Sunday, April 13, 2008

CFL - Compact Fluorescent Lighting

Everybody's getting on the environmental bandwagon these days -- in theory at least. Actually modifying behavior to save energy seems to lag behind a bit. Well, installing compact fluorescent lamps is a simple, painless way to help our struggling planet and save money at the same time. Today's CFL bulbs are much better than their predecessors, which emitted a kind of sickly off-color glow. You can get bulbs in warm (or soft) white, white, cool white, or daylight varieties which are basically equivalent to their incandescent counterparts.

These color temperatures are sometimes rated in Kelvin or K which can be a little confusing. A bulb's Kelvin rating is based on the temperature a filament would be heated to to produce a given color. Now white-hot is hotter than red-hot but red and yellow are considered "warm" colors, while (sometimes bluish) white is considered a "cool" color. So the "cool white" bulb actually has a higher K rating than the "warm white" bulb. Note that the higher K bulbs don't consume more power than the lower K bulbs; fluorescent light is produced by a different mechanism.

Another advantage of the current crop of CFLs is that they use electronic ballasts rather than the old-style inductive ballasts. This results in a much shorter delay before the light comes on and almost no flickering or stroboscopic effects. Most of these bulbs include integrated ballasts -- they simply replace regular incandescent bulbs using the familiar Edison screw bases. Amazon supplies bulbs with all the common base sizes -- candelabra commonly found on Christmas lights, the ubiquitous medium base, and the slightly larger mogul base.

The majority of the lights featured here are the common CFL Spiral form, or the brighter twin tube or triple tube varieties. There are also bulbs with different shapes such as the pointed torpedo, reflector-focussed floodlights, and smaller R20 or R30 directional lights, the A-19, A-21 or A-23 appliance bulbs, post lights, the decorative globe style, and the bullet type.

Bulbs with separate ballasts use a variety of 2-pin and 4-pin connectors, such as the Thorn 2D connector, or the Philips PL connector. One drawback to these non-integrated ballast systems is that it can be difficult to find the bulbs with the arcanely coded correct base. Base codes are numerous and intended to prevent using too powerful a bulb in a fixture (but may also prevent downgrading Wattage). Some examples are: G24D-2, G24D-3, GX23-2, GX32D-2, G24Q-1, GR10Q-4, G10Q, and TCX. This list is not exhaustive, so your best bet is to try the search box if you know the proper code.

If you don't know the code for base of the light you are replacing, you may still be able to find the correct light here. Many of the available units have information such as "replaces manufacturer model model-number" either in the specifications or the user comments. Do take a moment to read the user comments. Some are pretty useless, but most are informative, and some are absolutely indispensible.

Like their integrated-ballast cousins, non-integrated bulbs come in twin-tube and triple-tube types, as well as a number of unique form-factors. These include butterfly, circular or (GE) Circline, Sylvania's Dulux, and EIKO's FML.

In addition to the many shapes and base types, both integrated and non-integrated ballast CFLs may incorporate features not found in earlier compacts. Probably the most striking is the introduction of dimmable CFLs. These cost a bit more, as they require more complicated circuitry in their ballasts, but they are extremely popular. A simpler related product are 3-way CFLs for three way fixtures and lamps. Another popular variation are "novelty" colored lights available in red, blue, green, orange, pink, and (theoretically) blacklight. Yellow CFLs are listed as bug lights, a reference to their decreased attractiveness to bugs in outdoor use. There are also ionic bulbs that freshen the air by emitting negative ions, and high intensity bulbs (comparable to halogen incandescents) designated T3, T4, T5, etc.

CFL bulbs typically use 20% to 25% of the energy that incandescent bulbs would use to produce the same amount of light in lumens or candlepower. While the power requirements of incandescent bulbs have become standardized, CFL bulbs vary. Therefore, equivalent power ratings are often more prominently specified than actual Wattage. Common sizes include 15 Watt, 40 Watt, 60 Watt, 75 Watt, 100 Watt, and 150 Watt, although there are also many other sizes. If an area needs more light, you can safely install CFL bulbs whose actual power usage is equal to or below that stated on a fixture or lamp.

The energy savings from fluorescent lighting stem from the fact that they convert electrical power into light more efficiently than incandescent bulbs. That is, they do so with less energy waste in the form of heat. It follows that they also have an impact on heating and cooling costs. In the case of heating, the impact is negative, but the energy saved in lighting more than offsets it. (When viewed as heating elements, incandescent bulbs are inefficient because they "waste" energy by producing light.) In the case of cooling, CFL is a win / win proposition.

CFL bulbs cost more than incandescents, but typically last much longer. As of this posting, CFLs may cost 3 to 10 times what an equivalent incandescent does, but they typically last 8 to 15 times as long. This makes CFLs a good investment irrespective of their 75% - 80% energy savings. The initial cost of CFLs and their longevity are only expected to improve as they are developed further.

Our Picks

I don't usually recommend individual products, since customers presumably know what they want. I'm making an exception in this case because incandescent bulb technology is so well-established and familiar that people seem to assume that all these CFL bulbs are alike and simply pick the cheapest one(s). Unfortunately, there seems to be a good bit of "buyer's remorse" with this strategy. Remember, one advantage of CFLs is that they last much longer than incandescents, so paying a little more for a higher quality product often makes sense. You may also want to get a little higher Kelvin bulb than you are used to since many people seem to dislike the "soft white" CFLs. Shipping terms are subject to change, and are posted here for convenience ONLY.

Amazon.com - The items here are all eligible for free shipping on orders of $25 or more. If you can find what you need here, that's probably the way to go. Light Bulbs Etc, Inc. - Features Eiko & TCP bulbs. S/H $7.95/shipment. greenfeet - Featuring bulbs from Feit Electric S/H = $5.95/shipment + $0.50/lb.

Manufacturers & Vendors

Amazon features bulbs from a variety of manufacturers and third party vendors, with a wide range of features and price points. Take a little time to evaluate their merits, since the cheapest bulbs aren't always the best value.:

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