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A compact fluorescent lamp (CFL), also known as a compact fluorescent light bulb is a type of fluorescent lamp designed to replace an incandescent lamp. Many CFLs can fit in the existing incandescent light fixtures.

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 US$30 in electricity costs over the lamp’s lifetime compared to an incandescent lamp and save 2000 times their own weight in greenhouse gases. The initial purchase price of a CFL is higher than an incandescent lamp of the same output, but this cost is recovered in energy savings assuming average lamp use.

The actual environmental effect of CFLs is the subject of much debate. Apart from the gross electrical power saved during operation, it is questioned whether the amount of power and raw materials used in their manufacture compares well with incandescent lamps, and also whether the mercury used in CFLs is a significant environmental hazard. Since lamps contribute to the heat input of a building the overall energy saved by the use of CFLs will depend on whether the building is in cold climate and requires heating or a hot climate and requires cooling. In a building that requires heating it is possible that occupants will increase the heating to compensate for the loss of heat from lamps. Conversely in a building that normally requires cooling, the use of CFLs will reduce the amount of cooling needed to maintain a given temperature thus the overall energy saving might be approximately double the saving of the lamp alone.

CFLs radiate a different spectrum of light to that of incandescent lamps. Improved phosphor formulations have improved the quality of the light emitted by CFLs such that the best 'soft white' CFLs available in 2007 are subjectively similar in quality 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 $25M to build new factories to produce them and the invention was shelved. However, the design leaked out and was copied by others.

Market

Globally introduced in the early 1980s, CFLs have steadily increased in sales volume. The most important advance in fluorescent lamp technology (including in 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 bulb, an electrical 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 around $30 per can.

Non-integrated CFLs

Non-integrated lamps allow for the replacement of consumable bulbs and the extended use of electrical ballasts in a light fixture. The fluorescent bulb itself does not include a ballast. Since the ballasts are in the light fixture they are larger and last longer. 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 for each recessed can. If a ballast with dimming capabilities is desired the cost is anywhere from $125 to $300 per recessed can. Non-integrated CFLs are more popular for professional users, such as hotels and office buildings. However, the capabilities of these sophisticated external ballasts (e.g., faster starts, limited flicker, dimming, longer life spans, etc) are starting to appear in the 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) 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.

While low power CFLs can be designed to be relatively small, the physical size of the lamp increases significantly as the lamp power increases. As a result, CFLs generally are limited to 25 watts of power or less; equivalent in light to an incandescent lamp of 100 watts. In 2005, a new technology was invented that allows higher-powered lamps to obtain relatively small dimensions. This will enable the lamp to be used in additional commercial sectors including: shopping centers, streets, schools etc.

Comparison with incandescent lamps

Lifespan

Modern CFLs typically have a life span of between 6,000 and 15,000 hours (though total light output generally drops during long term use), whereas incandescent lamps are usually manufactured to have a life span 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." Special-purpose incandescent lamps used for projectors and photographic lighting have shorter lifespans. 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.

Energy consumption

For a given light output, CFLs use between one-fifth and one-quarter of the power of an equivalent incandescent lamp, thereby saving significant amounts of energy in use and reducing the need for electrical generation. However, the energy required to manufacture these lamps is higher than incandescent lamps, and as a result the total lifetime energy use (from manufacture to disposal) compared to other forms of lighting is less than the simple comparison of electricity consumption implies. For industrialized countries, lighting makes up about one fifth of electricity consumption, so there are potentially significant benefits.

Incandescent lamps are less efficient than CFLs because incandescent lamps convert approximately 90% of the energy they consume into heat (compared to 30% for a CFL). Lighting accounted for approximately 9% of household electricity usage in the United States in 2001. If widespread use of CFLs could save three-quarters to four-fifths of this, it would amount to 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 and all other factors are kept constant then the temperature inside any building will reduce. At times when the building requires both heating and lighting, the occupiers might then increase the space heating in order to bring the temperature back to a desired level. Depending on the source of this alternative heat compared to the local source of electricity, 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

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 luminous efficacy, the subjective usefulness of different frequencies of light, the distribution of light over imaginary 360° spheres around the lamps and others. In round figures, typical incandescent lamps are around 2% efficient and domestic CFLs are currently 7%-8% efficient in usage (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 and lower energy use will compensate for the higher initial cost in many applications. CFLs will fail prematurely if overheated and are not suitable for enclosed or non ventilated light fixtures, including most recessed lighting fixtures. Adapting fixtures or installing new ones for CFLs will raise the initial installation cost when required.

Comparison with induction lamps

Similarly as a fluorescent based lighting source, induction lighting has greater efficiencies per watt, higher levels of wattages attainable, and a lifetime of around 100,000 hours in theory. 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 also struggling with their high cost of production, stability of the products produced in China, and establishing an internationally recognized standard. Induction lighting is still 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, and a lifetime of around 50,000 hours, but currently are struggling to deliver the required domestic light output while maintaining a reasonable working lifespan.

CFL availability

Standard/Integrated CFLs

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. 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 (CSI), 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 percent. By way of comparison Incandescent lamps have a 0 to 100 percent 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 life-span. 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.
• 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 which 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

Colors

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

Color temperature is a quantitative measure. The higher the number in kelvin, 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

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 they are used in. 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.

As in the graph on this page, CFLs are often compared to incandescents using electricity derived from burning coal. When hydroelectric, atomic, wind, or solar power are used, instead of the CFLs emitting and using half as much mercury, CFLs use hundreds of times more mercury than incandescents. Also, these comparisons neglect the difficulty in getting the general public to properly dispose and handle the millions of spent, mercury-containing bulbs.

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 may be released and contribute 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 April 15, 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.

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.

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.

However, because household users have the option of disposing of these products in the same way they dispose of other solid waste, it is expected that most consumers dispose of old CFLs with their standard domestic waste . As each CFL manufactured by NEMA members contains up to 5-6 milligrams of mercury, at the Maine “safety” standard of 300 nanograms per cubic meter of air , it would take 16,667 cubic meters of air to “safely” distribute all the mercury in a single CFL.

Some institutions consider hazardous mercury levels anything over 2ppm . Using this limit, a landfill containing more than 1 CFL with 5mg of mercury per cubic meter would be considered hazardous.

Note that coal power plants are the "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 percent by 2018.". If CFLs are recycled and the mercury reclaimed, the equation tilts towards CFLs, and if non-coal sources of electricity are used, the equation tilts toward incandescents.

• more on CFL environmental hazards, and how to dispose of it.

Embodied Energy

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CFLs have been criticized as having a higher embodied energy than incandescents. Given the significantly longer average life of CFLs, however, their embodied energy would have to be huge to not be outweighed by their operational energy savings.

Compact fluorescents, being more complex, necessarily require more energy to manufacture than incandescent lamps. They contain slightly more glass, plus a number of integrated circuits and discrete electronic components. In addition, while incandescents are manufactured in many countries, nearly all CFLs are made in China; thus shipping must be included in any calculation of embodied energy. The energy savings calculations published by manufacturers and governments do not include embodied energy; therefore, the energy savings cannot be as great as claimed. However, it should be noted that no manufacturer to this date has released any information on embodied energy, nor have governments published such information.

Given the complexity of determining calculations like "embodied energy", the economic system of market prices can be used to answer the topic. The higher price of CFLs to the consumer embodies all the extra manufacturing costs (raw materials + energy), as well as shipping costs from China and the like. The lower price of incandescent bulbs reflect their lower manufacturing costs (materials + energy) and possibly shorter shipping routes if they are produced locally. In the absence of subsidies or other distortions, a comparison of price of the bulb plus the price of electricity for a CFL vs. that for an incandescent will give a result.

The overall cheaper of the two should reflect what is overall more economically efficient, which is synonymous with what is more efficient in terms of overall use of materials and energy. A big advantage is that the overall least costly option can easily generate widespread voluntary adoption by the public since it results in saving money.

How they work

Parts

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, CFL lamps 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

Apart from durability, the primary purpose of good CFL design is high electrical efficiency.

These are some other areas of interest:

• 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 indexes (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 percent before turning off completely. Westinghouse claims to have released a dimmer that can dim non-dimmable CFLs.
• 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 around 0.01 seconds for LED lamps.). 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.
• 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 degrees Celsius (-10 F). Standard compact fluorescents may fail to operate at low temperatures. Light output drops at low temperatures. But the new CFL's can be used to temperatures below -5°F (-20.5°C) .
• 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 series of tests by the U.S. Department of Energy for the Energy Star program, one-quarter of tested CFLs no longer met their rated output after 40% of their rated service life.
• Hum: Despite the newer electronics that are marketed to be silent, some compact fluorescents still hum.

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

Initially CCFL was used for thin monitors and backlighting, but now it is also manufactured for use as a lamp. Since the efficacy (lumen/watt) is actually lower than a compact fluorescent light, it is actually not as efficient as a CFL. Its advantages are that it (1) is instant-on, like an incandescent, (2) is compatible with timers, photocells, and dimmers, and (3) has an amazingly long life of approximately 50,000 hours. CCFL are a convenient transition-technology for those who are not comfortable with the short lag-time associated with the initial lighting of Compact Fluorescents. 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, but Australia has announced a plan to phase out the use of incandescent lamps by 2010. Canada has also committed to phasing out incandescent lamps starting in 2012.

Voluntary measures

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

IKEA in the U.K 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.

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 U.S. 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 U.S. 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.

Another website, Onebillionbulbs.com, is behind a campaign to replace one billion incandescent lamps with CFLs across the U.S. 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 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 .

Government measures

 Australia

The Australian federal government plans to phase out the use of incandescent lamps by 2010, apparently the first government to do so in the world. 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. However, there is no ban on such lamps yet. Conversion to CFLs will save Australia approximately 800,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions per year. Australia's current yearly output is 564,000,000.

 Canada

On 2007-04-18, the Ontario government announced that it was planning to ban incandescent lamps in 2012 to cut the local energy consumption. Following the announcement, the fellow province of Nova Scotia has also pondered a similar ban. The territory of Nunavut is planning to ban incandescent lamps in May 2007.

A week later, on 2007-04-25, the federal government announced plans to ban the sale of incandescent lamps by 2012 all over Canada.

 United Kingdom

In the UK, some activists in Britain have lobbied Parliament to tax or ban incandescent lamps, a measure that has generated controversy, and websites like Banthebulb.org and aSimpleSwitch.com have been created in support of the ban; 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.

Gallery of CFLs

• Biax or Linear CFL Biax or Linear CFL
• Globe CFL Globe CFL
• Reflector CFL Reflector CFL
• Spiral CFL
• A CFL designed to resemble an incandescent bulb. An incandescent bulb is shown on the right for comparison.
• Detail of a spiral CFL
• A 40W E12-base CFL (left), next to an equivalent incandescent bulb (right).

See also

• Fluorescent lamp
• Luminous efficacy
• Energy efficiency

Notes and references

1. http://www.lamptech.co.uk/Spec%20Sheets/Philips%20CFL%20Tornado.htm
2. http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=cfls.pr_cfls Energy Star CFL Introduction Page
3. "Spectra of Different Light Sources". Retrieved 2007-04-23.
4. Masamitsu, Emily (May 2007), "The Best Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs: PM Lab Test", Popular Mechanics, retrieved 2007-05-15{{citation}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
5. "Father of the compact fluorescent bulb looks back", CNet News, August 2007, retrieved 2007-07-17{{citation}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
6. Hunt Dimming: Electronic Fluorescent Dimmers - Analog & Digital
7. Electronic Dimming Ballasts
8. [http://www.wipo.int/pctdb/en/ia.jsp?IA=IL2005001146 small compact fluorescent lamp
9. http://www.osram.com/pdf/products/general/duluxsortiment.pdf
10. The IEC60969 test standard
11. Coghlan, Andy (2007), "It's lights out for household classic", New Scientist, vol. 193, no. 2597, pp. 26–27
12. http://www.gelighting.com/na/business_lighting/faqs/cfl.htm#11
13. http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/reps/enduse/er01_us.html Energy Information Administration (USA), U.S. Household Electricity Report, 2005
14. Coghlan, Andy (2007), "It's lights out for household classic", New Scientist, vol. 193, no. 2597, pp. 26–27
15. "LED Lifespan" (html). Lunar Accents Design Corporation, Kennesaw, GA, United States. Retrieved 2007-04-17.
16. "Powerful Little Light: LED With 1,000 Lumens". Siemens AG. 2007-03-15. Retrieved 2007-09-14. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
17. Department of Energy Compact Fluorescent Lamps, 2007
18. U.S. DOE Announces Winners of Reflector-CFL Competition
19. Leviton SureSlide™ Wall Switch Dimmer
20. "VARILIGHT DIMMABLE ENERGYSAVER+" (pdf). Doyle & Tratt Products Ltd. 2007. Retrieved 2007-09-04.
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39. http://www.retex.com/resources/westinghouse.htm Westinghouse CFLs
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62. Nunavut takes light bulb lead, Toronto Star
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• 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

• U.S. 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 U.S. postal 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

• Lamps
• Energy conservation
• Electric power