If you’ve heard only one thing about the green movement, it was undoubtedly the benefits of Compact Fluroescent Lamps in comparison to their more popular brother, the incandescent bulb. And just for the completely uninitiated, the CFL uses 75% less energy than incandescent bulbs, and, as it lasts longer as well, it will save you about $30 over the course of its use.

There are some lingering suspicions related to CFLs that may have caused some to take pause when considering the switch to CFLs, such as the supposedly high mercury content, the idea that they have higher “embodied energy”, or that moving away from incandescent bulbs will negatively impact your heating bill. These are all very silly reasons to avoid a product that is guaranteed to work better, for longer, and cost you less money. Here’s why:

Posted by Katie Throne

Tags: cfl | green | energy efficient

"I don't like the twisty shape of compact fluorescent bulbs; that's why I don't use them." We've come across this excuse as one of the reasons people don't use CFLs.

GE now has an answer for that. The new GE Energy Smart CFL places a much smaller electronics package inside the neck of the bulb, and puts the familiar twisted fluorescent tubes underneath a cover, so that the entire bulb has the same size and shape as a conventional incandescent bulb.

The new bulbs started to arrive in some stores around the beginning of this year, but will start to be more broadly available (including being in the inventory of some big box chains) around Earth Day later this month (April 22). In addition to the 15-watt bulb, the line will eventually include 9-watt and 20-watt versions to be available by the middle of the year.

So, if there's a fixture where the the bulb is visible and you can't stand the idea of a visible CFL spiral, or if you have that beloved lamp with the shade that clamps directly onto the bulb, now you can fit it with a more responsible and energy-saving bulb that offers the appearance of an incandescent profile.

Source: www.green.yahoo.com/blog

Posted by Katie Throne

Tags: energy | cfl | green