The Payoff Shows Up on Your Electric Bill

If every American family switched to compact fluorescent lighting, we could save 31.7 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity every year — enough to light about one third of all U.S. households for an entire year. A good way for you to begin is to start by replacing the incandescent bulbs you use most often.

Only 10 percent of the electricity used by an incandescent bulb produces light, while the other 90 percent produces heat. Compact fluorescent bulbs, on the other hand, use around four times less electricity than a standard incandescent bulb, while producing the same amount of light. Most of the power consumed by compact fluorescent bulbs produces light, with very little electricity going to produce heat. The result is a longer-lasting light that uses less electricity and operates at a cooler temperature. The cooler operating temperature can help on your air conditioning bill in the summer months.

A compact fluorescent bulb will pay for itself in a little more than two years. Also, compact fluorescent bulbs last is 10 times longer than a standard incandescent bulb. This means you will be saving on energy for years to come and won't have to change bulbs as often.

Compact Fluorescent Bulbs FAQ

What are compact fluorescent bulbs? Compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) work the same way as regular fluorescents, but they now come in a variety of shapes that fit conventional lamps and ceiling fixtures. They use a quarter of the energy used by traditional incandescent bulbs and last up to 10 times longer. Regular bulbs of the sort invented by Thomas Edison create light by heating a filament inside the bulb. The light comes from the hot filament, and a lot of the energy used is wasted in the form of heat. A fluorescent bulb contains a gas that produces ultraviolet light when the gas is excited by electricity. The coating inside the bulb glows in response to the UV light.

How much can I save with compact fluorescents?
A 20-watt CFL used instead of a 75-watt incandescent will save more than 500 kilowatt-hours over its lifetime, saving you about $35 including the higher cost of CFLs. You're also helping save the environment. The federal ENERGY STAR® program estimates that if every household in the United States replaced one light bulb with an ENERGY STAR-qualified CFL, the reduction in pollution would equal removing one million cars from the road.

Are the spiral compact fluorescents safe to use in older fixtures?
CFLs can be used safely in any fixture, and since they're cooler than traditional incandescent lights, they're often safer.

Can you use compact fluorescents anywhere you currently use fluorescent lights?
CFLs are most efficient in applications where you normally leave a light on for several hours at a time. Because of their long life, they're also useful in hard-to-reach fixtures.

Also, standard CFLs cannot take quite the same range of temperatures as incandescent bulbs. If you want to put a bulb where it will get very cold or one that will get very hot, such as a bulb in an enclosed recessed ceiling fixture, look for a CFL specifically designed for extreme temperatures. Do not install compact fluorescent bulbs where they will be directly exposed to water.

Can I use a CFL with a dimmer switch?
To use a compact fluorescent bulb on a dimmer switch, you must buy a CFL that's specifically made to work with dimmers. You can use regular CFLs, but the dimmer will probably shorten the life of the bulb.

How do you compare fluorescent light bulbs with regular bulbs?

Will the light from the compact fluorescent lights be the same as from an incandescent light?
Modern CFLs do not flicker and hum the way older fluorescent tubes did. They do take about two minutes to reach full brightness. Fluorescents offer more diffused light than incandescent, which means they have less glare but are less appropriate for focused lights such as spotlights. Modern fluorescents are available in a wide range of colors, including bulbs that are designed to mimic sunlight.

Is it true that compact fluorescent bulbs contain harmful mercury?
All fluorescent light bulbs contain a tiny amount of mercury vapor, which remains safely inside of intact bulbs. If you break a fluorescent tube, be sure to wear gloves and sweep up the glass rather than vacuuming it. The Environmental Protection Agency considers CFLs safe to dispose of in ordinary trash, but if you're concerned about mercury, you can check with your city or county sanitation department to see if they have a hazardous waste program or a fluorescent light recycling program. To reduce the chance of mercury entering the environment, you can wrap a bulb you're throwing away in padding and put it in a sealed plastic bag for disposal.