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Green Replacement Bulbs

Green or environmentally friendly lighting can vary depending your point of view or goals. The commercial facility changeover from incandescent to CFL (Compact Fluorescent lighting) is a major positive change by significantly reducing energy consumption by 70%. A fluorescent bulb produces less heat, so it is much more efficient. A fluorescent bulb can produce between 50 and 100 lumens per watt. This makes fluorescent bulbs four to six times more efficient than incandescent bulbs. That's why you can buy a 15-watt fluorescent bulb that produces the same amount of light as a 60-watt incandescent bulb, which is about 15 lumens per watt of input power.

The consumer is next the market to get into the act by switching to CFL also. The downside to fluorescent lighting is the fact the bulbs contain a small amount of mercury which can pose disposal and potential health issues. According to the EPA, CFLs contain an average of 5 milligrams of mercury, tube version may have up 9.5 milligram.

The manufactures at this point have not found a way to eliminate the mercury content, and industry experts do not expect that total mercury elimination can be accomplished, without significant changes to the lighting fixtures themselves. Some manufacturers of the new “green version of fluorescent type bulbs have managed to reduce the amount of mercury by half in the bulb but not eliminate it entirely. Even though there is mercury content in the bulb, it can be disposed of safely through various commercial and consumer recycling providers. For example waste Management has a program for commercial users for safe disposal named Lamp Tracker and even give the generator (the bulb user) a Recycling Certificate per transaction.

The consumer on the other hand can also safely dispose of the bulbs through most large retail outlets that sell the bulbs. The problem is when a bulb breaks in the fixture, mercury powder will be expelled in the room. Clean up issues can tricky and consumers are becoming aware of the potential hazards. This issue alone may be cause for a faster adoption of LED lighting.

When fluorescent or incandescent bulbs are used in food service areas, the bulbs are mandated by law to have a special coating or covering that stops the bulb from expelling glass or mercury contents when broken. Again, another expense and liability.

For reference here are the levels of mercury that are considered safe for various lead health organizations as of 2003:

• The World Health Organization considers the level of mercury consumption considered safe 1.5 micrograms per kilogram of body weight per day.
• The Environmental Protection Agency has set its reference dose level, the exposure considered to be safe, at 0.1 microgram per kilogram of body weight per day.
• The Food and Drug Administration uses a different measurement, Its reference dose is 0.4 micrograms per kilogram of body weight.

Mercury is considered to have a half-life of between 15 and 30 years in the central nervous system.