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 | A typical, spiral-shaped compact fluorescent light (CFL) compared with a standard incandescent light bulb. The larger mid-section of the CFL houses the starter/ballast and other electric circuitry necessary for all fluorescent lights in an amazingly small space. Illustration courtesy of Wikipedia.com. |
Review from Harbor Freight Reviews
| This article is an expanded version of our commentary Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs Light the Way to a Brigher Future posted to our Harbor Freight Reviews Discussion Forum. |
Our review of Harbor Freight's 45-watt solar panel kit prompted a brief commentary on the merits of compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFL) within the context of low-energy consuming devices. Rather than append that article with what might be considered a rather lengthy commentary given our academic propensity for prose,
this article is submitted as a separate
commentary and review in this expanded version on our web site.
Most people should be somewhat familiar with these CFLs, but the
continued high demand for traditional incandescent light bulbs 
suggest many have not yet seen the light 
. CFLs, like other fluorescent lights,
require much less electrical energy to produce an equivalent amount of
illumination as produced by the first-generation of household electric
lighting, the traditional incandescent bulb. No longer are fluorescent
lights handicapped with the ghostly artificial appearance of their
bluish light or the hum of their early ballasts. Modern CFLs offer a
range of color temperatures to suit the needs and tastes of any
individual and they do so quietly as well as efficiently.
Hot and Cold Lights and the Temperature of 'Color'Color temperature determines the appearance of light and varies from warm to cool for residential lighting applications. It is technically expressed in degrees Kelvin although these numbers are less meaningful to most people than the text desginations used below.
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Compact Fluorescent Light Basics
Compact fluorescent lights (CFL) are basically, well, compact fluorescent lights. They are the same technology that has been around for over 75 years compacted into a smaller package. In other words, they're simply fluorescent lights, but unlike their larger grandfathers, they have their starters/ballasts and other circuitry necessary to make them work miniaturized into a package which fits into standard light sockets normally reserved for incandescent light bulbs. Of course they're improved in other ways as well, being quiet running and available in a variety of color temperatures that make them much more pleasant for home use. They are so much more energy efficient and safer (because of their lower operating temperature which decreases the risk of electrical shorts and fires) that the manufacture of standard incandescent light bulbs will be discontinued in the United States in the not to distant future. Fluorescent lights have always been a favorite in large-scale operations (e.g., industry, schools, offices) because of their energy savings and low maintenance (around 10,000 hours between bulb replacement). CFLs find their way into private homes in the United States and Canada as awareness and concerns about green-house emissions mature. They have long been a favorite in Europe and other parts of the world where residential energy costs are considerably higher than in North America. And of course, we find them indispensable for use with solar-powered applications that generate only small amounts of usable electricity.
| We have special interest in energy conservation and alternative energy
sources and have purchased quite a few products related to these
interests from Harbor Freight and from other suppliers. In
our tests Harbor Freight has been consistently striking out but with
their 45-watt solar panel kit they may have hit a home run. This
is by far the lowest price anywhere for low to medium wattage solar
panels, and the charge controller and compact fluorescent light bulbs
are a bonus. Click here to read our product review. |
When comparing CFLs to standard incandescent light bulbs remember that if you're comparing wattages (which is what we all do, pun intended), then you have to use two different measuring 'sticks.' CFL put out almost 5-times as much light on a watt-for-watt basis when compared with standard incandescent lights. This makes a 15-watt CFL roughly equivalent to a 60-watt incandescent light bulb. The table below gives some commonly used equivalance values based on the actual lumens output for each type of light bulb. It should help simply your selection of the appropriate CFL and help guide you through some of the comparisons we're making in this article.
Approximate Equivalence in Lighting Power between Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs (CFL) and Conventional Incandescent Light Bulbs |
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Compact fluorescent light bulbs at 1000Bulbs.com Shatter-Resistant CFL including 14-watt floodlights Dimmable and 3-way CFLs All colors of CFL at discount prices |
5-watt CFL = 25-watt incandescent 9-watt CFL = 40-watt incandescent 13-watt CFL = 60-watt incandescent 15-watt CFL = 70-watt incandescent 23-watt CFL = 100-watt incandescent 30-watt CFL = 120-watt incandescent 105-watt CFL = 420-watt incandescent |
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CFLs come in a variety of color temperatures: cool is the standard appearing, typical fluorescent light that many people like for area and general ambient lighting; warm better emulates a conventional incandescent light which most people prefer for reading; and full spectrum emulates the natural light of the sun and is used for ambient lighting and some applications find it suitable as a plant light; CFLs even come in an assortment of colors. |
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The numbers are downright staggering: A CFL uses about 1/5 the energy of a conventional incandescent light bulb and lasts around 10-times longer. Over the life-time of the CFL, this saves around $44 at an 8 cents per kw utility rate and double that with our actual delivered utility rate in Western New York (i.e., $88!?).And the fact that YOU can make enough electricity at home to run them is even cooler with your Harbor Freight's 45-watt solar panel kit.
What's in a Watt?The commonly used term "watt" is actually an expression of electrical energy not light intensity. "Lumens" and "candlepower" are the terms that better describe the actual brightness, but they're unlikely to supplant "watts" anytime soon because of the years of use this term has seen in reference to incandescent light bulbs. Typical CFLs produce around 50 lumens per watt, while incandescent light bulbs produce around 10 lumens per watt. A candle produces 0.3 lumens per watt and T5 and T8 tube-style fluorescent lights can produce around 100 lumens per watt. (A low-pressure sodium light is actually the most efficient light source currently available producing up to 200 lumens per watt. Want to read next to one of these lights?) FYI: When translated to physical energy, 1,000 W (1 kW) is approximately equal to 1.34 hp of work. (So I guess a 1 kW light bulb could pull a horse? -- viz., produce more "work.")
Most of the "watts" in incandescent lighting is actually wasted as heat energy with only about 2% going towards providing visible light Nonetheless, for a given "wattage" different incandescent lights typically provide comparable the levels of illumination. Hence, we all know what a typical 25-watt refrigerator light compared to 100-watt reading lamp looks like and understand how they're both dwarfed by those awesome 500-watt floodlights. For this reason, CFLs are often described by their equivalence to a given wattage of incandescent light, even though they actually consume about 1/5 the energy and therefore their real wattage is much lower lumen-for-lumen. |
Cost-Savings Calculations for a Single 15-Watt CFL
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There are a few things to note about compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFL).
- First, they work with mechanical and relay types of switches and timers, but you need special dimmable CFLs to work with most light dimmers and electronic switches such as X10 controls. Harbor Freight's inexpensive lamp and appliance timer that we recently reviewed works very well with CFL as well as standard fluorescent and incandescent lights.
- Second, the life-expectancy of most CFLs is around 10,000 hours so
you 'earn back' your higher initial investment in energy savings (see
below), often in replacement bulb costs, and in cooler running lights (this
can be very important for some applications, especially with old
fixtures which can overheat when used for long period with conventional
light bulbs). See the table above for the actual calculations of the potential savings.
- Third, the life of CFLs, like all fluorescent lights, can be greatly shortened if they are turned on-and-off frequently. It's best to leave them on if you'll be returning to the room within 15 to 30 minutes. They consume little energy during that additional time and the 'stress' incurred during starting and re-starting is more detrimental to the CFL's life-expectancy than the extra fractional kW in electrical usage is to your wallet or to the environment (e.g., 0.0075 kW for a 15-watt CFL left on for 30 minutes consuming a little over a penny's worth of electricity by our expensive Western New York utility rates or around half a cent in the rest of the country).
- Fourth, like turning the light off-and-off repeatedly and like
using the wrong type of electronic timer or photocell control,
electrical spikes from the power grid or from sources specific to your
home (e.g., lightning strikes) can destroy CFL very easily. The
tranditional incandescent light bulb is much more resilent, surviving
this type of abuse better than fluorescent lights. That's perhaps one
of several reasons they won out early in the days of unstable power
grids and frequent lightning strikes on the pararie.
- Fifth, CFLs remain somewhat larger than standard incandescent light bulbs, so there are some fixtures where they simply don't fit properly.
Modern CFLs are available in styles that replace most incandescent lighting including full-spectrum, shatter-resistant floodlights, and a rainbow of basic colors. There are even CFLs which work in three-way sockets giving three different levels of illumination and CFLs which emulate halogen lighting. And they all produce flicker-free, quiet lighting in their compact packages which fit standard lamp sockets eliminating the last excuses for not going green and making your contribution to saving-the-planet while saving yourself some money too.
| 1000Bulbs.com carries a very wide assortment of CFLs as well as LED and other types of lighting. Read through their online listings carefully to find the CFLs that best suit your individual needs. Don't be overwhelmed with all of the choices -- buy a couple of different types (e.g., color temperatures, styles) and experiment to find what works best for you. |
A Special Problem for Some Users
We use a lot of X10 circuits in our home to control lighting and other electrical devices. The X10 circuits do NOT work with standard CFLs. This has to do with the way these two devices work -- the CFL requires a large current influx to start the fluorescence (AKA the "light"); the X10 circuits require that a small electrical current be constantly present on the load (e.g., the light bulb). Oops, this doesn't work. The CFL is confused and in fact often damaged by small but constant trickle of electricity required by the X10 control device. So how do you solve this and still go green?Certain dimmable CFLs work well with X10 and similar control circuits. These cost a premium but for those of us who must have the X10-control of certain lamps, it's well worth the added price. For those of you who have no idea what we're talking about here, X10 controls allow remote control and programming of electrical loads. You can plug your lamp into an X10 lamp control module and control it from anywhere in your home or shop. You can also program it to respond to certain events such as motion detection or to simply cycle on-and-off similar to a simple timer. I personally no longer recommend X10 controls for most people. The move to green with CFLs largely conflicts with this system and at best complicates it somewhat. Technology may eventually provide a simple solution, but for now it's costly and remains somewhat risky because even dimmable CFLs that work for months can fail one day abuptly with X10 control. Then you're buying another premium-priced CFL or just giving up and switching the lamp back to a traditional incandescent light bulb.
Now, the problem I just described for X10 users applies equally to most dimmer switches. They too require a small electrical current or use a type of electronic switch which is incompatible with most CFLs. So choose wisely and understand that going green cost more than just a few extra bucks for the light bulb; it also involves for many users some changes in lifestyle or changes in electrical control devices and switches.
| Harbor Freight has put together a nice little 45-watt solar panel kit that's sufficient to drive several of these CFLs: their kit includes two 5-watt compact fluorescent light bulbs with
fixtures, a charge controller, and three 15-watt solar panels. They
even provide the necessary cabling, albeit flimsier than what you may
want. All you add is a storage battery, preferably a deep-discharge
type but anything 12-volts will get you started. On a bright day, the 45-watts
of solar power should keep your two 5-watt compact fluorescent lights easily
running 24/7. In fact, this system should be able to
easily support two regular 15-watt compact fluorescent bulbs, but on a bad
day hope you have some charge leftover from the previous sunny day. |
One Last 'Note'
We wrote this entire article discussing CFLs without mentioning that
greenhouse emissions are killing our planet or without boring you with
statistics on how if everyone switched to CFLs it would decrease these
poisonous gasses so dramatically as to save-our-planet with one dramatic
move. Well, it wouldn't. We're in more trouble than that,
unfortunately. But even 25% of the population switching to CFLs would
make an important difference and slow progression to the big hothouse as
well as get the rest of the public more aware of the importance of
conserving energy (e.g, social modeling and flocking effects). The title
of this article should be self-explanatory aptly revealing our position
on this topic -- see the light yet?. 
Here at Harbor Freight Reviews we feel that everyone should
do what they can, but nobody needs to surrender that comfortable 20th
Century lifestyle we've all come to love and enjoy. Where you can switch
to CFLs do so and do so now; start saving-the-planet today. Where you
need or just want to bath in the warmth of a truly warm light (remember,
98% of the energy is produced as heat), go for it. Meanwhile, do what
you can and you can easily switch to CFLs for most lighting. (End of
editorial commentary for now.)
| Click here for a wide selection of energy-saving CFLs are discount prices. Remember that the higher initial cost is quickly recovered in energy savings and that you're doing the right thing by helping to save-the-planet too. |
Bottom line: Compact fluorescent light bulbs (CBL) are the only way to go for most applications including not only solar but conventional grid-powered lighting. They provide equivalent illumination at much less cost, both energy-wise and replacement-cost-wise, and they do this while helping to save-the-planet.
Copyright 2010 Beaux Arts USA (Reproduce freely, but play fair, cite the source.)
See Harbor Freight Reviews Discussion Forum for other product reviews.
We have lots of items currently being evaluated at Harbor Freight Reviews. It's often a slow, tedious process to review each item personally but we're banging them out as we can. We hope that you find our first-person reviews useful in your purchase decisions and that you visit our website regularly for updated material. Happy Sa(i)ling at the Harbor!
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Copyright 2010 Beaux Arts Last
revised: 08 September
2010 04:49
(EDT) Contact:
info@HarborFreightReviews.com |