Home Energy Savings Tips: Compact Fluorescent Lamps

Because electrical lighting consumes nearly 15% of a household's electricity use, you may wish to learn about some energy efficient lighting alternatives. Compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) are one you should consider.

Their design blends the energy efficiency of fluorescent lighting with the convenience and interchangeability of incandescent fixtures. CFLs will fit nearly any fixture designed for an incandescent bulb.

CFLs can replace incandescent lights approximately 3-4 times their wattage, which means you can save up to 75% of the lighting energy. Although CFLs cost 10-20 times more than comparable incandescent bulbs, they last 10-15 times as long. In other words, over the long term you save lots of money by paying more up front.

Compact fluorescent lamps work a lot like regular fluorescent lamps. They're comprised of two parts: a magnetic or electronic ballast, and a gas-filled tube. The gas inside the tube glows with ultraviolet light when electricity from the ballast runs through it. This in turn triggers a white phosphor coating on the inside of the tube, emitting visible light all the way through the surface of the tube.

The type of compact fluorescent lamps which use magnetic ballasts flicker when they start, like regular fluorescents do. They also weigh more than CFL's with electronic ballasts, which may make them too heavy for some light fixtures. Electronic ballasts are more expensive, but light immediately. They are also more efficient than magnetic ballasts. Most currently available CFLs have electronic ballasts.

Because compact fluorescent lamps are designed to operate within certain temperature ranges, temperatures outside the range cause reduced light output. A CFL's temperature range can found printed on most lamp packages. Although there are models offered for outdoor use, most are for indoor applications. You can install outdoor CFLs in enclosed fixtures to reduce the effects of colder temperatures and wind chill.

This type of lighting is at its most cost effective in areas where lights are left on for long periods of time. In locations where lights are turned on for short periods of time, such as in closets and pantries, an incandescent bulb may be a better choice. Since compact fluorescent lamps do not need to be changed often, they are perfect for hard-to-reach areas like ceiling fixtures.

Try out a CFL for a test run and see how much energy you save.

The Environmental Benefits of Using Energy-Efficient Fluorescent Light Bulbs

Everyone knows that merely stating that compact fluorescent light bulbs help protect the environment and reduce consumption of fossil fuels is not enough to motivate people all over the world to replace their incandescent light bulbs with energy-efficient compact fluorescents. In order to create change in people's buying habits and perspectives, you have to prove it to them. To that end, here are some of the main environmental benefits of replacing short-lived and inefficient incandescent light bulbs with energy-efficient compact fluorescent bulbs.

- Decreased use of fossil fuels-Over 50 percent of the electricity in the U.S. comes from coal-fired power plants. Although America has many coal-producing regions, there's hardly an infinite supply and in most cases, the richest veins of the most desirable type of coal have been depleted which means more energy has to be used to mine coal in smaller, less accessible seams.

- Less air, water, and soil pollution-If each household in the U.S. replaced one incandescent light bulb with a compact fluorescent bulb, it would amount to the equivalent pollution reduction of removing one million cars from our nation's highways. That's a staggering number and very easily accomplished.

- Less waste in landfills-Compact fluorescent light bulbs last, on average, ten times longer than incandescent bulbs which significantly reduces the amount of waste in our landfills. What's more, new CFB technologies being featured by Superior Lamp Inc. are extending bulb life even further.

- Reduced production of greenhouses gases-Greenhouse gases cause global warming and impact the environment in countless other ways. Since each CFB uses substantially less power than incandescent bulbs, less electricity is consumed so less coal and other fossil fuels are consumed so less greenhouse gases are produced as a byproduct of producing energy.

- Increased environmental awareness-This is a subtle but profoundly powerful environmental benefit of switching over to compact fluorescent bulbs. When people swap out incandescent bulbs for CFBs, it makes them feel that they are actively taking steps to become part of the solution instead of the problem which inspires them to consider and implement other changes in their life to protect the environment and reduce their carbon footprint. These actions are noted by friends and family who then take steps of their own to protect the environment.

This gradually builds momentum and over time, more and more people think about how their buying habits and actions impact the environment and eventually it fosters a progressive climate where people make environmentally-responsible decisions both consciously and unconsciously. Since one of the most powerful influences on human behavior is how we are perceived by others, it only takes a handful of people making responsible choices to start a self-perpetuating trend of environmental responsibility.

These are only a handful of the many environmental benefits of using compact fluorescent light bulbs instead of incandescent lighting and while reading this article, you're likely to have thought of several more. Compact fluorescent light bulbs may cost a little more to purchase but given the savings they provide to all of us through reduced energy consumption and their environmental benefits, it's a very easy decision to make.

Fixing That Annoying Blinking Fluorescent Light

So now its time to roll up our sleeves and get to work. There are some very important guidelines to follow when doing electrical work:

-MAKE SURE THE POWER IS OFF AND THERE IS NO CHANCE OF IT ACCIDENTALLY BEING TURNED ON WHILE WORKING ON IT.
-Have all the materials you will need for your project. There is nothing worse than being half way in your project to find out you don't have everything you need.
-Have the right tool for the job your doing

Following our safety guide we need to turn the power off to the light. You can just turn the switch off to the light and that will remove power, but we need to make sure nobody will accidentally turn it on when your working on it. So find your fuse box or circuit panel and shut the breaker off as well. Look for breaker tags such as gen lighting, or lighting.

Now that we know we are safe to work on the fluorescent light here are the tools you will need:

-A fiberglass ladder (make sure it is fiberglass when working with electricity because fiberglass does not conduct electricity.)
-Lineman pliers
-Nut driver
-Wire strippers
-Voltage tester

Now that we have our tools we need to rule out some simple fixes. I have been on calls that I felt so bad charging a customer for something they easily could have done themselves. Number one thing to do is replace the bulb. Keep in mind there are two types most commonly found and they are T-12 and T-8. The T-12 is a fat tube and a T-8 is thin in circumference, that's the easiest way to figure out what it is. If your still not sure remove the bulb and look at the end of the tube and there will be a model number on it with either T-12 of T-8 in or around that area.

Ok, so we changed the bulb and it's not the fix. The problem most likely lies in the ballast. By removing the center cover we can access the ballast, you should see wire colors of black, red, blue, yellow, white and green. Before you remove anything you need to make sure you have the right type of ballast. Make sure the model numbers are the same and the type of ballast is the same. All newer fixtures use electronic ballasts, while older models might use rapid start, and magnetic type ballasts as some examples. We know we have the right ballast so what I do before I even remove the ballast is take the black and white wire from the ceiling box and remove it from the ballast without touching the bare copper and test them with your voltage tester to make absolute sure they are dead,cap each one with a wire nut, these wires are what give power to the ballast.

Look at the colors and where there connected to. I then cut the wires with my linesmans pliers after the wire nut. I do this because when you put the new ballast in it will have the same colored leads as the old one, so you can use it to help you reconnect the colors of wires to the light. After you cut the wires remove the ballast with your nut driver making sure not to lose that nut you will need it later!!! CAUTION: The ballast may be hot to the touch, put some gloves on or use a rag when handling the ballast. Install the new ballast by aligning it into the slots and the hole where the nut was. Simply fasten the nut down and the ballast should now be secured to the fixture. Now connect blue to blue, red to red, yellow to yellow using orange wire nuts. Next hook up the black wire being careful because this is your "HOT" wire to the black and the white to the white. One thing you need to do when connecting the wires is to make sure that you twist your wires together, do not just rely on the wire nut. If you do not twist your wires it could cause a fire by not having a good connection.

Place the cover back on the fixture, put some new lamps in and your done.

Turn the breaker back on at the panel, turn the switch on and let there be light. Now the bragging starts.