CFL vs LED Light Bulb Competition
VIDEO: Are CFL bulbs harmful and what are you saving by using LED? Find out..
Yes, there’s mercury in CFLs, those lightbulbs that might soon be mandated as permanent replacements for the incandescent bulbs that have been the standard since Edison.
The amount of mercury in a CFL is very small, only 4-5 milligrams. This is almost one thousand times less than what was in mercury thermometers! So, let’s assume that what happens with CFLs is comparable to what happens with tubular fluorescents. If a bulb breaks, only 0.67 milligrams of mercury (one-third of 40 percent of 5 milligrams) might become airborne in the room during the first eight hours, and only a fraction of that would be breathed in. In short, the exposure from breaking a compact fluorescent bulb is in about the same range as the exposure from eating a can or two of tuna fish. (See our list of “Best and Worst Seafood Choices” for more on mercury in fish.)
The tiny amount of mercury you’re exposed to when breaking a CFL is extremely unlikely to cause any ill effects, noticeable or otherwise. But how do you minimize even this tiny amount of risk?
Remove children and pets from the room, and then clean up the broken bulb as quickly as possible. First, increase the ventilation in the room where the bulb broke by opening windows and doors. Then use index cards or other stiff paper to pick up the broken pieces of glass and any visible mercury. Don’t use your bare hands, and don’t use a vacuum cleaner because this can disperse the mercury more widely. Once you’ve gotten up the big pieces, use something sticky like duct tape to get up smaller pieces and dust. To be extra safe, stay out of the area for a few hours to let any remaining mercury disperse.
Enter the LED:
LED light bulbs have been increasing in quality and decreasing in price over the last year or so. I can remember not too long ago when LED bulbs were prohibitively expensive and had a strange blue tint to the light, but things have definitely changed. The Mrs. is a stickler for quality of lighting and as such I devised a plan to get her blessing.
CFL bulbs are cheaper than LED bulbs, but they cannot be dimmed, and it may take some time after switching them on for them to become fully bright. Similarly, CFL bulbs may not turn on or reach full brightness in very cold climates, making them less suitable for outdoor lighting. LED bulbs last longer and are more energy efficient. While LED bulbs do not contain mercury, making them easier to dispose of than CFLs, they often contain other elements that can be harmful to the environment.
Which is better for lighting, Light Emitting Diodes or Compact Fluorescent Lights. Any misinformation, misleading statements or falsehoods were done on purpose so as to provide fodder for people’s comments.
