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FEBRUARY 13, 2012 8 COMMENTS
Introduction:
We are becoming more conscious about climate change and many governments in the world are looking for different ways to reduce greenhouse gases and to reduce consumption of fossil fuels. One of the simplest solution for this is aggressively adopting CFL which is phasing out energy inefficient light. Compact fluorescent lights (CFL), heavily promoted for their energy saving properties and quickly pushing traditional incandescent bulbs out of the market. They are now inexpensive, payback in electricity savings is nearly immediate, and there is that side benefit of reducing power plant emissions. CFL bulbs use approximately 75% less energy than incandescent light bulbs and last longer. At first glance this seems like a good way to conserve energy and to protect our environment. However, Many environmentally conscious people think they are doing a great thing by using compact fluorescent light bulbs CFLs. We see them advertised everywhere, even our most trusted environmental news sources tells us we should be using them. Production of traditional incandescent light bulbs may be phased out completely by the year 2014. Unfortunately most people are unaware of and not many are talking about the fact that although CFL bulbs reduce energy and greenhouse gases, they put our health at an even greater risk than incandescent bulbs. They are energy efficient but not environmentally friendly. There are a number of serious problems associated with CFL bulbs that need to be considered and corrected. These include mercury content, emission of UV radiation, emission of radio frequency radiation, and generation of dirty electricity. There is the additional concern that these lights are making some people ill. This includes those who suffer from migraines, skin problems, epilepsy, and electrical sensitivity. Governments are mandating CFL use and banning incandescent light bulbs. Media, industry, and governments have screwed the benefits of CFL bulbs into the deepest sockets of our mind. We are neutrally try to highlight dark and bright side of CFL by some fact and supporting arguments.
CFLs save energy. Saving energy is good for the planet and may retard global warming. Sounds good although CFL have some seriously negative effects.
Arguments to oppose this Drawback The amount of mercury in the most popular and widely used CFLs is minimal, ranging between 2.3 mg and 3.5 mg. That is lower than other CFLs on the market, which generally contain approximately 5 mg, roughly the equivalent of the tip of a ballpoint pen. By comparison, older home thermometers contain 500 milligrams of mercury and many manual thermostats contain up to 3000 milligrams. It would take between 100 and 665 CFLs to equal those amounts. CFLs are safe to use in your home. No mercury is released when the bulbs are in use and they pose no danger to you or your family when used properly. CFLs are responsible for less mercury than standard incandescent light bulbs, and actually work to prevent mercury from entering our air, where it most affects our health. The highest source of mercury in our air comes from burning fossil fuels such as coal, the most common fuel used to produce electricity. A CFL uses 75% less energy than an incandescent light bulb and lasts up to 13 times longer. 70% of power plants are coal fired and thus burn fossil fuel to produce energy. These power plants will emit 10 mg of mercury to produce the electricity to run an incandescent bulb compared to only 2.4 mg of mercury to run a CFL for the same time. Coalfired power generation accounts for roughly 40% of the mercury emissions.
headaches, eyestrain, fatigue, and weight gain, to serious effects such as insomnia and sleep disturbances, an increased risk of cancer, and a suppressed immune system.
Arguments to eliminate this Drawback: 1. Not all CFL are the same some generate more dirty electricity than others. In a recent study the values for dirty electricity ranged from 47 to 1450 GS units compared with a background value (with lights off) between 54-58 GS units. Clearly technology exists to produce CFL that do not generate dirty electricity. 2. However, almost all CFLs use electronic control gear. This usually incorporates a switched-mode power supplyin the base of the lamp itself. It rectifies the AC from the mains to convert it to DC and then chops it electronically into a series of sharp rectangular alternating pulses, which then light the lamp. However, the new frequency, which is usually about 40 kHz (40,000 cycles per second), is so high and the gaps between pulses are so short that the relatively slow response of the phosphors can fill them easily. Consequently, these lamps do not flash.
CONCLUSION
If we can afford the discomfort of higher electrical bills, it is OK to go back to incandescent. The Earth will be fine, it just goes through cyclical warming and coolings, and we humans might not have as much impact on it as we give ourselves credit for. The heat generated by incandescent is not always wasted either. In colder months the heat reduces the amount of energy drawn from household heating. In the next some year the prices of LED lighting will start to come down, and new LED lighting fixtures will be introduced. The CFLs will begin to be phased out, leaving behind a long term problem of mercury disposal, remediation, and a so far untold toll on human health Instead of promoting compact fluorescent light bulbs governments around the world should be insisting that manufactures produces light bulbs that are electromagnetically clean and contain no toxic chemicals. Some of these are available (LED) but are not yet affordable. With a growing number of people developing electro hypersensitivity we have a serious emerging and newly identified health risk that is likely to get worse until regulations restricting our exposure to electromagnetic pollutants are enforced. Also, with improper disposal of these bulbs we are creating a mercury-time bomb. Since everyone uses light bulbs and since the energy inefficient incandescent light bulbs are being phased out in many countries by this is an area that requires immediate attention. Try a CFL, but use and dispose it very carefully