They say good things come in small packages. That definitely holds true in the case of CFL bulbs. Compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) are a common fixture in our homes these days. These fluorescent lamps, similar to the common household tube lights, but smaller and more compact in size, were designed to be more efficient than the incandescent bulbs which were commonly used in many houses until recently.
They are designed to occupy the same space as incandescent lamps, but use less power for operation. Incandescent lamps are not energy efficient — they convert only 5 per cent of the energy input into light — while the rest is converted into heat. You must have seen your father or anyone replacing these bulbs using a cloth or baking gloves to handle them.
Also, even though the initial cost is less, because of this wastage they do not last as long as their modern day replacements. Many countries including India are slowly phasing out these lamps in favour of CFLs and better replacements — for homes, streets or offices. But incandescent bulbs are still used for their heating in equipment like incubators and industrial processes like dry heating.
For producing the same amount of visible light, CFLs use less than one-third the electrical power an incandescent lamp uses and last almost 10 to 15 times longer. They produce soft light, rather than the bright yellow light that incandescent bulbs produce.
CFLs are similar in operation to tube lights (which are also called fluorescent lights), however with electronic ballasts that avoid the slow starting and flickering which are common to tube lights.
CFLs are brighter (in a smaller area) than tube lights, but the area illuminated by tube lights is greater. CFLs last longer than tube lights do.
Due to the lower energy consumption of CFLs, governments across the globe have been encouraging consumers to switch to using these options in homes and offices. Some countries like the USA have banned incandescent lamps and have switched over completely to such alternatives.
Another option that is becoming widely popular is using solid state devices like light emitting diodes (LEDs). They do not heat-up, last twice as long as fluorescent bulbs and do not contain any mercury. However, the initial cost is higher than any of the options, making it available only to select consumers.
Though it makes sense to switch over to these efficient alternatives as the usage increases, providing the right means of disposing of them is also necessary. CFLs, like tube lights, use mercury as the vapour inside which is highly poisonous when released into the environment. These bulbs when left open at land-fills or garbage dumps can affect the quality of air and water.
Also, exposure to the ultra violet radiation from these bulbs over long periods of time may cause skin damage to people.
Though most of the concerns are taken care of by the advance in technology, disposing of these bulbs properly must still be looked into by governments across the globe.
(Sindhu Ramachandran is a documentary filmmaker and a creative writer who contributes to unboxedwriters.com)