CLF's Bad or Good.............?

Question

CFL's have a bit of mercury in them which is non-biodegradable chemical. so would buying a CFL be bad for the enviroment. Don;t go all crazy on me I really don't know.

Answer 1

We have had flourescent tubes as far back as I can remember, they have always had mercury. When I was purchasing them by the dozen for the plant where I worked no one cared, they were tossed into the dumpster and intentionally broken. Yes, they do pose a small risk, and yes you should be careful about how you dispose of them. The benifit far out weights the risk.

You can light 4 CFL's with the same amount of electricity it takes to light a single incandescent. If you dispose of them properly than they can be recycled, very few regular bulbs are recycled.  

Answer 2

Depends on where the electricity to power it is coming from.   If coal is being burnt to make the power then yes, CFL's are good.   Burning coal to power an incandescent bulb emits much more mercury than the CFL has in it.   If wind or hydro is being used, then CFL's are not so good.  

Remember that the incandescent bulbs also have a hunk of lead on the bottom of each one and lead is pretty bad for people too.    Finally, all fluorescent lights have mercury in them, not just the compact ones.   It's suddenly becoming a huge issue for some reason even though florescent lights have been around for decades.    Seems like there must be an ulterior motive from the people who suddenly are crying about the mercury in a light bulb.

Answer 3

I don't know about the mercury but everything I read says the engenry savings is worth the investment.

Answer 4

Let me start off by saying we (my family and I) live 100% off of the grid and are completely self-sufficient with a 0% Carbon footprint. I believe this is the first step anyone can make “help the environment”. Once you convert your own life style to a greener more eco friendly route, you can start helping others.

Compact fluorescent light bulbs, right now, are more " eco-wise" then anything else most consumers can get a hold of (ie. incandescent) and currently save over 2000 times their own weight in greenhouse gases.

But since my house is completely on solar / wind and we REALLY need to watch usage, every light is fitted with s***w type (typical 110v lamp socket style) LED bulbs. They emit the same luminosity (typically 45) but at only 1watt rather then a 45w compact or 10w CFL. However they usually cost twice as much as CFLs which is twice as much (or more) as compacts. Still LEDs would be the way to go by far.

As for the second part of your question...

Mercury IS the lesser of the evils, without getting toooo elaborate discussing specifics (ie. which burns ozone faster, other layer's besides ozone, disposing locations, methods, wind conditions, etc), one needs less mercury gas then most others, to obtain the same luminosity in a vacuum because of mercury's longer agitated spectral wavelength. Mercury's wavelength is more blue which is a longer more "luminous" or brighter light to say sodium, which is a more light orange or shorter less bright (red being the shortest) wavelength. so you'd need more sodium or other, in the tube or more electricity to the tube, to create the same luminosity as mercury.

so mercury wins out only because the sheer volume needed is less then the others.

Hope this helped, feel free to contact me personally if you have any questions if you’d like assistance in making your first self sufficient steps, I’m willing to walk you step by step threw the process. I’ve written several how-to DIY guides available at  www agua-luna com on the subject. I also offer online and on-site workshops, seminars and internships to help others help the environment.

Dan Martin

Alterative Energy / Sustainable Consultant, Living 100% on Alternative & Author of How One Simple Yet Incredibly Powerful Resource Is Transforming The Lives of Regular People From All Over The World... Instantly Elevating Their Income & Lowering Their Debt, While Saving The Environment by Using FREE ENERGY... All With Just One Click of A Mouse...For more info Visit:  

www AGUA-LUNA com

Stop Global Warming!!!