Energy Efficient Fluorescent Light Bulbs Gain Popularity

Most people are familiar with the standard light bulb, known as an incandescent light bulb. These are the glass spheres that house a thin tungsten filament that glow white that can be found in any home across the US. The incandescent bulb has been lighting our homes and business for nearly 125 years, but some people are ready for a change. Energy efficient light bulbs are growing in popularity and are beginning to make headlines as more people take notice of these new contenders.

The incandescent bulb that most people are familiar with works on a rather simple premise. The thin tungsten filament creates resistance to the electricity passing through it, this resistance creates heat, and the heat creates the white glow. The problem however is that this is a very ineffective way to create light. Most of the energy used is wasted with only five percent used to create light and in this process the bulb can use five to ten times the cost in electricity as the original price to buy the bulb.

Compact fluorescent light bulbs are becoming more popular as they are far more energy efficient and ca last far longer than a conventional incandescent bulb. Fluorescent bulbs work by moving a stream of electrons through a fluorescent tube, inside the tube argon and mercury vapor become excited by and react to the electrodes by producing ultraviolet photons of light which reacts with the phosphor coating on the outside of the tube. This is what creates the light we see from a fluorescent light bulb. The light from a fluorescent bulb is far more efficient in that it produce between 50 and 100 lumens per watt; an incandescent light bulb can only create 15 lumens per watt.

Energy Star, a joint program of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy, (http://www.energystar.gov/) promotes using compact fluorescent light bulbs in homes and businesses. Energy Star reports on their website that energy efficient fluorescent light bulbs use at least 2/3 less energy than standard incandescent bulbs to provide the same amount of light, last up to ten times longer, save $30 or more in energy costs over each bulb's lifetime, and generate 70 percent less heat so they are safer to operate and can cut energy costs associated with home cooling.

Energy Star is not the only government program that is taking notice of fluorescent light bulbs. Lawmakers in California are looking at banning the common incandescent light bulbs in an effort to reduce energy use and pollution. The "How Many Legislators Does it Take to Change a Light Bulb Act" that would ban incandescent light bulbs by 2012 in favor of energy efficient compact fluorescent light bulbs is being introduced by California Assemblyman Lloyd Levine. California Energy Commission member Arthur Rosenfeld said an average home in California will save $40 to $50 per year if compact fluorescent light bulbs replace all incandescent bulbs.

Fluorescent light bulbs are making their presence known since their development in 1980. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency about 100 million compact fluorescent light bulbs were sold in the United States by 2005, and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. alone wants to sell 100 million compact fluorescent light bulbs at its stores by the end of 2007. Last year Energy Star promoted using compact fluorescent light bulbs with its "Change a Light" Day on October 4 where people across the US pledged to change 125,000 bulbs in their homes. The U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) also joined with Energy Star to promote the energy efficient pledge. As word spreads about the money saving and energy save benefits of fluorescent light bulbs more and more people are replacing their old incandescent bulbs for the new, more efficient models.