Run for your lives! Compact Fluorescent light bulbs are coming, and they’re going to poison you and your children! They’ll spray mercury all over your house, while simultaneously robbing you of your freedom! They’ll turn your home into a toxic wasteland! They’ll consume your family in the federal government’s Bolshevik plot to establish a New World Order! Subtext: Energy efficient bulbs will destroy life as we know it — they will literally kill you!

Fox News’ words, not mine.

So what can we do? How do we save ourselves from this menace? Hoard incandescent light bulbs! Hoard as many as you can! How dare President George W. Bush sign such a freedom-obliterating bill into law! He’s brought the bulb-pocalypse upon us all!

Sigh. Pointing out that Fox News is an overheated propaganda machine has become such routine business that all Media Matters really has to do anymore is stream its content verbatim.

Never mind that the efficiency standards don’t require anyone to buy CFLs (the “squiggly”, much more efficient bulbs that Fox has mistaken for Kryptonite). Never mind that more efficient bulbs will save consumers millions of dollars on their electric bills — a prime conservative value if you ask me. And never mind that it was that it was the GOP’s cherished president that signed this thing into law — with ample support from Republicans and industry.

Never mind all that — just head for the hills, and be sure to bring along a crate of incandescent light bulbs.

Normal light bulbs, known as incandescent light bulbs, waste 90% of the energy they use as heat. Only 10% of the energy used goes to lighting your home. That’s why you may be looking at CFL, or compact fluorescent lamp, light bulbs to replace your traditional incandescent light bulbs. But what’s the difference between the two? Let’s take a look at both types of light bulbs and see.

Incandescent Light Bulbs

These are the traditional light bulbs as Edison invented them. They operate by stimulating a filament inside the bulb with electricity. The filament heats up and excites atoms of an inert gas within the bulb—causing them to glow. However, most of the energy used by the bulb is lost to heat, so they are not the most energy efficient method of producing light. In fact this is so much a problem that they are slowly being phased out in deferment to new types of light bulbs.

 However, because of regulations put into place by the U.S. government, there are newer types of incandescent light bulbs being produced to be more energy efficient. However, they are still more expensive than current models.

Advantages

· Incandescent light bulbs are still the cheapest light bulbs currently on the market. However, their wasted energy and short life span make them less cost effective over the long term.

· They pose no danger to people or the environment if they are broken or disposed of in the trash.

Disadvantages

· Incandescent light bulbs have a low life span, typically lasting only 1200 hours before they burn out.

· They use 60 watts of power—most of which is wasted.

· Production of incandescent light bulbs producing more carbon emissions than any other type—and produces more mercury waste.

CFL Light Bulbs

Fluorescent light bulbs typically bring to mind the large overhead lights used by schools and factories. However, CFL bulbs are smaller but based on the same principle. Instead of heating a filament as the incandescent bulb, CFL bulbs use liquid mercury to light the bulb. This uses less energy than incandescent bulbs, but poses a health danger if the bulb is broken. Mercury is a toxic substance than cause health problems if inhaled or ingested.

Advantages

· A typical CFL bulb uses from 13 to 15 watts. When compared to a 60 watt incandescent light bulb, the energy savings can be significant.· They last longer than incandescent light bulbs—usually around 8000 hours before burning out. Disadvantages

· A single CFL bulb costs more than an incandescent bulb—around $3—but this cost is overshadowed by the savings in energy and replacement bulbs.

· Since CFL bulbs use mercury, there is a slight danger if they are broken. In addition, they cannot just be thrown in the trash when used up. You will need to dispose of them properly—causing you an inconvenience.

· Turning a CFL bulb on and off frequently greatly decreases its lifespan.

What about LED Light Bulbs?

There’s another, up and coming player in this debate: the LED light bulb. This technology is known mostly for Christmas lights and pen lights, but is becoming a more energy efficient type of lighting then all others. LED, or light emitting diodes, operate by passing electricity through a semiconductor. No filament and no mercury.

Advantages

· LED bulbs use less energy than any other. A 6 to 8 watt LED bulb will provide as much light as a 60 watt incandescent light bulb.

· They have a huge life span—lasting as long as 50,000 hours.

· No mercury is used and no heat is produced, making this option safer than any other bulb.

Disadvantages

· They currently come with a hefty price tag—usually around $40 to 50. However, you will wind up saving money in the long run because of its low energy consumption and much less need to replace them.

· LED lights work great if you want light to focus in one direction. They don’t work quite as well if you want to light up a whole room with it.