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Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Compact fluorescent light bulbs: More hype than value?

Paul Wheaton isn't a huge fan of compact fluorescent light bulbs. They don't give off a pleasant light, and they aren't all that energy-efficient. Wheaton explains:
I used to like fluorescent lights and then I changed my mind.

As the years passed, I found more and more folks like me, and more and more reasons to be uncomfortable with fluorescent lights. When some people see that I don't use them, they try to tell me about how great they are. When I try to explain why I prefer incandescent, I nearly always get a dismissive wave - signaling that I am clearly a fool and whatever tripe I am about to utter is clearly not worth their time. This article represents a glimpse into that tripe.

If you leave all of the lightbulbs in your house on 24/7, then replacing all of the incandescent light bulbs in your house with CFL light bulbs will save you money. For people that typically leave lights off when not in use, it turns out that incandescent light is cheaper than fluorescent light - the exact opposite of what we have been told all these years.

With a little knowledge, you can stop wasting money on CFLs. Both in the short term and the long term. The long term stuff includes tax issues and the toxicity tie-in which leads to superfund cleanups and medical bills.

In a nutshell:
With these three things alone, I will make a rock solid case of how incandescent lights are cheaper than CFL. But there's more:

Read the rest here.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Yep. I only use CFLs for "safety" lighting that get's left on for long periods. Anyone who uses them in a room that gets turned on and off frequently is actually burning more energy than a regular bulb. It's simple math. CFLs use a huge amount of energy to start up, then trickle to stay lit. The exact opposite of incandescent.

Trace Hunter said...

True... and you can't mix them with incandescent in an enclosed ceiling lamp - the build up of heat burns them out almost immediately.

Anonymous said...

CFL lightbulbs are personally my favorite. Although the led lamps are now the best and most affordable choice.
skylights in brisbane

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