What's greener? Should I replace incandescent bulbs immediately with CFLs or wait until they burn out?

Question

I live in the U.S. in the burbs.

Answer 1

CFL's contain mercury and lead and are made in China where they have no environmental controls.

  If you can go for LED lighting

Where is two sources

  Energy Focus  http://www.energyfocusinc.com/www/efo/ab...

Led Dynamics http://www.leddynamics.com/

Answer 2

Unless you are a slob don't worry about a light bulb. Light bulbs don't burn squat compared to everything else. If you have lights that you leave on all the time for crime them by all means replace them.

Answer 3

I saved my old bulbs in case of an emergency. But installed the CFL's now

Answer 4

Definitely replace your bulbs ASAP because you can significantly reduce your electricity use by doing this. Try visiting your local environmentally friendly store and talking to them about the best product on the market.

Climate change is here now and we need to act quickly.

Answer 5

My family was pondering over that same question this morning. We decided to wait until they burned out. Our conclusion: Either way they go to the land fill, we shouldn't let them be a complete waste.

Answer 6

wait till they burn out

Answer 7

Replace your high usage bulbs now.  There are probably a few bulbs in your house that get lots of hours of use, while a lot of others get very little use.  Save the removed bulbs for replacement into those low usage locations.

Don't worry if you never replace the bulbs in closets or others that run a few minutes each day or week.  They do not contribute significantly to the problem.