It’s about saving money (and the environment)
Think about the impact that one million light bulbs would have. When will builders start to put CFLs into their houses as a standard option?
Some of the Charlottesville-area Earth Week events can be found at cvillebetty’s blog.
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Do you know if Charlottesville has a place where these light bulbs can be properly recycled? NPR did a story on the mercury in CFLs and it appears the issue can be pretty significant, especially as people dispose and not properly recycle CFLs.
There is a container at the McIntire Road recycling center, I believe. Mayor Norris wrote about it in October.
When one of these million CFL bulbs breaks in or around the home there may be serious health and environmental consquences. At the very least, they’ll be a pain in the neck to clean up properly.
Read on: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=7431198
Aside from the dangers and difficulties associated with the CFL’s they aren’t even the most efficient. That designation falls to the LED’s. The bulb features a lifespan of 60,000 hours versus the CFL’s 10,000 hours and the incandescent bulb’s 1,500 hours. There are drawbacks. The up-front cost is larger and the LED won’t shine as bright. But, f you’re main goal is to save the earth through light-bulb energy savings, than the LED is your best option.
I just converted my house to CFL bulbs last night. I’ve been meaning to do it for a while, but there was a good sale on them and I jumped on it.
Excellent posts here!
I agree with real estate watcher that cfl’s are a step above old fashioned bulbs, but the best approach is LED.
Paige at the Eco-Shop has some available for display if you are concerned about the quality of light they give off. Check out her blog on the topic (http://blueridgeecoshop.blogspot.com/2008_03_01_archive.html)
Be aware they are going to be expensive, but they will last a large part of your lifetime.
In the meantime for those of us who did switch to CFL’s -McIntire Recycling center is the proper way to dispose of them. Please don’t be overly concerned about the mercury, which is roughly the size of a pin-head (see epa.gov for a quick, factual explanation of what to do if one breaks in your home).
Best,
BWB