DESCRIPTION

Traditional incandescent bulbs work by heating a filament until it glows white hot, producing light. About 90 percent of the electricity used by incandescent light bulbs is lost as heat (remembering that that electricity is likely to come from a coal-fuelled power station that also has a terrible efficiency of around just 40%, with the waste released as heat and CO2). Traditional bulbs typically burn for 750 to 1,000 hours -- or about three hours a day for a year. Compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs, more commonly referred to as Energy saving bulbs), on the other hand, produce light by passing an electric current through gas in a tube, making the tube's coating glow brightly. They use between a fourth and an eighth of the energy consumed by a regular bulb and last up to 12 times longer. This results is huge savings for your pocket and the environment. An energy saving bulb can save up to 2000 times its own weight in greenhouse gases. Although the initial cost of purchasing an energy saving light bulb is high compared to a traditional bulb, it could pay for itself in as little as 6 months and save you up to £60 over the lifetime of the bulb. That means that if you replaced 30 bulbs in your home today, you would save up £1,800 over the average 5-year lifespan of the bulbs, and that’s without factoring in any more increases in electricity charges!

The common perception of an energy saving light bulb is of a chunky, awkwardly shaped bulb that produces an intense white light. Advances in technology, however, now mean that energy saving light bulbs look almost exactly the same as traditional bulbs, have no flicker whatsoever, produce soft light, and are even available in dimmable varieties.

TECHNICAL

Energy saving bulbs require less electricity (less Wattage) to produce the same amount of light. See the table below for traditional Wattages and their energy saving equivalents:

There are two types of CFLs: integrated and non-integrated lamps.

Integrated CFLs

Integrated lamps combine a tube, an electronic ballast and either an Edison screw or bayonet fitting in a single CFL unit. These lamps allow consumers to easily replace incandescent lamps with CFLs. Integrated CFLs work well in standard incandescent light fixtures. This lowers the cost of CFL use, since they can reuse the existing infrastructure. In addition, incandescent light fixtures are relatively inexpensive.

Non-integrated CFLs

Non-integrated lamps allow for the replacement of consumable bulbs and the extended use of electrical ballasts in a light fixture. This fluorescent bulb itself does not include a ballast. Since the ballasts are placed in the light fixture they are larger and last longer. Non-integrated CFL housings can be both more expensive and sophisticated, providing options such as dimming, less flicker, faster starts, etc.

The ballasts make these light fixtures relatively expensive. They cost anywhere from 40 to 100 pounds for each recessed can. If a ballast with dimming capabilities is desired the cost is anywhere from 60 to 150 pounds per recessed can. Non-integrated CFLs are more popular for professional users, such as hotels and office buildings. The more advanced capabilities of these sophisticated external ballasts (e.g., faster starts, limited flicker, dimming, longer lifespans, etc.) are now avaiable in integrated CFLs.

CFL POWER SOURCES

CFLs are produced for both alternating current (AC) and direct current (DC) input. DC CFLs are popular for use in recreational vehicles and off-the-grid housing. CFLs can also be operated with solar powered street lights, using solar panels located on the top or sides of a pole and luminaires that are specially wired to use the lamps.

LIFESPAN
Modern CFLs typically have a lifespan of between 6,000 and 15,000 hours, whereas incandescent lamps are usually manufactured to have a lifespan of 750 hours or 1,000 hours. The lifetime of any lamp depends on many factors including operating voltage, manufacturing defects, exposure to voltage spikes, mechanical shock, frequency of cycling on and off and ambient operating temperature, among other factors. The life of a CFL is significantly shorter if it is only turned on for a few minutes at a time: In the case of a 5-minute on/off cycle the lifespan of a CFL can be up to 85% shorter, reducing its lifespan to the level of an incandescent lamp. CFLs are therefore not suitable for cloakrooms and other places where they are only likely to be switched on for short periods.

[source: Wikipedia]

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