Anyone who reads this blog regularly know that I am a big advocate of CFL bulbs. Every day it seems that the technology gets better and the bulbs are being produced in new shapes, sizes, wattages, and light colors. You can now get CFL bulbs that are “instant-on” or even dimmable. With their low electrical use and drastically lower pricing, it is a no brainer, right? Well…not so fast, according to some.
Unable to throw off the shackles of the cheap energy burning incandescent, the federal government has issued a mandate on electric light. There are new standards for power use that must be met by 2012. So more CFL’s, right. Maybe, but some light manufacturers are investing in finding ways to reinvent the incandescent. Currently, we already have the technology to make the Edison bulb more efficient. We can cut the energy use by an easy 20-30 % right now. Problem is, it comes with a hefty $5 a bulb price tag. Researchers are assuring everyone that they will be able to make a competitively priced incandescent available at a more reasonable price in the new future. In true American style, no one has put a driving force behind developing this technology until the new government mandates came out. I can’t help but wonder why we are so married to this bulb when there are so many other options available right now. On the other hand, innovation spurs technology and perhaps we will find new uses for the things we learn in this arena. The main issue with current incandescent s is the use of energy to create heat rather than light. That is why CFLs use so little energy and create so little heat-they are more efficient at light generation. The downside has always been the quality of the light. Some people just hate fluorescent light. Now however, there are so many options, I do not understand this argument. We are no longer married to the humming and flickering of the old florescent technology. We can now dim bulbs and improve the color. New shapes are making them suitable for chandeliers and open lights. They no longer take time to warm up and are reaching the price of a good incandescent.
Let’s not ignore the growing use of LED technology. The reason that we have not seen a faster growth in this area is a simple matter of components. To make LED bulbs you need things like sapphire (which is expensive) or gallium nitride (which is delicate, and has a high failure rate). This puts the cost of most LEDs out of reach for the average consumer. Even with a life span that can be 10X that of CFLs, even I am not likely to spend up to $100 for a light bulb. New materials are now being tested, however, that may bring the cost of LED bulbs more in line with CFLs. Now we are talking! The cool thing about this research is that it is closely married to the components used in computing. As we learn in one arena, it helps spur the research in the other. This means more research spead across the spectrum, promoting faster innovations and breakthroughs in both areas!
New improvements in ballasts for HID lamps are out now, as well. HID lamps are High Density bulbs used in places like stadiums and stores with high ceilings (like Costco). They are relatively efficient, but take a few minutes to warm up and can’t be dimmed. The new ballasts are going to fix these problems-making them more attractive in some settings.
Who will win the light wars? That is not an easy question to answer. I think that the home of the future will be lit with a variety of new efficient bulbs, each built for a specific purpose. I see the street being lit with HID bulbs that are highly efficient. Then your home will likely be lit with CFLs and spot lit (like artwork) with LED technology. All built to a new energy saving controlled smart home interface that allows light to be turned off automatically and empty rooms left unilluminated. I don’t see house incandescent bulbs fit into the picture-but what do I know? What about you? Do you care if the the incandescent bulb goes away forever?
Tags: compact fluorescents, conservation, Energy, lighting
I’d be happy if the incandescent bulb would drift off into the pages of history. I’m not really picky about my bulbs, I don’t have anything that requires exposed bulbs so I go with the ones that will last the longest and save me money on my energy bill.
Except for my store, I’ll be happy when the days of the humming and flickering of these monstrous florescent fixtures are a thing of the past. My ceiling is too low to go with much of anything else I’ve seen recently. It would be nice to address the commercial end of things someday.
Blogger, most CFLs still don’t give a good enough light, even if the best are much better than a decade ago. Most still need some time to warm up, still don’t fit or work well in all luminaires, still have mediocre colour rendering, are still sensitive to heat and cold, still have poor power factor and use more engery than seen on your bill, and still contain mercury and need to be handled and recycled with care. And the dimmable ones are expensive and only makes the light even more cold and grey without saving any electricity. Halogen, on the other hand, has none of these limitations.
HID = High Intensity Discharge lamps, usually high-pressure sodium or metal halide. The best give a good-looking light with decent colour rendering and are very energy efficient, but require special luminaires and ballasts and are often too bright to be used at home. They also contain mercury, just like FL & CFLs.
Pete, sounds like you just haven’t checked out the technology that has been available for over a decade. The ‘new’ slim FL tubes are about twice as effective as the old type and their light is about twice as good too. You do need to switch the whole fixture though, as they run on high-frequency ballasts (which ensure an even light that does not flicker or hum).
I would respectfully disagree. I bought a bunch of CFL bulbs from various producers, from various stores and have found many differences. The oldest ones in my house are the least pleasant. They produce plenty of flight, but take a little while to warm up. I bought some cool white, daylight, and bright white from the same manufacturer and found three completely different light colors. Oddly enough the Daylight was really blue and the least pleasing. I have one outside on my porch and it seems to operate the same in winter and summer months. I also have a fixture with halogen bulbs. They get VERY hot. I worry about trying to place this kind of bulb in anything but a ceiling fixture. I have found that I like the CFL bulbs in the medium tone and I use the equivalent of 100watts. These give me more light than I am used to and in a pleasant color tone that to me most resembles the traditional incandescent bulbs. CFLs are also changing all the time and there are so many types on the market. I have found that each store carries a different brand and each brand has different characteristics. Try out a few different kinds to find the one that you like most.
And Pete, when you are ready to change out your fixtures, let me know. I can help you find more attractive lighting.
Didn’t get an alert so I haven’t seen this reply until now when going through my links.
Robert Stockham, what makes you think I haven’t checked out the latest CFLs available today? I do agree that they’ve improved in quality and incandescent-like-ness but I can clearly tell the difference, even in the very best that exist on the market now, and just don’t like that sharp pink-white light that makes my living room look like a supermarket, even if it’s more warm-pink than cool-pink now.
If you like them, good for you (as long as you recycle it correctly afterwards) but I reserve the right to my opinion. CFLs still have mediocre colour rendering capacity (CRI 82-85) as it is too expensive to add more phosphors.
That the daylight lamp was the bluest is not odd at all, what did you expect? Daylight has the highest CCT (correlated colour temperature). As it is not possible to create a perfect fluorescent copy of daylight either, it is natural that it will look rather blue (my daylight CFL looks green-blue).
Low voltage halogen reflector lamps do get very hot, yes, so best for ceiling or under-cabinet luminaires. But there are now halogen energy savers that look just like a standard incandescent bulb or reflector lamps and they don’t get hotter than the incandescent they replace, though should not be within reach by children.
LEDs are coolest to the touch, and safest around kids, as CFLs contain mercury vapour. But the ones available for the public do not yet give good enough light quality or enough output to replace more than a 25W incandescent.