A darker side of compact fluorescents?

Claims that compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) use about two-thirds less energy and last up to 10 times longer than their incandescent cousins have earned them center stage of energy-saving efforts like the EPA’s Change a Light, Change the World initiative and Wal-Mart’s declared mission to sell 100 million CFLs this year and the giant retailer’s participation in the 18seconds.org campaign.

If CFLs deliver on those claims, it’ll be a while before you’ll have to decide what to do with a spent bulb since CFLs last so long. But when a CFL does burn out or accidentally break, it’s important for you to know what to do with the bulb, for environmental as well as health reasons.

CFLs contain a small amount of mercury, a neurotoxin that can cause brain and kidney damage at high exposure levels. While an intact bulb doesn’t pose a danger to you, disposing of spent CFLs improperly can add mercury to landfills, where the toxin can potentially contaminate soil and groundwater. That’s why recycling a bulb at the end of its life in accordance with the hazardous-waste laws in your town is so essential.

If a bulb does break, don’t handle it and take these precautions when cleaning it up.

It might seem as if the use of CFLs is simply swapping one problem with another. But according to the EPA, replacing incandescents with CFLs actually results in less mercury in the environment. That’s because most of the electricity in the U.S. comes from coal, which emits mercury when burned. Since CFLs require less electricity than incandescents, mercury emissions would actually decline.

In the long run, producing efficient lighting without toxins like mercury should be a goal for the lighting industry.—Kristi Wiedemann, Science and Policy Analyst, GreenerChoices.org

Essential information: Visit GreenerChoices.org for the latest news on environmental issues and expert advice on ways to save energy and money everyday. And look for our compact fluorescent light bulb report in the October 2007 issue of Consumer Reports, on sale in September.

Comments

[Joan Williams]

Aside from finding bulbs to fit appliances..............no one addresses the spectrum of light they emit. Some of them produce unacceptable colored light. How can a person predict the spectrum?????

[Tom Gregory]

I recently bought a "Feit" brand flourescent screw in light bulb. I've used it for a few weeks but I discovered that it started to smoke and burn and the base of the bulb. I quickly replaced it with a conventional bulb. I think now we won't be using those "energy saver" bulbs anymore. The old bulbs are more reliable and won't smoke and burn like the "energy saver" bulb.
Tom

[David Zingg]

I've been using compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFL) for several years and have had trouble with them only occasionally.

There has been a big promotion of the Feit CFLs in my area and I've had no trouble with the 20 or so bulbs I've added to my place, my girlfriend's place and her mom's place. Perhaps your retailer will swap the defective bulb with a new one.

[George Wedding]

We've been seeing CF lamps purchased from Costco (Techna Bright 14w and other floods) burn out at a very fast rate (two months to about one year). While electricity use may be reduced, the landfills are going to be filling up with mercury at a faster rate. Plus, these lamps are much more expensive than incandescent.

The new CFL technology is extremely disappointing and is not ready for prime time.

[Joe Stennett]

I suggest that users of CFLs mark the date of installation
on the bulbs. Use a paint marker; "Magic Markers" fade.

I find that very few of the bulbs last as long as the
manufacturers claim. I have about 12 installed around my
house. For every one that lasts more than 5,000 hours, two
fail after less than 1,000.

I recently bought a package of three bulbs. After bringing
it home, I found this warning written in very tiny letters:
"Use only in an upright position" . I do not have a single
fixture that allows a bulb to be mounted upright!

[Eugene Kowaluk]

We've used compact fluorescents (CFs) since they weren't all that compact both inside the home and outside (even in freezing temperatures). Only in the past five years have I started to label the date. One of those on which I had not marked a date caught fire. My wife had been in bed, heard a noise, and looking in that direction saw her bedside hurricane lamp's single CF catch on fire. Fortunately, the fire went out quickly, and it occurred in a lamp that had no fabric. Although the lamp was old, it was rebuilt several years ago, never had a problem, and has continued to work after examination for several months after the incident. As to their longevity, most have lasted for years (one outdoors lasted for over five years), but recently I ran across one that lasted less than one week. Although I've looked into LED lamps with the standard E26 Edison screw base, cost aside, they are not that easily available, and my stock of CFs won't be depleted for a few years.

[Dave]

The CFL's only working in an upright position is the problem that the industry doesn't want to asddress and environmentalists refuse to confront the issue of bulbs that do not last anywhere near as long as the manufactures claim. While all floresent lights are more energy efficient the have a lot of limitations that are getting ignored. Besides the inability of CFLs to work in a horizontal position all flourescent lights have a drastically reduced life span when they are cycled on and off repeatedly. Until the industry steps up to the plat and corrects these limitation the regular incadesents will be around for a long time.

[D]

Why don't they make a 3-way compact flourescent that goes higher than a 150-watt equivalent incandescent? For some of us, that's still not enough light to read by.

[Krista]

Another thing that NO ONE is talking about is the legislation that has already been passed in the US Congress. The legislation states that incandescent light bulbs won't be allowed to be sold in the United States after 2012. Also, they fail to provide help for people who actually have problems with using CFLs. I can't read or function under a CFL because of the constant flickering, it's like having a flash go off constantly and is enough to cause seizures in my case.

What I want to know is, why are CFLs being pushed on the public so hard? What about LEDs or other options???

Read for yourself an excerpt (which follows this paragraph) quoted from the "Energy Independence And Security Act of 2007", or, you can follow this link to the Wiki page that talks about it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clean_Energy_Act_of_2007.

- Energy savings -

* Revised standards for appliances and lighting.
o Requires roughly 25 percent greater efficiency for light bulbs, phased in from 2012 through 2014. This effectively bans the sale of most current incandescent light bulbs.
o Various specialty bulbs, including appliance bulbs, colored lights, and 3-way bulbs, are exempt from these requirements.
o Requires roughly 200 percent greater efficiency for light bulbs, or similar energy savings, by 2020.

[Krista]

Why isn't there another option available to us besides CFLs, like LEDs? Manufacturers could just as easily increase the production of those to make them cheaper and more accessible. Why are CFLS being pushed on the public so hard? I can't use CFLs in my home because I have seizure-like symptoms caused by the constant flicker in the bulbs. Besides that, my husband says the lighting provided by those CFLs sold at "your local home improvement stores" are terrible reading light.

But NO ONE is talking about the legislation that has already been passed banning incandescent light bulbs. Read about the legislation passed at this site: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clean_Energy_Act_of_2007.

The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 regarding light bulbs needs to be amended or repealed. I don't like the government telling me what light bulbs I can or can't buy to light my home. Where does the government interference in our lives end? Next we'll be installing government-monitored "security" cameras in our houses to "keep us safe". Isn't the USA supposed to be a democracy and not a dictatorship?

[jkt]

I believe the hope is that by getting rid of incandescent bulbs that it will force manufacturers to do the kind of research and development other posters here are calling for - into LED, and other high efficienty solutions. Companies won't do the research unless they're forced to replace their money-making products with better ones. Same reason GM kept churning out gas guzzling SUVs even after swearing they learned their lessons in the gas crisis of the late 1970s and would research alternatives. GE won't look for better solutions unless they're forced to do so. But I agree that there's too much reliance on CFLs as the only alternative. I wish Consumer Reports would address these issues - they only talk about energy efficiency and mercury, not the problems with existing fixtures, like the non-vertical issue and issues with dimmers and 3-way switches. I've seen different things on different web sites about whether you can use CFLs in these fixtures.

[tlp]

What is the danger of these bulbs leaking hazardous amounts of mercury into the enviorment after the devastation of hurricaine or tornado strikes?

[William Youngblood]

Many of our CLF bulbs have burned out in less than two years--some less than one. One bulb would have caught fire. I smelled smoke and noticed it coming from a light fixture, and sure enough it was the bulb just igniting at the base.
I'm concerned about the time when these bulbs will be the only ones available. I'm all for saving energy, but my experience almost tempts me to buy all the incandescent bulbs I can right now because in my experience they last much longer.

[Kaye Browning]

I bought a number of FEIT cfls. While we were not in the room, one of them caught fire, breaking the bulb and leaving a major mess. These are not safe or acceptable. I am going back to regular globes. I don't want my home destroyed.

[Matthew Keene]

I just had one flameout, while I was sleeping the other night. I keep a dining room light on at night. Had it not been for the smoke detector, I wouldn't be here. It ruined the light fixture. From the heat. The light fixture used regular bulbs just fine until I converted the whole house to CFL's. I just got done today going back to incandescent bulbs. I will buy a lifetime supply of regular bulbs if I have to. I will never use these things again.

[Justin Hoffman]

I installed 6 CFLs last year and already every one of them had to be replaced. 2 of the CFLs have burned at the base releasing smoke and who knows what else while my pregnant wife was in the room. I have just finished replacing all CFLs in my home with regular incandescents and will not install another CFL until mercury is no longer used in them.

The EPA is concerned about the amount of mercury entering the environment near coal plants, but I am much more concerned about mercury being introduced in my 5'x4' bathroom while my pregnant wife or 2 yr old is in it. This is completely unnacceptable.

[John Casey]

I was an early adopter to CFLs. I was buying them when they were $20 a piece because I love new tech and saving money. 4-5 years ago I had one catch on fire and blow a hole in the white casing. It caused a horrible smell, but once I aired out the house, I disposed of the bulb and didn't think much of it until now. I have been reading about the hazardous chemical producing manufacturing processes. The mercury in gaseous form (neurotoxin) that the bulbs contain and may have been released when it caught on fire. Furthermore, the same government who is pushing these bulbs, does not have a collection plan in place and expects consumers to faithfully drop them off at a registered retail location rather than drop in garbage causing mercury to leak into and contaminate soil.

All this sheds a new light on CFLs in my mind. I too will be converting to LED technology. I know what LEDs are and know they are safe. Of course it is typical of the government to push something unsafe on to us to save a few bucks.

[dfh]

I've been using compact fluorescent bulbs for years. Some seem to last forever while a few fail out almost immediately. I've had no luck with 3-way compact fluorescent bulbs at all. I haven't bothered to complain about those that just fail.

But recently a 23w Feit Electric compact fluorescent bulb had me looking for a fire when it started smoldering in my bedroom floor lamp. Fortunately I identified that lamp as the source of the smell before the smoldering bulb damaged the lamp and/or burst into flame. The smell was such that a fire seemed imminent.

I will not be buying any more cpf bulbs that carry the Feit Electric brand.

[KEENAN WORMLEY SR]

I HAD THE HORRIFYING EXPERIENCE OF A FEIT CFL BULB

BPESL23TM
23W 120VAC 60Hz 380mA
UL # E170906

SHOOTING OUT FIRE AND SMOKE AS IT BLEW OUT. THANK GOD (AND MAYBE NOT) THAT I WAS IN THE ROOM WHEN IT BLEW. BECAUSE MY ENTIRE HOME AND POSESSIONS WOULD HAVE BURNED TO THE GROUND. ALSO I'VE NOTICED THAT I'VE BEEN HAVING EXTREME HEADACHES EVER SINCE. I'M NOW FINDING OUT THAT THESE BULBS CONTAIN MERCURY. I DON'T KNOW WHAT HEALTH EFFECTS THESE MALFUNCTIONING DEVICES COULD PRODUCE. BUT I FELT THAT SOMEONE SHOULD KNOW.

[R Worthingham]

Tonight my wife and I came home to the smell of burning electronics to find a Philips Marathon 3 Way ALTO CFL in our table lamp was smoldering and very hot to the touch. We don't know how long it had been like this, but were thankful that it had not set the lamp shade and our house on fire.

We have been using CFLs for a few years now, but after this experience, I am afraid to continue using them and may change them all out to standard incandescents.

[GW]

I have replaced most of my lights with CFLs as the old bulbs die over the last 2 years. I am almost universally using the ones with the light equivalent of a 60W traditional bulb. I have had no issues, save color temperature and the need for more careful selection based on intended use. I have never had to replace any bulb due to defect or age.

1: The cheap Feit bulbs I bought produce too much of a bluish/whitish light that feels harsh. I've relegated them to the garage after finding them pretty unacceptable everywhere else. I've had no issues with overheating or smoking, but given the pattern above, it might be a case of "you get what you pay for." The ones I got were a color temp in the neighborhood of 5700 degrees K. When I bought them, I didn't know what that meant. Most people prefer lighting closer to 3000, as I found my wife and I did. Lesson learned -- the cheap pack on sale at Menard's probably wasn't selling at regular price for a reason. The GE general purpose CFLs I buy now are closer 2700 degrees, though I had to look that up - labeling color temp is still not mandatory. I've never had an issue with the ones I've bought from GE, but be careful of any package indicating "daylight" which is usually a high temp and therefore too cold/blue/white.

2. Most of my that CFLS mounted in lamps are mounted upright. Most of my main-floor ceiling lighting is horizontally mounted CFLS, and most of the basement lighting is upside-down CFLs. CFLs do not all share the restriction mentioned about orientation - none of mine do. If you have some that do, consider replacing them or saving them for their intended use (upright desk lamps, etc). The GE CFLs I bought at Target a month ago do not have that kind of warning on them or the package.

3. Living in Minnesota, I haven't yet found even the cold-weather CFLs rated as low as I'd need. Thus, my exterior lighting is all still incandescent. CFLs have a slight delay in reaching full light output, but that's longer in the cold, and ones not designed for cold may not start at all on some of the coldest days here (Think double digits below zero).

4. Most CFLs are not designed to work with dimmers or 3-way lamps unless they specifically say so. You have to pay more attention than with incandescent bulbs.

5. CFLs are at their most efficient vs incandescent bulbs if they're left on for long periods of time. Target those places for a CFL, and save the incandescent you take out for one of the other applications for maximizing the return on the investment.

LED technology isn't there yet for whole-room lighting as far as I've been able to tell. I believe the presence of mercury in a CFL will mean LED will eventually be the way to go - but not yet. Until then, I'm reaping the savings CFLs offer.

Bottom line: I think most of the concerns listed here are self-selective and not representative of the experience of most people's experience.

[Jade]

I had two CFLs blow out in the past month--both were Philips Marathon 3-way bulbs. The first lasted about a week after purchase; the second lasted one day! I paid $12 a piece for these bulbs and was very disappointed. (Since they are supposed to last 5 years, I didn't bother to keep the bulb's packaging or receipt.) When they blew, the entire living room smelled like a mix of electrical fire and gunpowder.

[Lorin]

I have had two CF's fail so far and both times I was lucky enough to be home and in the same room when the failures occurred. I say that because the failure mode was such that after putting on a rather interesting light show where the light in the bulb seemed to 'run around' the glass envelope for about 30 seconds it appeared to retreat into the base of the bulb. It then turned orange and seconds afterward the base of the bulb started producing a thick column of acrid smoke. Fearing that the glass might break I quickly unplugged the fixture that was powering the bulb.

These were both Feit 23W bulbs btw...

I CANNOT RECOMMEND THE USE OF THESE BULBS IN ANY WAY WHAT SO EVER. WHAT GOOD IS SAVING A FEW PENNIES OR EVEN MORE IF YOU COME HOME TO A HOUSE THAT'S CAUGHT FIRE DUE TO THE FAILURE OF ONE OF THESE "MONEY SAVERS"? "Gee I saved $10 dollars on my electric bill, I just wish I still had a house to live in..."

I have animals living in my home, and I shudder to think of what might have happened if I had not been in the house when either of these bulbs failed.

No incandescent bulbs available after 2012? BETTER STOCK UP NOW!!!

IF YOU HAVE THESE FIRE TRAPS IN YOUR HOME GET RID OF THEM, OR AT BEST DO NOT LEAVE THEM ON UNATTENDED."

Some in this comment section maintain that failure is due to improper usage, i.e. using these bulbs in a dimmer circuit, positional issues, etc. While that may be true for some in my case both bulbs were not on a dimmer, and they were positioned base down in their fixtures.

NO CF's FOR ME THANK YOU, I'D RATHER SPEND A BIT MORE ON MY ELECTRIC BILL THAN TO COME HOME TO DEAD ANIMALS AND A BURNED DOWN HOME.

[Scott]

I've had several FEIT CFLs of varying wattage literally burn up, filling the house with an acrid smell (as others here have mentioned). All of these were purchased at Menard's, and thank God we were either home or walking in the door before the entire house burned down. All the bulbs were upright, in open, shaded floor lamps with plenty of circulation. When I called FEIT after the first near-tradgedy, the told me to send the bulb to them, which I did. It was over eight weeks before a replacement arrived (the bulb had only been in use about three months), but as each subsequent burning ballast occurred I realized if I sent them back I wouldn't have the evidence I might need in a lawsuit or Consumper Product Safety Commission complaint. So now I've saved each one with the date & time and a digital photo of it in the process of burning up, smoke and all (though technology hasn't allowed me to bottle the smell). I'll never buy another FEIT lamp and have pulled the remaining ones out for fear of losing everything (lives, house, etc.). Don't send the bulbs to FEIT, as your evidence is then "gone with the postman" in the event of a catastrophe!

[Patrick]

Can't believe how many comments are out there about bulbs smoldering and smoking and yet none of this is on mainstream media. Had one do the same this weekend. Daughter smelled something funny in a bedroom, it was 1 of 2 CFL bulbs, blackened at base where glass tubes enter the housing. Luckily we were home, filled the room with acrid smoke. The bulbs were mounted horizontally.