There is big debate happening world wide on what steps should be taken to replace, incandescent light bulb (traditional light bulbs) with compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFL).
What is clear is that need to replace traditional light bulbs to save energy and our planet. The facts are convincing, switching to CFL would cut world-wide electricity demand by 18% and reduce emissions of greenhouse gases, according to the Paris-based International Energy Agency.
If every American home replaced just one light bulb with an a CFL bulb, Americans would save enough energy to light more than 2.5 million homes for a year and prevent greenhouse gases equivalent to the emissions of nearly 800,000 cars.
The facts are in, and there is a movement to make the replacement. Cuba and Venezuela were the first countries to attempt to phase out the use of traditional light bulbs in 2005, followed by Australia, that has decided to ban traditional light bulbs by 2010, being the first country to do so. Australia will reduce their carbon monoxide emissions by 800,000 tonnes a year if they switch over to CFL.
California and the European union has followed suite, EU to ban traditional light bulbs by 2010.
In Canada the provinces of Ontario and Nova Scotia are considering banning incandescent light bulbs. But it will be another four to five years before a ban is in place.
Ontario may ban old light bulbs
Nova Scotia ponders light-bulb switch
So, why such drastic measures as banning the traditional light bulbs? The fact is that the CFL has existed since the early 1980s when Philips, the world's largest lighting maker, invented the CFL.
The consumer has not bought into the CFL, as we are ignorant to things we take for granted such as light bulbs and gas for the car. Philips has wondered for years, how many marketing campaigns does it take to get consumers, companies, and city governments to change a light bulb?
We as consumers do not get it, it is simple but we still do not accept it, saving energy prevents pollution. When you use less energy at home, you lessen greenhouse gas emissions in our atmosphere. Every CFL can prevent more than 450 pounds of emissions from a power plant over its lifetime.
I am going to try to explain to you why you should switch over before the ban comes, but first lets look at why more of us has not switched over.
- Many consumers are put off by the higher price of compact-fluorescent bulbs -- they can cost anywhere from $3 to $6 each.
- Compact fluorescents also face an image problem.
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- Many people refuse to let him put them in their house because they do not like the way the light looked.
- Many people are afraid they would look cold and industrial.
- Two-thirds of lighting technology used in homes and offices dates to before 1960.
- Government and cities have not lead with example.
What people do know is that traditional light bulbs are inexpensive -- a 60-watt bulb costs as little as 50 cents -- but what they do not know is that they are inefficient. Only 5% of the energy they consume is converted to light; the rest is lost as heat.
A CFL emit the same amount of light as incandescent bulbs but use 75-80% less electricity.
What consumers have not yet grasped, is that traditional bulbs usually last six to twelve months, while compact-fluorescents last about five years or longer. Calculating the cost over a 5 year period, including the cost to purchase, and travelling to the store and back, a CFL is not more expensive then a traditional light bulb.
Nevertheless, major challenges remain. Effort has to be aimed towards lighting offices and other public buildings, which account for 43% of electricity consumption globally per year. In apartment buildings, electricity bills are paid by the tenant, building owners have little incentive to install efficient lighting systems, with their higher upfront costs.
The bottom-line is that as consumers we need to be aware of how we can contribute to saving energy. The first place we should look is in our homes. Start today, change all the light bulbs in your house, and sit back for a moment and feel good about your contribution to saving our planet.
More reading -
- Ban the Bulb blog - http://ban-the-bulb.blogspot.com/
- Philips Pushes Energy-Saving Bulbs : Why This Bright Idea Is a Hard Sell
- Chart - http://online.wsj.com/public/resources/images/MK-AH573_BULBjp_20061204212822.gif
- Ontario considers banning old-style light bulbs - http://www.thestar.com/article/184290
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