Light bulbs, how ecofriendly are they?

Question

What is the difference in the normal light bulb Vs. the Eco friendly bulb?

Answer 1

The Eco-Friendly light bulb helps save thousands of tons of carbon monoxide from entering the air, thus slowing down the process of Global Warming. And normal light bulbs suck up more energy, thus contributing to Global Warming.

Please click on the link below, to see how much more efficient they are:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energy_Savi...

Answer 2

which Eco-bulb are asking about?

CFLs (save energy, but they have mercury inside)

OR LED's (save more energy than CFLs and incandescent bulbs, but are more expensive)

Answer 3

for instance, the two with the same wattage or power consumption as 10 watts, the eco friendly emits more light. so the need for more lightbulbs to lighten up a place would be reduce if eco friendly bulbs are used.

another instance, though it's more costly, about 5 x  higher than the standard bulb, this eco friendly can last 3 to 5 x longer , thus the need to produce more is not necessary.

both scheme is likely to use less energy or electricity that adds up co2 emissions.

I just wonder, why all the fuzz about the bulbs when air conditioning units or coolers use more energy and seldom this is thought of? I read that in Japan, most opted to maintain their aircon temperatures in 28' centegrades, avoiding the "artic" level of coldness, saves a lot of electricity and lessen the co2 emissions.

Answer 4

One uses less energy. It conserves the energy.

Answer 5

Another good reason for the ecofriendly light bulb is that compared to the normal light bulb, it saves 75% of electricity. Yes it does cost more then the norm but in the long run it saves you money on your electric bill.

Answer 6

The regular light bulb uses more wts. and runs out easer than a eco friendly bulb. Even though a regular light bulb costs less it is a waste to our eviroment while the eco friendly costs more it saves more eviroment resources....Do you want us to loose the Ozone layer?i know i don't.We wouldn't be livin anymore w/o the Ozone layer.

Answer 7

They save considerable energy and money over their lifetime.

Some peope are worried about the mercury. I see this question a lot and so I did some investigations and this is what I found. I have included every link I used and describe how I calculated my answer so you can verify it for yourself. In my opinion this calculation indicates that the maximum possible exposure is a trivial risk, but don't just take my word for it. Read below how I calculated this.

A typical compact fluorescent bulb contains about 4 milligrams of mercury (first link).

To find out if that could pose a dangerous exposure I looked up what the Legal Exposure Limit is for workers who work with mercury every day. Cal-OSHA sets the average daily exposure limit at 0.05 milligram per cubic meter (second link). This is the allowable concentration of mercury in the air. Breathing mercury vapor is the primary people are exposed to mercury from a fluorescent bulb.

Next I calculated the air volume in a house. Assuming the median size house in the United States, which is 2400 sq ft (see link 3) and assuming 8 foot ceilings that calculates to 19,200 cubic feet internal volume or 544 cubic meters.

Assuming all 4 mg of mercury in a broken fluorescent lamp is allowed to evaporate into the house and then remain trapped there what concentration of mercury will that produce? Concentration = 4 mg / 544 m3 = 0.0074 mg/m3. The allowable exposure is 0.05 mg/m3 so the exposure the CFL produces is about 1/7th of the allowable exposure. Keep in mind the allowable exposure is for a worker exposed every day at work. Therefore the CFL causes a far lower exposure than allowed for a mercury worker.

All houses leak some air even with all windows closed and so the mercury concentration inside the house will fall with time and dissipate. The EPA recommends 0.35 air changes per hour (fourth link) and most homes "leak" that much or more. That means the mercury concentration will fall by about 35% each hour or over a 24 hour period will fall by about a factor of 30,000 times. The calculation for that is Concentration after 24 hours = 1/(1 - 0.35)^24 = 30,908. That means that after just one day with no windows open the mercury concentration inside the house will be 1/200,000 of the allowable exposure, or in essence completely gone.

I also did a little looking at how mercury exposure works. The second link discusses mercury exposure, its effects and how exposure over time works. It indicates that exposure symptoms only show up after many years of exposure above the allowable limit.

What does that all mean? Breaking one CFL bulb inside your house, then vacuuming it up and leaving the vacuum inside the house, with all the windows closed, will expose you to less than 1/7 of the allowable daily exposure for less than one day and since mercury exposure is cumulative over many years this is in essence an inconsequential exposure.

Note that exposures for children are much more serious. Exactly how much more serious I did not try to find out.

If you follow this procedure for disposing of a broken bulb the exposure you will receive will be far lower than I have calculated. If you have children have them leave the house until you have cleaned up the broken bulb. Pick up the broken bulb reasonably quickly.  Place the broken parts in a sealed plastic bag, which you store outside your house until you can dispose of it in a proper disposal facility. Wash your hands thoroughly. Then open a few windows for a few hours.