Compactfluorescentlamps(CFL)

Acompactfluorescentlamp(CFL),alsoknownasacompactfluorescentlightorenergysavinglight,
isatypeoffluorescentlamp.MostCFLsaredesignedtoreplaceincandescentlampsandfitintomost
existinglightfixtures.

Comparedtogeneralserviceincandescentlampsgivingthesameamountofvisiblelight,CFLsuse
lesspowerandhavealongerratedlife.Downsideistheyhaveahigherpurchaseprice.Likeall
fluorescentlamps,CFLscontainmercury,whichcomplicatestheirdisposal.

CFLsradiateadifferentlightspectrumcomparedtoincandescentlamps.Newphosphor
compositionshaveimprovedthecolourofthelightemittedbyCFLsinsuchawaythatthebestwarm
whiteCFLsarenearlysimilarincolourtostandardincandescentlamps.

ThepoweroutputmentionedonCFLscanbecomparedtoincandescentlampsaccordingtothe
followingtable:

Incandescentlamp CFL
25W 5W
40W 8W
60W 12W
75W 15W
100W 20W

Parts

TherearetwomainpartsinaCFL:thegasfilledtubeandthemagneticorelectronicballast.An
electricalcurrentfromtheballastflowsthroughthegas(mercuryvapour),causingittoemit
ultravioletlight.Theultravioletlightthenexcitesaphosphorcoatingontheinsideofthetube.This
coatingemitsvisiblelight.

StandardCFLsdonotrespondwellindimmingapplicationsandspeciallampsareneededwhen
dimmingisrequired.

Notes:CFLsthatflickerwhentheystarthavemagneticballasts
CFLswithelectronicballastsaremorecommon

Comparisonwithincandescentlamps

Lifespan

TheaverageratedlifeofaCFLisbetween8and12timesthatofincandescentlamps.CFLstypically
havearatedlifespanofbetween6.000and10.000hours,whereasincandescentlampsusuallyhave
alifespanof750hoursor1.000hours.

CFLsproducelesslightwithaging.Thelightoutputdecayisexponential,withthefastestlossesbeing
soonafterthelampisfirstused.Bytheendoftheirlives,CFLscanbeexpectedtoproduceabout70
80%oftheiroriginallightoutput.

Energyefficiency

Thechartshowstheenergyusagefordifferenttypesoflightbulbsoperatingatdifferentlight
outputs.Pointsloweronthegraphcorrespondtolowerenergyuse.

Foragivenlightoutput,CFLsuse20%to33%ofthepowerofanequivalentincandescentlamps.

Cost

WhilethepurchasepriceofanintegratedCFListypically3to10timeshigherthanthatofan
equivalentincandescentlamp,theextendedlifetimeandlowerenergyusewillmorethan
compensateforthehigherinitialcost.

Startingtime

Incandescentlampsreachfullbrightnessafractionofasecondafterbeingswitchedon.Asof2009,
CFLsturnonwithinasecond,butmaystilltaketimetowarmuptofullbrightness.SomeCFLsare
marketedas"instanton"andhavenonoticeablewarmingupperiod,butotherscantakeuptoa
minutetoreachfullbrightness,orlongerinverycoldenvironments.


Spectrumoflight

ThelightofCFLsisemittedbyamixofphosphorsontheinsideofthetube,eachemittingadifferent
colour.Modernphosphordesignsareacompromisebetweentheshadeoftheemittedlight,energy
efficiencyandcost.

ColourtemperatureismostlyindicatedinKelvin

Colortemperature kelvin
'Warmwhite'or'Softwhite' 3000K
'White'or'BrightWhite' 3500K
'Coolwhite' 4000K
'Daylight' 5000K

Colourtemperatureisaquantitativemeasure.ThehigherthenumberinKelvinthe'cooler'(bluer)
theshadewillbe.

CFLsarealsoproducedinothercolours:

Red,green,orange,blue,andpink,primarilyfornoveltypurposes
Blueforphototherapy
Yellow,foroutdoorlighting,becauseitdoesnotattractinsects
Blacklight(UVlight)forspecialeffects

Designandapplicationissues

Aspiraltypeintegratedcompactfluorescentlamp,withcombinedtubeandelectronicballast.This
stylehasslightlyreducedefficiencycomparedtotubularfluorescentlamps,duetotheexcessively
thicklayerofphosphoronthelowersideofthetwist.Despitethis,ithasbecomeoneofthemost
populartypesamongconsumerssinceitsintroductioninthemid1990s.

TheprimaryobjectivesofCFLdesignarehighelectricalefficiencyanddurability.However,thereare
someotherareasofCFLdesignandoperationthatareproblematic:
Size
CFLlightoutputisroughlyproportionaltophosphorsurfaceareaandhighoutputCFLsare
oftenlargerthantheirincandescentequivalents.ThismeansthattheCFLmaynotfitwellin
existinglightfixtures.

Dimming
OnlysomeCFlampsarelabelledfordimmingcontrol.UsingregularCFLswithadimmeris
ineffectiveatdimming,canshortenbulblifeandwillvoidthewarrantyofcertain
manufacturers.However,dimmableCFLsareavailable.ThedimmingrangeofCFLsisusually
between20%and90%.DimmableCFLsarenota100%replacementforincandescentfixtures
thataredimmedfor"moodscenes"suchaswallsconcesinadiningarea.Belowthe20%
limit,thelampremainsattheapproximate20%level,inothercasesitmayflickerorthe
startercircuitrymaystopandrestart.Abovethe80%dimlimit,thebulbwillgenerallyglow
at100%brightness.DimmableCFLshaveahigherpurchasecostthanstandardCFLsdueto
theadditionalcircuitryrequiredfordimming.Afurtherlimitationisthatmultipledimmable
CFLsonthesamedimmerswitchmaynotappeartobeatthesamebrightnesslevel.

PerceivedColdnessofLowIntensityCFL
WhenaCFLisdimmedthecolourtemperature(warmth)staysthesame.Thisisdifferent
frommostotherlightsources(suchasthesunorincandescentlamps)wherecolourgets
warmerasthelightsourcegetsdimmer.EmotionalResponseTestingsuggeststhatpeople
finddim,bluishlightsourcestobecoldorevensinister.Thismayexplainthepersistentlack
ofpopularityforCFLsinbedroomsandothersettingswhereasubduedlightsourceis
preferred.

Timetoachievefullbrightness
Compactfluorescentlampsmayprovideaslittleas5080%oftheirratedlightoutputat
initialswitchonandcantakeuptothreeminutestowarmup,andcolourcastmaybe
slightlydifferentimmediatelyafterbeingturnedon.Thiscomparestoaround0.1secondsfor
incandescentlamps.Inpractice,thisvariesbetweenbrands/types.Itismoreofaproblem
witholderlamps,'warm(colour)tone'lampsandatlowambienttemperatures.

Outdooruse
CFLsthatarenotdesignedforoutdoorusewillnotstartincoldweather.CFLsareavailable
withcoldweatherballasts,whichmayberatedtoaslowas23C.Standardcompact
fluorescentswillfailtooperateatlowtemperatures.Lightoutputdropsatlowtemperatures.

Effortstoencourageadoption

Duetothepotentialtoreduceelectricconsumptionandpollutionvariousorganizationshave
encouragedtheadoptionofCFLsandotherefficientlighting.Effortsrangefrompublicityto
encourageawareness,todirecthandoutsofCFLstothepublic.Someelectricutilitiesandlocal
governmentshavesubsidizedCFLsorprovidedthemfreetocustomersasameansofreducing
electricitydemands(andsodelayingadditionalinvestmentsingeneration).

AtthemeetingoftheEcodesignRegulatoryCommitteeinBrusselsonDecember8,2008,the
EuropeanUnionMemberStatesexpertsapprovedtheEuropeanCommissionsproposalsfora
regulationprogressivelyphasingoutincandescentbulbsstartingin2009andfinishingattheendof
2012asshownbelow.Byswitchingtoenergysavingbulbs,EUcitizenswillapparentlysavealmost
40TWh(almost11millionEuropeanhouseholdselectricityconsumption),whichmayleadtoa
reductionofabout15milliontonsofCO2emissionperyear.

AlltherequiredinformationaboutaparticularCFLlampcanbefoundonourpackaging.