Are CFL Lights Going the Way of the Dinosaurs?

DALLAS - Feb. 3, 2016 - PRLog -- Recently GE announced that they will no longer be manufacturing or selling compact fluorescent bulbs. These previously popular bulbs which were once all the rage and featured on Oprah are now being replaced by LED lamps. Many large retailers are switching to LED's and it's expected that CFL's will soon go the way of the dinosaur and the Beta and VHS tape recorders.

Several reasons were cited by the company behind the changing business strategy, including ENERGY STAR’s more stringent luminous efficiency standards to be rolled out in 2017 that would be difficult for CFLs to match in the future.
Prices of LED bulbs have also fallen drastically over the past five years to levels nearing CFL prices.Other reasons cited by the company behind the changing business strategy included the acceleration of LED adoption in the market, and the declining CFL market. The company estimated about 15% of consumers have already tried the new generation lighting. GE estimated by 2020, about 50% of sockets in the U.S. residential market would be installed with LED lights, while CFL demands would spiral by an astonishing 3x over the next five years.

Moreover, LEDs have several advantageous features including better energy efficiency (lm/w), the ability to be instantly switched on, light quality, dimmability and connectivity. In addition, no harmful mercury vapors are released into the air when a bulb breaks. CFL bulbs contain amounts of mercury and release toxins into the air when broken or crushed. They also contain mercury, a fact that causes no small amount of concern in light of how dangerous that substance is. Yet the amount housed in each bulb is very small, about 4 or 5 milligrams, which in volume is about the size of the period at the end of a sentence. (By comparison, old-style mercury thermometers contain about 500 milligrams of mercury, an amount equal to the mercury found in 125 CFL bulbs.) And, provided the bulbs aren't broken open, none of that leaches into the home.

Like batteries, used CFLs need to be disposed at a toxic waste depot rather than tossed out with the ordinary household trash. Because mercury is cumulative, this poisonous element would add up if all the spent bulbs went into a landfill. Instead, the mercury in dead bulbs is reclaimed at such depots and recycled.

Intelligent capabilities of LEDs were also cited by GE as a main reason for the switch, as smart lights can make homes more connected and save energy costs. Retailers like Walmart and Sam’s Club will lead the transition from CFL to LED. Some of the CFL phase out projects are already in progress, Sam’s Club lighting for instance will be 100% converted to LEDs by the end of 2016.

If you would like to learn the benefits of LED lighting for your commercial, industrial, or manufacturing facilities please contact E2 Energy Advisors (http://esquaredenergyadvisors.com/led-lighting/) for a comprehensive review and energy savings analysis.

Email: info@esquaredenergyadvisors.com

P: 469-888-4111