Lighting choices
Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFLs) provide a great alternative to traditional incandescent light bulbs in the home. They use 66% less electricity and last up to 10 times longer than typical incandescent bulbs.
According to EPA, “If every American home replaced just one light bulb with an ENERGY STAR qualified bulb, we would save enough energy to light more than 3 million homes for a year, more than $600 million in annual energy costs, and prevent greenhouse gases equivalent to the emissions of more than 800,000 cars.”
•FAQs about CFLs…EPA Energy Star site.
What about when the bulbs break? CFLs contain a small amount of mercury inside. You should handle the broken bulb carefully to avoid being exposed to mercury. To learn more, read the EPA document about how to deal with the mercury in CFLs. As an aside, LED bulbs contain no mercury.
When the bulbs to eventually burn out, they often can be taken to a recycling center to have the mercury recovered. For example, the Logan landfill has started a free recycling program for burned out or broken CFLs.
Use the Energy Star savings calculator for CFLs