Categories: Lighting

CFL Advantages and Disadvantages

Example of a blue-colored Compact Fluorescent Light Bulb Glowing

The energy-saving CFL (compact fluorescent lamp) has taken the home lighting industry by storm over the past two decades, so many wonder about their advantages and disadvantages. Thus we detail all of that here.

It’s a smaller version of the ever popular straight and circular fluorescent tube light bulbs. Here we detail the CFL advantages and disadvantages.

Example of a blue-colored CFL bulb, glowing brightly. One of the advantages is vivid, bright color, and one disadvantage is how fragile these units are.

They make CFL units much smaller today. They’re much brighter per inch of tube length too. How so? Electronic ballast technology replaces the bulkier magnetic ballasts drives the bulb more efficiently. Furthermore, advancements in phosphor technology yields more lumens per watt. Electrode materials, and improved mercury gas mixtures helped. They’ve all culminated in a highly efficient and affordable bulb.

But while this more efficient electronic ballast approach costs less, it has its drawbacks. Often, thunderstorms can take out the sensitive electronic ballasts in these lamps.

The overall performance and affordability of CFL bulbs has improved so much since year 2000. As a result, manufacture of traditional household incandescent lamps has essentially stopped here in the US. They still make specialized versions, but not the standard Edison bulbs. As of this writing, stores still sell incandescent bulbs. But that will stop when they exhaust existing stock piles.

CFL Advantages and Disadvantages: Advantages, Benefits, Pros, Advantages, and Features

CFL Bulbs Save Energy

This 60 to 80 percent less power consumption makes CFLs a godsend for aging and over-taxed power grids worldwide. By reducing energy consumption this much, we avoid or delay costly upgrades to municipal power distribution circuits. These savings can also reduce dependence on foreign oil and overly rapid depletion of energy resources at home.

CFL Bulbs Offer Increased Reliability

This technology has come a long way in the past ten years. They fail less, last longer, and emit a more solid, flicker-free light.

These Lights Product Less Heat

Since the lamp converts more energy into visible light, it generates less wasteful heat. Therefore, this lowers air-conditioning costs in establishments and homes that replace many incandescent bulbs with these units.

They’re Getting Cheaper

As the technology matures, prices are falling. Indeed, you can now buy packs of two, three, or six CFLs in quantity for significantly less. Discount lamps have appeared at larger home improvement centers and stores.

CFL Advantages and Disadvantages: Boast Longer Lamp Life

Though many of these fail before their time, they should outlast incandescent bulbs. They should light for several to as much as fifteen times longer if properly cared for.

Brighter CFLs Now Available

The first CFLs output much less light than equivalent wattage incandescent bulbs. However nowadays, they market these bulbs that adequately substitute for the 75 and 100 watt incandescent lamps.

Better Color Choices

Unlike incandescent bulbs, these fluorescent ones come in several colors. These include the 2700k (soft white), 3000 K (warm white), 5000 K (cool white), and 6500 K (daylight). Manufacturers attempted this with incandescent lamps. But they never got the colors above 3000 K or so, to work well. Further, efficiency and life span of incandescent bulbs drop as you move their color output more toward blue. Fluorescent lights on the other hand, are highly efficient regardless of color temperature output.

CFL Advantages and Disadvantages: Fit Same Fixtures as Incandescent Light Bulbs

You needn’t replace your standard light fixtures and lamps to take advantage of this newer tech. With their lower heat output, a fluorescent bulb can generally operate in any place designed for an incandescent bulb. Further, today’s fluorescents integrate both the tube itself and the ballast into one unit. So, you needn’t retrofit your fixtures with any supportive electronics when deploying these lights.

3-Way CFL Lights Now Available

The Utilitech #0346991 fluorescent bulb unit for example, replaces the 3-way i50 / 100/ 150 watt ncandescent bulbs, for under $19 apiece.

Improving Technology Over All

The electronic ballasts in these bulbs has improved in recent years; they generate less EMI, audible noise, and heat.

CFL Advantages and Disadvantages: Disadvantages, Problems, and Concerns

Overly sensitive electronics

At the base of most any of these lights is a clump of circuitry. This “electronic ballast” is responsible for lighting the gas-filled tubes above. However, this ballast contains sensitive solid-state components. Common voltage spikes arriving on the power line can quickly damage them. For example, lightning storms can create these spikes. In fact, some storms that passed by here took out two of these compact lamps. Surge protectors provided power to these units as well. But sometimes, those pesky surges still get through. Regular incandescent light bulbs burn out less when subjected to nearby lightning strikes. But these lights are improving noticeably.

The Glass is Still Quite Fragile

A gentle bump or jolt still shatters the glass tubing. Fragility and easy breakage thus, still characterize these bulbs above incandescent lights. Therefore, handle fluorescent bulbs with care.

Can Generate Considerable Radio Frequency Interference

Due to the switching nature of the included electronic ballasts, CFLs may interfere with radio reception. AM radios experience this noise and hash most. So radio buffs should carefully consider the choice to switch to CFL lights. Neither incandescent bulbs nor most LED lights generate this level of RFI / EMI.

CFL Advantages and Disadvantages: They Still Cost a Little More

You can still get an incandescent bulb for under two dollars. But these units can cost upwards of three times that much. Yet often, they do not last upwards of three times as long as incandescent lamps. We’ve yet to see any fluorescent lamp last their advertised seven years. Hopefully, they’ll become cheaper and more reliable in the next couple years. But in the meantime? That $15 we spent for them? Gone! And, the one was only several months old.

Most of These Bulbs Are Not Dimmable

Traditional light dimming controls do not work well with many CFLs. For that, you must buy a model that specifically supports dimming. Practically all incandescent bulbs and most LED bulbs support traditional leading-edge dimmer switches. Over the past few years though, more “dimmable” fluorescent bulbs have appeared. But they’re not as cheap as their non dimmable versions. Not yet.

CFL Advantages and Disadvantages: Sometimes Do Not Light In Cold Weather

Particularly in sub-freezing temperatures, a CFL might not come on. Why? Because the mercury vapor gas inside does not as readily conduct electricity when cold. In contrast, both incandescent and LED bulbs instantly light up to full brightness, even in the deepest cold snaps.

Cold-weather versions are available now, though for a bit more money. These feature circuitry that adjusts the amount of current flow in the arc tube. It senses the external temperature. Then, when it detects cold environments, the electronic ballast applies more voltage initially, to create more light. As the gas inside warms, it conducts electricity more readily. At that, the onboard ballast lowers input voltages. This prevents excessive brightness and shortened bulb life. So, these bulbs safely maintains a more uniform brightness level, over a wider range of surrounding temperatures.

They can Take Minutes to Reach Full Brightness

Again, this is especially true when these bulbs are cold. Neither LEDs nor incandescents exhibit this behavior, as they light to full brightness immediately. This however, is fast becoming a non issue. Why? Advances in electronic ballast control allow for better regulation of bulb brightness. The ones we tested recently achieve full brightness in under a minute, in average room temperatures. Some ballasts temperature-compensate for the initially cold gasses inside. Tis means less dim starting, and more uniform brightness during warmup.

Need Recycled

Do not just throw away burned-out fluorescent lights. Why? Because municipal authorities consider them hazardous waste. After all, they contain trace amounts of toxic mercury.

Proper disposal of CFL bulbs means find a safe spot to store them. Then, locate a recycling center or event to turn them in. You can still throw away spent incandescent bulbs however.

CFL Advantages and Disadvantages: Less Environmentally Safe

Please recycle your spent bulbs if possible. But since appropriate recycling stations are not everywhere, then save your old bulbs until you find a place. While in storage, the consumer may accidentally break them, adding small amounts of mercury vapor to the environment. Indeed, large-scale use raises the risks of mercury contamination in our air. No mercury in either incandescents or LEDs.

Will Become Obsolete Soon

With the LED light bulbs fast approaching the technological horizon, avoid investing heavily in CFL. These are indeed more efficient than incandescent lamps. But LED lamps are more energy-efficient, more rugged, and produce much less heat than even CFLs. Reading the tea leaves now, compact fluorescents will fade in popularity presently. They will enjoy limited long-term widespread use. Why? Because they no longer represent the state-of-the-art of high-efficiency lighting. Thus, if you plan a lighting upgrade to them, you may wish to rethink that. Instead, go the extra mile, and replace your incandescents with LEDs, instead of fluorescent lighting.

They Fail Early When Switched On And Off Too Often

As with traditional fluorescent lamps, cycling on and off quickly, can cause premature failure. So once you turn them on, it’s best to leave them on for at least two hours. Of course, this means that you’ll use somewhat more energy to keep your CFL bulbs properly conditioned. LEDs are not at all sensitive to this, and incandescent lamps are less sensitive to frequent on-off cycling.

CFL Advantages and Disadvantages: Sometimes They Flicker

Often, you see these CFLs twinkling and “barber polling” in stores and homes. Even when a compact fluorescent has warmed up fully, it still can flicker annoyingly. This is due to shifting paths of gas ionization inside the tubes as the internal temperature fluctuates. Improper design of the electrodes inside the glass, worsens this problem. Flickering has been a long-running drawback of fluorescent light technology, that has virtually never plagued incandescent lights or LEDs.

Currently Mean Fewer Domestic Manufacturing Jobs

With the bulk of these lamps manufactured in China, the switch to them means fewer jobs in the US.

CFL Advantages and Disadvantages: Conclusion

Thus, considering all of this, our energy-savings strategy has, and will continue to incorporate SOME lamps around the house here. But we will not replace ALL incandescent bulbs with these; particularly the outside lights. We’re still waiting for the LED lights to cheapen and increase in light output to match CFLs. At that time, upgrades of all lights to LEDs will be completed.