The Sustainable Evolution of the Light Bulb

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Around the globe, governments have passed laws phasing out traditional incandescent light bulbs citing reasons tied to environmental sustainability. This presentation explores the topic through the lens of the most commonly cited alternative options: compact fluorescent lamps (CFL) and light emitting diode (LED) bulbs. The presentation examines the advantages and disadvantages of each option and evaluates other sustainable lighting options, such as halogen light bulbs. Included is a cost/benefit analysis and the importance of recycling both CFL and LED light bulbs. From multiple perspectives. you will learn how easy or difficult it is to transition to these alternatives and recycling them once they reach end-of-life.

Did you know that:A typical CFL can pay for itself in energy savings in less than 9 months and continue to save you money each month?Some CFLs are encased in a cover to further diffuse the light and provide a similar shape to traditional incandescent bulbs?“CFLs combine the energy efficiency of fluorescent lighting with the convenience and popularity of incandescent fixtures. CFLs fit most fixtures designed for incandescent bulbs and use about 75% less energy. Although CLFs cost a bit more than comparable incandescent bulbs, they last 6-15 times a long (6,000 – 15,000 hours). CFLs are most cost-effective and efficient in areas where lights are on for short periods of time, such as closets and pantries. Because CLFs do not need to be changed often, they are ideal for hard-to-reach areas. CLFs are available in a variety of styles or shapes, and each is designed for a specific purpose. They size or total surface area of the tube(s) determines how much light is produces. Many models are dimmable, as indicated on the package, and are compatible with other lighting controls” (U.S. Department of Energy, 2013).It’s been my personal experience that CFL bulbs have improved over the ten years that I’ve been using them. For the most part, they are inexpensive to purchase, they last a long time, and with recent advancements CFL bulbs nearly duplicate the quality of soft, yellow lighting that I prefer in my home. They are especially convenient in areas such as the entry to my home where socket is over 10 feet above ground, changing the bulb is inconvenient and I typically leave the light on over night for security purposes so I’m not having to change the bulb frequently because it does last such a long time.

Ever since traditional incandescent bulbs began to be phased out in countries around the world, home improvement stores have been flooding the light bulb aisles with compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs. While we’ve learned that CFL bulbs use less than half the electricity of traditional bulbs, their safety risks are real and require careful management to mitigate the risks. As the Scientific American [magazine] reports, when a bulb breaks, “Mercury escapes as vapor that can be inhaled and as a fine powder that can settle into carpet and other textiles. At least one case of mercury poisoning has been linked to fluorescents.” [Mercury is a] “potent, developmental neurotoxin that can damage the brain, liver, kidneys and central nervous system,” according to wakeup-world.com. Even at low levels, mercury is capable of causing a number of health problems including impair motor functioning, cognitive ability and emotional problems. Higher or prolonged exposure can result in much more serious health problems.” If that wasn’t scary enough, CFL’s also emit ultra-violet rays which have been linked to many health issues including cancer. The Australian Government’s Climate Change website even has a page dedicated to ‘minimizing the ultra-violet light exposure’ from CFL bulbs.“Sitting close to a compact fluorescent lamp (CFL), or halogen lamp, and being able to see the exposed light bulb means that some UV radiation will be received from the lamp,” explains the Government site (EcoWise LED, 2013).There are varying opinions regarding the risks of CFL bulbs. One school of thought is that, while CLFs do contain a small amount of mercury, so does tuna that comes from air pollution that coal-fired power plants produce. A study completed by Francis Rubinstein from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory “found that if you broke a [CFL] bulb and did a good job of cleaning up, your mercury exposure would be like taking a tiny nibble of tuna. If you closed all of the doors and smashed the bulb with a hammer, it would be like eating a can of tuna, since fish absorb the mercury in air pollution form coal-fired power” (Drummond House Plans, 2013). The best advice is that if you accidentally break a CFL bulb in your home, open windows, leave the room for approximately 15 minutes, and then sweep up the broken bulb. It is not recommended to vacuum up the broken bulb. Another school of thought is that CFLs are very risky and use a large amount of energy and materials in their manufacturing process. Regarding the safety risk, “fluorescent tubes can contain up to 15mg of mercury that is an extremely toxic element, especially dangerous to pregnant women, babies and children. One fluorescent tube contains enough mercury to pollute 30,000 liters of water” (LED Lamps, 2013). For this reason, all of the research completed for this project indicated that CFLs should be recycled appropriately.Other disadvantages are primarily associated with the early CFL bulbs that have been improved upon with the latest technology. Issues such as flickering, pale light can still occur with cheaper, low quality CFL bulbs, or they don’t work with dimmers, which was true six years ago yet no longer true. In the early days, CFL bulbs did not come on immediately, yet that’s no longer true in most brands. One truism is that they do not last as long as advertised. I’ve personally found this to be the case with my CFL bulbs. “In California, the utility PG&E found that instead of 9.4 years of useful life, the reality is closer to 6.3 years, with a faster burn rate in certain locations such as bathrooms and recessed lighting. But a regular light bulb burns out after 1,000 hours, so the new bulbs still last six time longer” (Drummond House Plans, 2013).

It’s time for knowledge test:“What does a little indicator light on our cell phone, a street light, an exit sign, and the common household light bulb have in common? If your answer is that light emitting diode (LED) technology can power all of these things, then you’re pretty bright” (U.S. Department of Energy, 2013).“LED bulbs are rapidly expanding in household use. ENERGY STAR-qualified LEDs use only about 20%-25% of the energy and last up to 25 times longer than traditional incandescent bulbs. They come in a variety of colors, and some are dimmable or offer convenient features such as daylight and motion sensors. In addition to standards screw-in bulbs, you’ll find LEDs in applications such as recessed down lights, desk lamps, kitchen under-cabinet lighting, and outdoor area lights” (U.S. Department of Energy, 2013). You can find LED technology now in cars (see graphic), computers, televisions, flashlights, and Christmas lights too. “In the outdoor lighting space, LEDs are aiding in the sustainability initiatives of corporations and municipalities. WalMart now uses LED technology to meet voluntary energy-saving specifications for high-efficiency parking lot lighting, and is upgrading more than 250 existing lots. Other major organizations, such as Lowe’s, MGM Resorts International, and the U.S. General Services Administration are also considering upgrading their lighting to cut costs, reduce energy use, and increase their competitiveness” (U.S. Department of Energy, 2013).“As the adoption of LEDs grows, their energy saving potential can be enormous for the nation. According to a recent [U.S.] Department of Energy report, by 2030, energy savings nationally from LEDs can be up to 300 terawatt-hours, or the equivalent annual energy output of about 50, 1,000 megawatt power plants. These energy saving would also reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 210 million metric tons of carbon, and decrease electricity consumption equivalent to powering 24 million homes (U.S. Department of Energy, 2013).There are financially motivating incentives available to both consumers and business owners to convert their traditional incandescent bulbs over to energy saving bulbs. When CFL bulbs began to take over the light bulb aisle at home improvement stores one of the very attractive aspects was that the cost was heavily subsidized by the local utility to motivate people to try them and convert their homes to the less energy thirsty variety. Even today, my local utility, Puget Sound Energy, offers rebates and incentives to encourage homeowners to switch-out all of their traditional incandescent bulbs for energy-saving bulbs (Puget Sound Energy, 2013). In my research, I was able to find two retailers within one mile of my house in Bellevue (Bartell Drugs, Batteries Plus) offering incentive discounts on LED bulbs. Within three miles of my house, there are 17 retailers offering incentive discounts. Utility companies working closely with the light bulb manufacturers and retailers are working to make LED lighting a viable choice for adoption. We’ll take a closer look at the initial cost of LED bulbs later in this presentation.

While LED bulbs are clearly the best option from their long term cost savings and overwhelming energy efficiency, they have a very high entry cost. A traditional PAR 30, 75 watt incandescent light bulb costs approximately $1.00. The comparable PAR 30, 14 watt ENERGY STAR LED bulb is more than 38 times more expensive at $38.46 (Amazon.com Inc, 2013). As part of my research for this project, I asked my wife, Stacie, to estimate how many light sockets we have in use, both inside and outside of our home. Stacie estimated that we have 95 light sockets with bulbs currently in use. In my house, after a diligent, pain-staking inventory, the count totaled 223 light sockets. Some of these lights are rarely ‘on’, many are infrequently used and an estimated ‘x’ bulbs are utilized on a daily basis. The type of bulb varies greatly with indoor and outdoor flood lamps dominating the total percentage. Sixty-six bulbs out of the 223 are indoor or outdoor flood lights, a whopping 29.6% of the total. Currently, only 10 of the 66 flood lamps are CFL bulbs, the remaining 56 are traditional incandescent bulbs. For me and my family to replace the 56 incandescent bulbs with LED bulbs would be a cost prohibitive $2,153.00. In my house, we estimate we have our most frequently utilized lights ‘on’ for five hours per 24 hour period inclusive of seasonal adjustments and vacations. Of the 223 light sockets, we determined that 77 (or 34.5%) are used frequently, 77 are used infrequently, and 69 (or 31%) are rarely used. Of the 77 frequently used bulbs, 29 are indoor or outdoor floodlights. The estimate costs to replace the 29 frequently used floodlights would be just over $1115.00, again cost prohibitive for me and my family as measured against the upside gain. Stacie and I only plan to be in our home for no more than two years before we downside to a smaller home. While a typical LED light bulb lasts 50,000 hours, based upon the 5 hours of usage per 24 hour period, each frequently used light bulb would last 27 years (Example: 50,000 hours/5 hours per day = 10,000 days; 10,000 days/365 days in a year = 27 years). Our average kilowatt (KWH) usage per day varies between 24 and 32 kilowatts. We currently pay on average .09 cents per KWH or between $2.16 and $2.88 per day for our electricity. Our total electric usage, of course, includes use of electricity completely unrelated to the use of light bulbs, items such as the use of the television (2), digital video recorder (2), oven, stove, refrigerator (2), freezer (2), computers (2), printer (1), and garage door opener. For my family, at this time, the return on investment for LED light bulbs makes no sense and this is, by far, the largest barrier and disadvantage of LED bulbs.

A viable option to CFL and LED light bulbs are halogen bulbs. “Halogen lamps [or bulbs] are 20 percent brighter and longer lasting than normal incandescent light bulbs” (Lighting Fixtures & Ceiling Fans, 2004). “The halogen light bulb or lamp is a type of incandescent lamp which uses a halogen gas in order to increase both light output and rated life. They are known for moderately high efficiency, quality of light, and high rated life compared to regular incandescent lamps. A halogen lamp functions identically to an incandescent lamp, with one notable exception: The halogen cycle. In a typical incandescent lamp, tungsten slowly evaporates from the burning filament. This causes blackening of the lamp, which decreases light output and reduces life. Halogen lamps are largely able to eliminate this problem because the halogen gas reacts chemically with the evaporated tungsten to prevent it from affixing to the glass…there are not many situations in which halogen lamps cannot be used, but one potential downside is the heat generated by halogen lamps” (Bulbs.com, 2013). Halogen bulbs are known for delivering bright, white light and are great for general use as well as specific task-type lighting such as walk-ways, car headlights, and street lighting. Halogen bulbs are typically small and compact, which is good for accent lighting, yet are also available in standard shapes to fit existing home and office lighting needs. Halogen lights do run hot “because of the close proximity of the bulb wall to the hot filament. Halogen bulbs are made of quartz because it can withstand the high heat” (Lighting Fixtures & Ceiling Fans, 2004).A downside of halogen light bulbs is that while they can be dimmed, the halogen filaments do not reach the required temperature needed for what’s called the ‘halogen cycle’ to take place. This can cause the inside wall of the bulb to blacken which has the effect of reducing the brightness of the bulb and the bulb’s life. This can be fixed by turning the light up to it’s full brightness which will help to restore and clear the black film.The biggest downside of halogen bulbs are the fire hazard associated with the high heat caused by the filaments rising up to 2,500 degrees Celsius and the bulb up to 500 degrees Celsius. “The temperature at which paper will ignite without a spark or flame is 230 degrees Celsius, so if there is insulation touching the light fitting a fire can easily start” (LED Lamps, 2013).

There are many cost comparisons of incandescent versus LED versus CFL bulbs on the internet. Consistently, LED bulbs significantly outperform the cost of the alternatives. In one comparison, shared by Design Recycle, Inc., the annual operating cost of LEDs is $32.85 per year versus $328.59 per year for incandescent bulbs and $76.65 per year for CFLs, based upon use of 30 incandescent bulbs per year equivalent. The cost comparison in the above slide confirms these findings with the total cost over the lifetime of just one LED light being two-thirds the price of CFL lights and just 23% of the price of the incandescent bulb.Their environmental impact is clearly advantageous to the other lighting options on the market today. LEDs contain no toxic mercury, they are compliant with current standards (e.g., RoHS) and their carbon emissions, assuming use of 30 bulbs per year, have the lowest energy consumption [Carbon dioxide emission: 451 pounds per year for LED; 4500 pounds per year for incandescent; and 1,051 pounds per year for CFL (Design Recycle Inc, 2013]).

This illustrationfrom LED Bulbs and Lights web site is graphically so compelling. Here we can visually experience the savings of LED bulbs as the see the high cost of incandescent bulbs growing asymmetrically over the years. With this graphic, we can truly appreciate the savings of LED bulbs over time. While over the life of an LED bulb, LEDsare clearly the bulb of choice, the high cost of entry for the average consumer is often prohibitive to converting a whole house over to LED light bulbs. However, if you are planning to live in your home for many more years you might consider making the change. Studies researched over the past several weeks indicate if you’re going to stay in your current home, the cost/benefit for LED light bulbs is worth the upfront cost of conversion. To perform your own analysis for your own home, there are many ‘energy savings calculator’ tools readily available on the internet. These include: - http://www.bulbs.com/learning/energycalc.aspx- http://www.wattstopper.com/design-tools/energy-calculators/plugcalc-assessment.aspx?utm_source=http://www.wattstopper.com/design-tools/energy-calculators.aspx&utm_medium=referral- http://www.shineretrofits.com/lighting-services-and-resources/induction-led-fluorescent-lighting-energy-savings-roi-calculator.html

The ease of recycling LED light bulbs is much more difficult than CFL bulbs. Based upon this presentation you might believe that since LEDs last so long (50,000 hours), you shouldn’t have to worry about recycling. However, “LED light bulbs fail much more often than advertised. Many [LEDs] are wired series (like Christmas tree lights) and if one breaks, the whole light stops functioning” (Chipmunk Enterprises, LLC, 2010). “In Los Angeles [for example], light bulbs cannot be placed in the recycling bin [outside of your home]. CFLs and LED bulbs are considered household hazardous waste and must be taken to a [hazardous waste management center] for disposal because they may contain mercury or other hazardous materials” (Los Angeles Times, 2013).In my local neighborhood, near Factoria in Bellevue, WA, the new store ‘Batteries Plus’ will take LED light bulbs for recycling, however there are far less recycling opportunities in the local area for LED light bulbs than for CFL bulbs. Today, CFL bulbs are much more commonly used because of their lower cost, broad availability, and wide selection. However, more and more people are becoming aware of the long term savings of LED light bulbs and as technology improves and the cost of LED light bulbs drops over time, the lack of recycling opportunity for LED light bulbs may become an issue.It’s particularly important to recycle CFL bulbs. “Recycling prevents the release of mercury into the environment. CFLs and other fluorescent bulbs often break when thrown into a dumpster, trash can or compactor, or when they end up in a landfill or incinerator. Recycling CFLs and other fluorescent bulbs allows the reuse of glass, metals and other materials that make up fluorescent lights. Virtually all components of a fluorescent bulb can be recycled. Some states and local jurisdictions have more stringent regulations than [even] the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and may require that you recycle CFLs and other mercury containing light bulbs” (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 2013).

The “energy bill passed by the U.S.Congress in December 2007 and signed into law by the president set energy standards that can’t be met by traditional incandescent bulbs. The new rules [began to be phased in during 2012] will take full effect in 2014. So it is time for consumers to get used to CFLs. And it’s likely that consumers will have more options for replacing traditional incandescent bulbs, including advanced incandescent bulbs and cost-effective LED bulbs. The United States is not alone in taking bold moves to save electricity. In 2007, Australia became the first nation in the world to announce a ban on traditional incandescent bulbs, which took effect in 2010” (Earth Friends, 2013).As a consumer, my wife, Stacie, and I have chosen to gradually adopt the new lighting standard. As the traditional incandescent bulbs in my home burn out, we have and will continue to replace most of them with CFL bulbs. However, the indoor, dimmable flood lights in our family room, our living room, and our master bedroom will continue to utilize incandescent bulbs because of the quality of soft, warm light they provide and the low cost impact in the short term. While we will continue to evaluate the improvements in the quality of CFL bulbs and the cost of dimmable CFL bulbs, we will, for now, stick with traditional incandescent bulbs in those areas.Personally, my wife and I are also concerned about the safety of CFL bulbs. While we recycle a high percentage of our trash each week, we are not very good about collecting the old, burned out CFL bulbs and taking them to a recycling center. The burned out CFL bulbs are sitting precariously on shelves in my garage waiting for me to take them to Home Depot or Batteries Plus for recycling. While I know that we should take them away, they are on the edge of the shelf, and I worry they could easily fall and shatter, causing a health risk to my family. Putting more of these mercury-filled bulbs in my home is not a high priority and their questionable health impact is demotivating. Ideally, the cost of LED bulbs will drop and we can replace both our incandescent and CFL bulbs with LED light bulbs.

The Sustainable Evolution of the Light Bulb

Jonathan Stutz

The Sustainable Evolution of the Light Bulb