I want to replace my light bulbs with the new ones that use 1/4 of the energy?

Question

I was wondering if I can put in one of the new bulbs that uses 26 Watts of power, but gives off 100 Watts of light, in an old fixture than has a 60-Watt rating. I know it will be using less than the 60-Watt limit, but is it ok, considering the amount of light given off?

Answer 1

Saving energy is beneficial I appreciate ur concern.

Answer 2

It can be done!! I have switched to them all over my home and the electric bill dropped about $20 a month,

Answer 3

It will be fine to use that bulb. The 60 watt max rating is for the amount of energy being drawn to the bulb. The CFL bulbs are only drawing 26 watts, so it will be just fine.

Answer 4

Those bulbs are great for saving energy....but what do you do with them when they burn out?? Since they contain 'mercury vapor'...they are a bio-hazard and should not be thrown away in the regular trash bin.

So...we save energy...but we don't save the planet, because we are causing more hazardous pollution by dumping mercury into our soil.

Answer 5

Extex_cop

CFLs actually reduce mercury pollution.

Fossil fuels contain mercury.  Using incandescent bulbs causes more mercury to be emitted from power plants.  More than the tiny amount (0.005 grams or less) that is in a CFL.  And that mercury is blown into the air, which is far worse than burying it in a secure landfill, which manages its' groundwater.

It's better if you dispose of old CFLs properly so that even the tiny amount of mercury is not released.  But, no matter how they're disposed of, CFLs reduce mercury pollution.

http://www.cityofberkeley.info/sustainab...

http://www.snopes.com/medical/toxins/cfl...

By the way, the regular long fluorescents contain 2-10 times as much mercury.  So many municipalities already have recycling programs, set up to deal with the thousands of long fluorescents in office buildings.