Compact Fluorescent Lamps Are They Really Bad?

  • Posted by Joshua Peterson
  • in CFL

Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFL) Are Not What They Appear To Be Or Are They?

It is so funny how a trend or invention comes into market. Do you embrace it, without researching it? CLF bulbs were proclaimed to save you on your electricity usage. Is this really true? When they first came out, they were expensive and people were skeptical, but now the prices have been reduced and installing them. Look around and see how many CFLs you can find! We see a lot. Does this mean that these bulbs are good? Why are companies pushing you to use them? These bulbs were introduced to phase-out incandescent light bulbs, being energy consumers to conserve energy.

Cancer Risk

Well, according to Rodale newsletter, there are 3 surprising skin cancer risks. Guess, what number two risk is? It is your office lights with compact fluorescent bulbs. The State University of New York has performed a small study conducting on human skin cells. It found that healthy cells appear to react to radiation of compact fluorescent lamps. The cells don’t react to a regular incandescent bulb or fluorescent lights. Well, you draw your conclusion, but I think we are going to see more and more studies that show this evidence.

Mercury Levels

Let’s consider that these CFLs also contain mercury inside of them. When the burst or have a hair line fracture. Can the mercury released be health? Depending on the articles that you read, you will have both sides of opinions. Click on this link, to read one side. It does say that the older light bulbs have higher levels of mercury. It advises to avoid non-Energy Star CFLs.  Another article says that the mercury vapors can exceed safe levels. Draw your own conclusion, but I would rather be safe than sorry.

Another tidbit too is they are also bad to have outside. They can’t withstand the cold, so you are wasting money.

Overall, our company doesn’t promote the use of compact fluorescent lamps.

Alternative Bulbs & Systems

If you are interested in saving energy, please contact us. We can offer better alternative bulbs, like LED (light-emitting diode) and other systems like home automation to save you money.