Sylvania CFL bulb
The subject of green lighting seems to be riddled with endless choices and caveats. Take lightbulbs: We all know that traditional “Edison” bulbs are horribly inefficient. Ever touched one that’s been on for a while? All that heat is doing nothing but permeating your indoor air.
We’re supposed to switch to CFLs, but they have mercury, and we all know mercury is bad (as in maybe deadly). CFLs can’t be recycled easily, and if a bulb happens to smash on the floor, you’ve got mercury to clean up.
Lately we’ve been hearing that LEDs are best. However, they’re expensive, and the quality of the light is sometimes so-so. Improvements are happening rapidly, new products are coming, but bottom line: “they aren’t ‘there’ yet.” What does “there” look like? And when do we arrive?!
To the rescue: Brian Clark Howard, the web editor at The Daily Green who decided to write an entire BOOK about green lighting.
We asked Brian to review the lighting Actions on Practically Green:
“I think your PG lighting challenges are great!”
Yay! Here they are:
Install LEDs or CFLs in 1 light fixture (5 points)
Install LEDs or CFLs in 10 light fixtures (10 points)
Install LEDs or CFLs in most light fixtures (50 points)
Switch to LED holiday lights (20 points)
Switch to a solar-powered light fixture (1o points)
and the oh-so-simple:
Turn out the lights when you leave a room (10 points)
Philips LED bulb
“I would agree with your summary on CFLs although I’d be hesitant to describe LED light quality as so uneven. There is some unevenness in quality but that’s true for all lighting categories, and it’s a good idea to try before you buy and go with major brands. I had a chance to play with the new Philips LED bulb the other day and was very impressed with the good quality of the light and its yellow color, which people tend to prefer. The biggest drawback of LEDs is indeed initial price, I believe the Philips is $30 and consumers aren’t used to paying up front for home lighting. They should remember that with incandescents, more than 90% of the money they spend for their light is due to the energy use – and not the cost of the bulb. I definitely suggest CFLs as a good buy now, and for applications where they don’t make sense or if people won’t tolerate them I suggest halogens and dimming. That’s if they can’t afford or won’t buy LEDs, and also for some applications where LEDs really aren’t ready.”
Next time, we’ll talk with Brian about geothermal, since he’s written a book about that, too!
Check out The Daily Green on Facebook and follow them @ the_daily_green
Brian Clark Howard
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5 Comments to 'Green Lighting Expert Shines the way on Energy-efficient CFL and LED light bulbs'
January 18, 2011
Thanks for this post. I have tried lots of difference CFLs, but I dislike the greenish-bluish light they throw out. In incandescents, I was partial to pink-coated bulbs. Any suggestions on warmer (yellower or pinker) bulbs that might be available in CFL or LED?
January 18, 2011
Another problem with CFL’s is the fact that they tend to burn out quite rapidly if they are turned on and off often. The rated life span for CFLs is done in a lab where they are on continuously. LED light life span is not effected by turning them on and off.
January 19, 2011
[...] Practically Green also keeps a blog and as fate would have it… their entry for yesterday was also on CFL’s with the addition of LED’s. I didn’t actually know that this was already their topic of just yesterday, but it worked out nicely! If you’d like to read what they have to say on it, then just head on over. [...]
February 5, 2011
[...] Practically Green also keeps a blog and as fate would have it… their entry for yesterday was also on CFL’s with the addition of LED’s. I didn’t actually know that this was already their topic of just yesterday, but it worked out nicely! If you’d like to read what they have to say on it, then just head on over. [...]
June 8, 2011
[...] blogged on inefficient bulbs previously (thank you, Brian Clark Howard), and we have three actions that give you points for switching yours [...]
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