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or...Who uses energy saving light bulbs?
Submitted by Cath Tyrrell on 8th August 2008
I had an interesting conversation with a relative who is an engineering electrician. He told me that energy saving light bulbs are appalling in many ways and nobody should use them. He maintained they used more energy to produce than traditional bulbs; if they are adopted across the board they will cause all sorts of energy disruption that will be totally counter-productive and they have dangerous components within them that are being released into landfill on disposal (I think he mentioned mercury). He was far more technical and in depth than this brief and incompetent summing up, but I was very taken aback having just assumed that they were the environmentally friendly option.
Does anyone else have info or opinion on this subject?
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Comments
There are a lot of myths....
There have been a lot of myths about light bulbs.
They do use more energy to produce but it's outweighed by the amount they save.
They do contain a small amount of mercury but this is outweighed by the mercury released from power stations when using traditional bulbs.
There are also a number of reycling routes for these bulbs from which the mercury is recovered anyway.
Have a look at http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/energy_saving_products/types_of_ener... for a more concise explanation.