Green Daily

2009 will mark the 130th anniversary of Thomas Edison's lightbulb; ironically enough, it will also be one of the last years in which incandescent lighbulbs will be sold in the United States. By 2014, the U.S. government hopes to completely remove incandescents from store shelves. Instead, most people will be using CF, or compact fluorescent, bulbs. Basically a small fluorescent tube that has been wrapped in a tight spiral, CFs are far more efficient than traditional bulbs. They last for over six times as long and use about a quarter of the electricity of incandescents. Yet, amid complaints about their potentially hazardous components, I began to wonder if CFs really are the best lighting choice.

To get a better feeling for CFs, incandescents, and other lighting options, I talked to Susan Aiello. The President of Interior Design Solutions and author of a Sustainable Design blog, Susan is a certified interior designer, and a LEED Accredited Professional. She has designed for Architectural Digest, Vanity Fair, and The Apprentice: Martha Stewart. As a specialist in sustainable, green interior design, Susan had a lot to say about the relative benefits of various lighting solutions.

What are the shortcomings of CF lightbulbs?
To begin with, fluorescent bulbs contain mercury, which is a hazardous waste. While the EPA has specific instructions for handling CFLs that break indoors, little is being said about safe disposal. Most trash is sent to dumps or public landfills; CFLs that are disposed of in this way are likely to break and leak mercury, which could leach into the aquifer and end up in our water supplies.

I thought all fluorescent light bulbs contain mercury. Why is this such a big concern right now?
You're right; all fluorescent lights contain mercury, and improper disposal has been a problem for years. The trouble is that, if the government mandates that CF bulbs will completely replace traditional incandescent lightbulbs, there will be a major increase in the number of mercury-bearing fluorescent tubes that are working their way through the disposal system. If these tubes end up in landfills, there will be a major increase in the amount of mercury leaching into the water supply. Also, CF tubes sometimes end up breaking in the home, contaminating living spaces with mercury. This is particularly a problem for families with children.

What can be done about proper disposal?
There are already programs for properly collecting and disposing of fluorescent tubes, but the infrastructure is insufficient. For example, some stores have a single day of the week in which customers can drop off their bulbs. However, many customers will forget, or won't know about the designated return days. In all likelihood, unless we develop a concerted, organized system for collection, most of these CF bulbs will end up in landfills. We need to make it easy for consumers to do the right thing.

If CFs present a disposal problem and incandescent bulbs use too much electricity, what other options are there?
One option is LED, or light-emitting diodes. These are the bright little lights that are used in alarm clocks, traffic lights, and Maglite flashlights. They use very little electricity, are reasonably priced, last for a really long time, and can be disposed of through the regular trash system without pollution concerns.

Are LEDs currently being used for lighting?
Yes! Previously, one of the major problems with LEDs was that it was difficult to make them imitate the soft, yellowish light of an incandescent bulb. For a while, companies were creating incandescent-style light by mixing various-colored LEDs together to produce an appropriate color mix, but that was a difficult and work-intensive solution. Recently, though, companies have begun putting out LED lightbulbs that beautifully replicate the color of incandescents.

Are there any other benefits to LEDs?
Well, another great aspect of LEDs is that they can be dimmed. The importance of a dimmer is that it allows homeowners to reduce their electrical expenditure while adjusting their lighting according to their needs. After all, if you've got a lot of light coming in through a window, you don't need much artificial light, but as the day gets darker, you will need more and more artificial light to compensate. This is where a dimmer comes in.

Dimming a CF light requires a special ballast, and fixtures that were originally designed for incandescent bulbs do not have these ballasts. LEDs, on the other hand, can use the same dimmers as incandescent lights. Instead of installing a new fixture with a dimming ballast, the LED user can just use a dimmer switch. Overall, LEDs are a lot easier to integrate into our everyday lives. They behave like incandescents and can be disposed like incandescents, without all the fuss that is associated with CF bulbs.

Are LED lighbulbs available to consumers?
For a long time, they were only available to contractors, but they've recently been working their way out into the mainstream market. Currently, you can find them online at a lot of retailers, although they haven't shown up in too many stores yet. Basically, people just don't realize that they're out there. Right now, they're pretty expensive, but they're safer, easier to use, require less energy, and last about six times as long as CF bulbs. In the long run, they're the safest, greenest choice!