We are more and more concerned with our environment and finding ways to preserve it. A few years ago, the United States of America Government passed the Energy Independence and Security Act, whose aim is to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions and to increase awareness of our energy consumption through certain measures.
In order to gain efficiency for light bulbs, the EISA imposed the halt of manufacturing incandescent light bulbs, such as standard incandescent lamps, tungsten halogen lamps and reflector lamps.
Today in America, incandescent bulbs still provide light in anywhere from 70% to 85% of homes. The goal is to replace them with non-incandescent, eco-friendly and cost-effective bulbs and to grow our energy-efficiency by around 30%.
CFL
A Compact Fluorescent Lamp is a fluorescent light designed to be an eco-friendly alternative to the incandescent light bulb.
This energy-saving light uses a tube design with a compact electric ballast in the base, allowing it to be placed directly into the same fixture as the incandescent light; therefore, allowing most consumers the ease of installation without costly upgrades.
Usually, a CFL can last up to 10 times more, averaging 6,000 to 15,000 burn hours, using only one fifth of the electric power compared to an incandescent light (averaging 750 to 1000 hours of total use).
For a household wired with 25 incandescent lights, replacing these bulbs with CFL bulbs will annually avoid almost an emission of 0.791 tons of CO2, and offer an annual energy savings of $150 on average.
LED
Light-Emitting Diode (LED) lights are very efficient and can last much longer than any other lamp, including CFL lamps.
The biggest asset of LED lights is that they do not require warm-up time to reach full brightness, unlike CFL lamps that require time to reach their full potential.
Some LED lights are designed to directly replace fluorescent or incandescent lights without requiring changes to your fixture.
The cost for LED lights is approximately seventeen times more expensive than incandescent lights with an average cost of $6.97 per bulb, but has a lifespan that is incomparable (25,000 hours LED, versus less than 1,000 hours for an incandescent light); therefore, paying off in the long term. In addition, the power used is much lower: 9.5 WATT against 60 WATT for an incandescent and 14 WATT for a CFL.
It is our goal at McClintock Electric to educate our clients. When deciding between LED and CFL for your home or place of business, it is important to know the facts.
If you want to Go Green, McClintock Electric can help!
Ludovic Piard and Nicole Williams-Hackworth