Compact fluorescent lamps save little or no money when used for standard household evening lighting, and they are ecologically more costly than equivalent incandescent lamps. Government regulations to force their use everywhere are counterproductive with both financial and environmental accounting. Expensive brands seem to do no better than economy brands. High power lamps have much shorter lifetimes than advertised.
Ontarians are being ordered to stop using 'wasteful' incandescent light bulbs and to use solely 'green' compact fluorescents. We are told that their higher initial cost will be repaid in lower energy costs and a greener planet.
True? Well ... not so far for lamps used for ordinary household lighting.
First, we need real data on lamp life, not the fictitious ratings being touted by manufacturers based on idealized operation in their own laboratories. Here's data on the lamps that have failed for me since November 2005, when I moved into a new house and started keeping an accurate record of the 37 lamps I installed there:
| Type | Rated Hours | Actual Hours | % | use |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GE FLE7/2/CAM/827 7W | 6000 | 21900 | 365 | 10 hr/day aquarium |
| GE FLE7/2/CAM/827 7W | 6000 | 11600 | 193 | 10 hr/day aquarium |
| Rona UltraMini 13W | 6000 | 11600 | 193 | 10 hr/day aquarium |
| Philips EL/mdT 11W | 10000 | 16700 | 167 | 10 hr/day aquarium |
| Rona UltraMini 13W | 6000 | 9970 | 166 | 10 hr/day aquarium |
| Rona UltraMini 9W | 6000 | 8540 | 142 | 10 hr/day aquarium |
| Rona UltraMini 9W | 6000 | 7300 | 121 | 10 hr/day aquarium |
| Philips EL/mdT 11W | 10000 | 8200 | 82 | 10 hr/day aquarium |
| GE 20W FLE20TT3/827 | 15000 | 8000 | 53 | 10 hr/day aquarium |
| GE 20W FLE20TT3/827 | 15000 | 5900 | 39 | 10 hr/day aquarium |
| Sylvania CF23EL 23W | 12000 | 3688 | 31 | 8 hr/day kitchen |
| Noma FLE26HT3/23 | 10000 | 2422 | 24 | 1 hr/day basement |
| Noma FLE26HT3/23 | 10000 | 1879 | 19 | 1 hr/day basement |
| Philips ELJdT 42W | 12000 | 1780 | 15 | 10 hr/day plants |
| Rona UltraMini 13W | 6000 | 919 | 15 | 1 hr/day basement |
| Philips Marathon 27W | 10000 | 1200 | 12 | 1 hr/day basement |
| Philips EL/mdT 15W | 8000 | 700 | 9 | 0.5 hr/day stairs |
| Luminus 13W 2913-E03 | 10000 | 600 | 6 | 2 hr/day bedroom |
| Globe Ultramini 9W | 6000 | 200 | 3 | 0.2 hr/day hallway |
Now we can calculate the dollar savings to actually expect. First, the average 1000 hr incandescent lamp produces 14 lumens/watt, the average compact fluorescent 60 lumens/W. So, each watt to a compact fluorescent saves 3.3 watts compared to an incandescent. Home electricity in Ottawa Ontario costs 12c/KWH (mid-2009, GST and kWh-derived costs included). Electricity used within our homes during our heating season saves on home heating fuel, but adds to air conditioning costs during the summer. The length of the heating season is 7 months in Ottawa, the cooling season 2 months, so this factor will slightly decrease the energy savings calculated below.
Standard 60 W incandescent lamps cost $0.92 (taxes included) and last 1000 hours, so a fluorescent lamp that lasts 8000 hours saves $7.36 in replacement cost.
| Type | Hours | Cost | KWH saved | lamps saved | net saving | use |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Philips EL/mdT 11W | 16700 | 5.69 | 606 | 16.7 | 82.42 | 10 hr/day |
| GE FLE7/2/CAM/827 7W | 21900 | 3.99 | 501 | 21.9 | 76.87 | 10 hr/day |
| Rona UltraMini 13W | 1160 | 2.80 | 497 | 11.6 | 67.51 | 10 hr/day |
| Rona UltraMini 13W | 9970 | 2.80 | 427 | 10 | 57.64 | 10 hr/day |
| GE 20W FLE20TT3/827 | 8000 | 21.79 | 528 | 8 | 48.93 | 10 hr/day |
| GE FLE7/2/CAM/827 7W | 11600 | 3.99 | 268 | 11.6 | 38.84 | 10 hr/day |
| Philips EL/mdT 11W | 8200 | 5.69 | 298 | 8.2 | 37.57 | 10 hr/day |
| Rona UltraMini 9W | 8540 | 2.80 | 254 | 8.5 | 35.50 | 10 hr/day |
| Sylvania CF23EL 23W | 3688 | 5.70 | 280 | 3.7 | 31.30 | 8 hr/day kitchen |
| GE 20W FLE20TT3/827 | 5900 | 21.79 | 389 | 5.9 | 30.37 | 10 hr/day |
| Rona UltraMini 9W | 7300 | 2.80 | 217 | 7.3 | 29.96 | 10 hr/day |
| Noma FLE26HT3/23 | 2422 | 5.08 | 210 | 2.4 | 22.46 | 1 hr/day household |
| Philips ELJdT 42W | 1780 | 14.68 | 247 | 1.8 | 16.56 | 10 hr/day |
| Noma FLE26HT3/23 | 1880 | 4.58 | 161 | 1.9 | 16.49 | 1 hr/day household |
| Luminus 13W 2913-E03 | 600 | 3.41 | 26 | 0.6 | 0.23 | 2 hr/day household |
| Philips Marathon 27W | 1200 | 4.50 | 30 | 1.2 | 0.17 | 1 hr/day household |
| Philips EL/mdT 15W | 700 | 5.69 | 35 | 0.7 | -0.88 | 0.5 hr/day household |
| Rona UltraMini 13W | 919 | 2.80 | 3 | 0.9 | -1.61 | 1 hr/day household |
| Globe Ultramini 9W | 200 | 2.80 | 6 | 0.2 | -1.90 | 0.2 hr/day household |
As you can see, the less the daily use, the less money is saved. That's because turning a fluorescent light on causes at least as much wear on the lamp as an hour of running.
The Sylvania CF23EL lamp package features the statements, "Save $184 in energy costs", and "Lasts 11 Years!". The actual lifetime was 1.3 years for the bulb above, the energy cost saving $31.30
Modern compact fluorescents weigh twice as much as an incandescent of similar lumen output (the earlier ones weighed up to ten times as much) and the materials of which they are made are much more toxic, so the environmental costs of production and disposal are much higher. Not only is there mercury in them, but the phosphors exposed when the glass is broken in a landfill are even more toxic than the mercury.
In short, compact fluorescent lamps save little if any money when used for standard evening household lighting, and they are ecologically more costly than equivalent incandescent lamps. They should only be used when left on for many hours at a time. Government regulations to force their use everywhere are counterproductive with both financial and environmental accounting.