Energy Effecient lightbulbs?

Question

I really wanna help the earth, and i want to know more about these energy effecient lightbulbs. I know that most of them give off a very fluorescent, bright light. Are there any effecient bulbs that arent as strong??

Thank you! :)

Answer 1

Get CFL bulbs. They can save 70% of energy compared to standard 60 watt bulbs. They are the spiral shaped bulbs. They do give off bright light, which is good because they're brighter than regular bulbs. You save energy because in regular bulbs, 90% is heat and only 10% is light. They all come in low watts, from 4 to 25. Most of the ones in my house are 23 watts. You can probably find some less strong CFLs. Check Wal-Mart, Home Depot and Lowe's.

Answer 2

shop around, there are some that are the equivalent of 15W bulbs, however if you want light that dim you should look into getting some LED lamps, that produce hundreds of hours of light from very little energy, usually batteries.

I have a unit full of those bulbs. They do save quite a bit on power and don't blow so frequently. Also keep in mind that if you break one of those fluorescent bulbs they give of mercury vapour into the air and it takes a while to settle, and you cant use them with dimmer controls (well .. you're not supposed to...)

Answer 3

I have different one the same as the old ones go to Lowe's

Answer 4

The standard energy efficient bulds being marketed are compact flourecent ones. You can buy them in low wattages, seen them as low as 4 and 6W. 12 is more common. You can also find them with different colours. They sell 'daylight' ones and 'warm' ones with a slight colour difference.

It is possible to dim flouros but not in the normal way. The best way to dim them is to run them from a high frequency source and then to reduce the frequency so that they are on for less of the time. (sounds complicated, but with a bit of electronics it really isn't) This also doesn't waste energy as they simply use less when dim. In use you turn the k**b to dim as per normal, but the process behind the switch is different.

Even better are LEDs. These are even more efficient, safer as they use low voltage, no mercury (but contain some nasty substances(heavy metals)), easy to dim, control. come in all sorts of colours and last a very, very long time.

Answer 5

LEDs are a bad choice because they're are monochrome and cause head aches in alot of people which is why they arn't widely used but try and shop around for the bent tube looking one they're best.

Answer 6

just buy some with lower watts.

Answer 7

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!!!