enthalpy

Wednesday, August 30, 2006


I too drug my feet on CFLs, or compact fluorescent lightbulbs at first, but it really is incredible what a difference they make. Not only do they use 20% of the electricity needed for the same amount of light from an incandecent bulb, but they also make the same reduction in waste heat that your A/C has to take care of. I haven't experimented with the different shades of light, and it's odd to see things in your house that are suddenly a different color, but the savings are substantial:
1. If every one of 110 million American households bought just one ice-cream-cone bulb, took it home, and screwed it in the place of an ordinary 60-watt bulb, the energy saved would be enough to power a city of 1.5 million people.
2. Compact fluorescents emit the same light as classic incandescent but use 75% or 80% less electricity.
The only drawback I've found is that even the newer ones have a "startup" time associated with them. It takes them 10 or 15 seconds to get to their full brightness. But to decrease my lighting power and lighting related air conditioning load by 60-80% to wait 10 seconds when I turn the light on? I'll accept that trade off.



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