An oldie, but a goodie. And like many of these, based on some truth - compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) do indeed have some mercury. Most bulbs have around 4 milligrams, but low mercury models can have as little as 1 milligram. For comparison, an old mercury thermometer had 500 milligrams of mercury. Remember where people used to stick those? The folks trying to scare you away from CFLs aren't really worried about your mercury exposure.
In reality, you should avoid breaking fluorescent lights over your head like a pro wrestler. If you do accidently break one, leave the room and open a window to ventilate the area. Come back in 15 minutes or so and clean it up. And make sure you recycle! There are plenty of recycling points for CFLs and the number is growing. Use them.
Just remember that more mercury is emitted by the energy wasted from a pear shaped incandescent than is in a CFL. Doomsday projections about everyone simultaneously smashing every CFL in the world are a waste of time.
Don't. You are wasting money every day. You are wasting energy every day. Change them now.
Oh really? Well you must be superman (or woman) because modern fluorescents flicker at a speed that is impossible for us mere mortals to detect. Can I have your autograph?
CFLs flicker at 20,000 cycles per second. The most sensitive among us can detect 60 cycles per second. Big difference.
I would suggest ending the conversation if protests are made, because arguing with someone whose basic premise is their own inherent superiority is unlikely to get you anywhere.
How very unfortunate for you. Perhaps you should not buy CFLs. But why do you have to use a space heater to light your house? Why not Halogens, HIRs, LEDs, or even the coming super efficient incandescents?
There are a tremendous amount of choices when it comes to lamps, not just CFLs and incandescents. Traditional bulbs are so bad that almost anything is better. Remember, they literally are little space heaters that also happen to put out a tiny bit of light.
Why would those with a medical condition align themselves with the advocates of inefficiency, new coal power plants, and billions of dollars of waste? Come join the good guys.
Even if you don't get a rash, you don't have to buy CFLs! There are lots of more efficient options. And, now they make CFLs in a variety of color temperatures. Most folks won't even be able to tell the difference in a room if all the lights are changed at once.
The average CFL will not work with a dimmer switch but they do make CFLs that work with dimmers. And again, it's not an either-or decision! You have other options that are dimmable and more efficient.
Anything can be made poorly. One bad CFL does not mean all CFLs are bad. Look for Energy Star labeled models that have met quality standards requiring a 2 year warranty.
That heat is not going where you will feel it, so you will still reach for the thermostat. And you can add the cost of running the AC to get the waste heat out of the house in the summer. You will pay much more.
Why not use a heater that was designed for heating and a light that was designed for lighting instead of a terrible lamp that stinks at both?
Do you also enjoy kicking puppies and punching baby ducks in the face? How about children's asthma, coal slurries, and destroying mountains in Appalachia? Electricity price increases? Nuclear waste?
Your choices affect more than just your monthly power bill. Is using ancient light bulb technology really that important to you?
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These savings are the reasons you should care,
Mind blowing numbers.
We issued an action alert to our online activists, asking them to weigh in last week. Maybe you haven't signed up for the alerts yet. (Why not? Do it here.) Maybe you just forgot, so this is your reminder.
You need to tell DOE what you think, because they are listening. Our new Secretary of Energy is a Nobel Prize winning physicist who understands the value of efficiency. How's this for clear,
"If I were emperor, I would put the pedal to the floor on energy efficiency and conservation."
Yea, he really said that.
So go here, and tell him you agree. Tell him this standard is too important to let the flawed conclusions of the previous administration stand.
Some folks have written in about their concerns about mercury in fluorescent bulbs. First of all, thanks for reading and thinking about these issues. You concerns are understandable, but you need not worry.
There are two standards being set in this rulemaking, one for tube shaped fluorescent lamps and one for incandescent reflector lamps. We are asking you to tell DOE to strengthen both proposals. Doing so will keep a gigantic amount of mercury from being emitted by electricity generation. I blogged about it here and this is the most important consideration if you are worried about mercury.
Tube fluorescent lamps contain mercury in vapor form, but increasing the standard will actually reduce the amount of mercury most bulbs. This is because the more efficient bulbs tend to be smaller. This means the same amount of light but less glass, less phosphors, and yes, less mercury. T12s are the older style, larger bulbs that could be phased out with this standard in favor of more efficient T8s and T5s. The number corresponds to the diameter, in 8ths of an inch (so T12 = 12/8 or 1.5 inches, T5 = 5/8ths of an inch).
So, increasing the standard will actually help reduce the amount of mercury in the average bulb. Increasing the standard won't drive folks from incandescent to fluorescent, as these sockets are not interchangeable. If you care about mercury in the air and in bulbs then you need to tell DOE is set a better standard.
Incandescent reflector lamps do not contain any mercury, but they use a lot of energy. Compact Fluorescent Reflector Lamps do exist (and they contain mercury) but they are not covered by this rulemaking. No requirement to shift to CFL will result from this rule. What will happen is the bulbs will be required to be more efficient and a loophole will hopefully be closed, thereby keeping mercury out of the air from emissions while having no impact on the amount of mercury in homes or bulbs.
Bottom line, mercury considerations are important and we should all take care to understand our policies, but for this rulemaking strengthening the standards will absolutely reduce mercury in the air and in the home.
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