help people calculate their individual benefits.

Belgium

The Environment Minister Bruno Tobback is intent on banning incandescent light bulbs, and thinks the ban on incandescent light bulbs should be included in the list of measures under the Kyoto Protocol. Former energy Minister Kris Peeters supports this position as well.

Canada

On 2007-04-18, the Ontario government's Minister of Energy Dwight Duncan announced that it was planning to ban the sale of inefficient lighting in 2012 to cut the local energy consumption. The Ontario Power Authority has a voluntary program providing immediate cash rebates via coupons for the purchase of CFLs. The campaign is driven by posters, ads and their web site Every Kilowatt Counts (this program ended on Nov 30, 2007).

Following the announcement, the province of Nova Scotia has also pondered a similar ban. However, Energy Minister Bill Dooks said he expects it would be 4 or 5 years before a ban is in place.

The territory of Nunavut is planning to ban incandescent lamps in May 2007.

Hydro-Quebec offers mail in rebates for many energy star appliances including the fluorescent lamp. They have a vigorous advertising campaign that includes radio, television and bus shelter billboard advertisements. They are currently offering up to $25 in mail in rebates for their customers who buy the bulbs.

A week later, on 2007-04-25, the federal government's Environment Minister John Baird announced plans to ban the sale of incandescent lamps by 2012 all over Canada. According to the minister, Canada will save 3-4 billion CAD over the lifetime of the new bulbs.

European Union

The European Union has proposed a ban on incandescent light bulbs, planned to come into effect in the near future, but this will not affect existing incandescent bulbs, only the production of new bulbs. However, the proposal has yet to be approved by all member states or the European Parliament.

Finland

On the 26 September 2007, Swedish People's Party MP Christina Gestrin, has posted a bill through the Eduskunta for banning incandescent light bulbs in Finland by 2011. It is estimated that the ban would save Finland around to 200,000 tonnes on carbon dioxide emissions.

Germany

Germany's Environment Minister Sigmar Gabriel has urged the European Commission to ban inefficient light bulbs in the EU in the fight against global warming. The EU could reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 25 million tonnes a year if energy saving light bulbs such as CFLs were used in both the domestic and services sectors. .

Ireland

On 6 December 2007, Ireland's Environment minister John Gormley, delivered his Carbon Budget in Dáil Éireann. Minister Gormley announced that the country would stop using incandescent bulbs by January 2009, making it the first country to implement such a ban. These changes will result in savings of 700,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions from residential lighting and will result in Irish consumers saving over €185 million a year in electricity costs. However the proposal has yet to undergo public consultation and receive EU approval under market rules.

Netherlands

The Netherlands is moving ahead with plans to ban incandescent light bulbs as well. The Environment minister Jacqueline Cramer wants a ban on incandescent light bulbs by 2011.

New Zealand

In response to the Australian ban, New Zealand is considering similar measures. Climate Change Minister David Parker said, "The Australians are talking about looking at banning ordinary light bulbs in 3 years' time. I think by the time that is implemented in Australia - if it is - we will be doing something very similar."

India

In India, Fluorescent lamps have been the de-facto standard for urban home illumination for decades. However, many lower middle class homes do not have the electrical wiring that is compatible with FL devices. Since low income households generally cannot afford to rewire their homes, they were compelled to use inefficient tungsten filament (incandescent) bulbs. In recent years, there has been a drive to popularize and implement CFLs in the country. CFLs are compatible with the incandescent bulb sockets and so can be retrofitted into homes with such sockets.Studies have been undertaken by the independent academics, as well as the Indian Administrative Service and the Indian Institute of Technology that recommend an aggressive implementation of the prescription for Education, Policy support, Standards, Demonstrations and Industry involvement for popularising CFLs.

Pakistan

During Pakistan's 2007 summer season (energy demand is at its peak in summer here), the government of Pakistan repeatedly asked the public to use fluorescent lamps (commonly known as energy savers in Pakistan). There were talks of making fluorescent lamps available on subsidised rates.

United Kingdom

In the UK, Dr Matt Prescott of Banthebulb.org first proposed a ban in February 2005 and has since lobbied Parliament to tax, phase out and ban domestic incandescent lamps, a measure that has generated controversy. Recently, the light bulb manufacturer Philips has also set up a web site called aSimpleSwitch.com in support of a ban of high energy incandescent light bulb, but the continued use of high efficiency incandescents and halogens; other commentators oppose any proposed ban. The Government itself focuses its efforts to improve household energy efficiency through its establishment and funding of the Energy Saving Trust.

The Co-op have also stopped selling incandescent lamps in 50 pilot stores, with a view to withdrawing them completely in the future. They have also reduced the prices of their CFLs to make them more attractive in the short term.

On the 27 September 2007, the government announced plans to phase out the sale of incandescent light bulbs by 2011. Retailers will not replace 150 watt bulbs from January 2008, 100 watt bulbs from January 2009, 40 watt bulbs in 2010, and all remaining high power bulbs by 2011. These plans are voluntary, however they have wide support from retailers such as Currys, Habitat, Woolworths, Co-op, Asda, Morrisons, Sainsbury's and Tesco. This initiative has been criticised by environmental groups such as Greenpeace, and other political parties, who think mandatory measures should be introduced.

Current building regulations also require some of the light fittings in new houses to be specially designed to only take CFLs. These fittings have a 2 or 4-pin socket, instead of the usual bayonet or screw fitting.

United States of America

In January 2007, California State Assembly member Lloyd E. Levine (D-Van Nuys) announced that he would introduce the 'How Many Legislators does it take to Change a Light Bulb Act' (a reference to light bulb joke), which would ban the sale of incandescent light bulbs in California starting in 2012. That bill is now dead, though a competing bill by California State Assembly member Jared Huffman (D-Santa Rosa) was signed by Governor Schwarzeneger on 12 October.

A few days later, Connecticut state Representative Mary M. Mushinsky (D-Wallingford) proposed a similar ban for the state of Connecticut.

On 8 February 2007, New Jersey Assemblyman Larry Chatzidakis introduced a bill that calls for the state to switch to fluorescent lighting in government buildings over the next three years. "The light bulb was invented a long time ago and a lot of things have changed since then," said Chatzidakis. "I obviously respect the memory of Thomas Edison, but what we're looking at here is using less energy."

On 1 October 2007, West Virginia Governor Joe Manchin named 1 October 'Change a Light, Change the World Day', while giving a speech at West Virginia University. The university on the same day launched a massive program called WECAN, or West Virginia University Conservation Awareness Now. On launch day, there was a light bulb exchange in conjunction with Osram Sylvania at the university student union giving a compact fluorescent bulb for each regular incandescent bulb turned in.

On 19 December 2007, Congress passed an energy bill that will see the incandescent light bulb phased off the US market beginning in 2012.

See also

• Luminous efficacy
• Energy efficiency
• Banning of incandescent lightbulbs

Notes and references

• R. J. Van der Plas, A. B. de Graaff, A comparison of lamps for domestic lighting in developing countries (Energy Ser. Pap. 6, Industry and Energy Department, World Bank, Washington, DC, 1988).
• G. S. Dutt, Illumination and Sustainable Development, Energy Sustain Dev. 1 (1), 23 (1994).

External links

• US government Energy Star's page on fluorescent bulbs
• LampRecycle.org - for information on recycling spent mercury-containing lamps
• Earth 911 - for fluorescent bulb recycling centers by US zip code
• Typical Lumen Outputs and Energy Costs for Outdoor Lighting
• Spectra of Fluorescent Light Bulbs
• Snopes Urban Legends Archive, regarding mercury exposure from a broken CFL
• CFL environmental hazards and disposal.