After having conversations with several clients lately after recommending that they install Compact Fluorescent Lights (CFLs) throughout their homes, I discovered that some good information about CFLs is still not getting out. There seem to be two misconceptions, both having to do with the mercury contained in CFLs.

One complaint was that they contain any mercury at all (compared to incandescent light bulbs). But in the St. Louis area, where most of our electricity is generated by coal-fired plants, its actually a false argument. Let’s say “X” represents the amount of mercury contained in a CFL (which, by the way, has decreased dramatically over the years). Now, knowing that CFLs use less wattage than an incandescent light uses (for the same amount of light), let’s say then that “Y” represents the amount of mercury in the coal that is burned in order to generate the extra energy required to burn an incandescent light. Simply put, “Y” is greater than “X”. In other words, more mercury is released into the atmosphere from the burning of coal for that additional energy that would be required to light an incandescent light bulb (over the amount needed to light a CFL). Furthermore, with CFLs that mercury is contained, not released into the environment from the smokestacks of coal-fired plants.

This leads to the second misunderstanding; namely, that the mercury ends up in landfills when the CFL is thrown away. How good can that be? Well, that’s true… but it needn’t be so. Did you know that Home Depot and many Ace Hardwares in the St. Louis area now recycle burned out CFLs? They need to be put in a plastic bag but, other than that, simply take them to the return counter and drop them off. It’s that easy.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 24th, 2010 at 4:44 pm and is filed under For Homeowners. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.