CFLs and LEDs and You - Part II

In part I we discussed why Compact Fluorescent bulbs make a lot of financial sense in most applications in the home.  And the historical issue of harsh light is mostly a thing of the past (if you remember to buy the correct color temperature bulb).  But CFLs are not all dim-able, still may not instantly illuminate when turned on, and often take several seconds to reach full brightness.  But after a few weeks of use most people adjust.

However, we’ve yet to cover perhaps the most controversial subject for CFLs, and haven't touched on LED lighting.

CFL Safety

When it comes to the safety of CFLs, there is as much misinformation as there is valid information.  CFLs do contain a small amount of mercury, which is a toxic heavy metal.  This means that some care must be taken when disposing of bulbs and if a bulb is broken (more on that later).

First, it is important to keep the mercury issue in context.   For example, CFLs contains less mercury than a traditional thermometer, and pose no health threat unless the mercury is released.  Even then, brief exposure in that small dose poses limited risk (see next paragraph for precautions recommended by the EPA in the event of a CFL bulb breaking).  And there are many other typical household products (batteries, cleaning agents, chemicals, etc) that contain toxins of similar danger that we deal with every day.

If a CFL bulb breaks, mercury will be released.  A bulb breaking is not thought to pose a significant health risk, but care should be taken in the event of a break.  For example, the United States EPA recommends leaving the room after a CFL break, turn off your A/C or heating, and air out the room for 15 minutes (minimum).  After the 15+ minutes, glass debris should be placed in a sealable jar or bag, and sticky tape should be used to pick up glass fragments or any dust.  Wipe the area clean with disposable paper towels (if hard surface), or vacuum if carpeted, replacing the vacuum bag when done.

More details about CFL cleanup can be found on the EPA’s website.


Note that CFL’s that have “burned out” should also be disposed of properly.  Many home centers like Lowe’s or Home Depot allow for disposal of used CFL bulbs.

LED Bulbs

LED stands for Light Emitting Diode, and is one of the more recent crazes in the world of efficient lighting.  Up until recently, LEDs could only be created in a red, but technology breakthroughs have allowed for most colors to be created.

LEDs have the potential to be more efficient than CFLs, last longer than CFLs, and solve the “instant on” problem.   But the catch is that LEDs are still very expensive, and most bulbs produced today have not reached optimal efficiency levels when considering the brightness of light produced (Lumens).  Further, most LED bulbs available today can only reach color temperatures of 2900 to 3000 K, meaning the light produced is a cooler blue/white than many people are used to.

Uses Around the Home

Despite all of this, I have found a few applications for LEDs in my home:

1. Refrigerator and Freezer Bulbs
2. Hard to reach places
3. Holiday Lighting
4. Night lights
5. Under-cabinet lighting

A small GE 2.5 watt LED bulb producing 80 lumens made a good choice for my refrigerator and freezer bulbs.  My refrigerator/freezer came stock with four 40 watt incandescent bulbs.  Even though my fridge or freezer is not open for more than a few minutes a day, I didn’t like the heat generated by the 40w bulbs.  The LEDs make for a perfect replacement, though it may take the life of the bulb to get the payback (ROI).

Another suitable use for LED bulbs would be locations where it is very inconvenient to replace bulbs.  In my house there are some flush-mount light fixtures along the stairs.  When I moved in the fixtures were nicely caulked around the perimeter, which I found inconvenient for when I needed to replace the bulbs.  But the caulking was important because these fixtures are on outside walls, and would allow for drafts or warm air to seep in.   The solution: the GE 2.5 watt LED bulb, which has a lifetime of 10+ years given the amount of time we use that light.  Now I can caulk around the fixture with no hesitation.  I mention the GE bulb because I have direct experience with it - there may be suitable or better options out there.

Perhaps the most mainstream use of LED bulbs is in holiday lights, such as Christmas Lights.  The low power use and low heat of the bulbs makes for a much safer string of lights.  If many strings are “stacked”, the power draw is still low and should be well within the specs of most household circuits (i.e. less risk for overloading your wiring or circuits).  And the lower heat reduces fire danger.  We'll look at the payback of LED holiday lights as well as a number of other holiday decoration power savings ideas in a few weeks.

One of the simplest ideas I had was to replace the 5 watt bulb in my daughter's night light with a .85 watt LED bulb.  That 4.15 watts of saving 10 hours a day pays for itself in just 16 months. 

I’ve also installed LED under-cabinet “puck” lights.  The cool white light makes for a very modern affect when reflecting off of my granite counter tops, making for excellent accent lighting.