T-G readers are using fluorescent lights

Two-thirds of the respondents to a non-scientific Times-Gazette web site poll say they have replaced some or all of the incandescent light bulbs in their homes with compact fluorescent lights, or CFLs.

CFLs, which are basically fluorescent bulbs twisted into a spiral so that they can occupy the same fixtures as a normal light bulb, cost more to purchase than traditional incandescent bulbs but use up to 75 percent less electricity and last far longer.

"This is new technology and they save you money," said one poll respondent.

Out of 455 web site voters, 223 -- or 49 percent -- said they use some CFLs, while another 80 -- 17.6 percent -- have replaced all of their incandescent bulbs with CFLs. The remaining 152, or 33.4 percent, say they haven't switched to CFLs.

Electric bills for everyone have risen in recent months, with a TVA fuel surcharge jumping at about the same time winter weather hit. That's left some local residents looking for ways to save money. Lighting accounts for 20 percent of the average home's electric bill, according to the federal government.

But not everyone is happy with CFLs.

"I do not like them," said one respondent. "They do not shine as brightly and better not break or there will be hazardous waste discharged."

CFLs do contain mercury, as the commenter indicated.

According to the U.S. government's "Energy Star" web site, energystar.gov, CFLs "contain a very small amount of mercury sealed within the glass tubing -- an average of 4 milligrams. By comparison, older thermometers contain about 500 milligrams of mercury -- an amount equal to the mercury in 125 CFLs. Mercury is an essential part of CFLs; it allows the bulb to be an efficient light source. No mercury is released when the bulbs are intact (not broken) or in use."

Even so, the bulbs are supposed to be recycled rather than thrown out with regular trash. One major home improvement chain takes the bulbs, but there's nowhere in Bedford County they can be turned in. Bedford County recycling coordinator Gay Ervin said that in the past, she recommended that the bulbs be brought to the annual Household Hazardous Waste cleanup in Bedford County, but the state is not going to fund an HHW event in Bedford County this year. Ervin said the bulbs could be taken to an HHW event in another community.

Energy Star says the amount of mercury released into the environment by broken CFLs is less than the amount which would be released by generating the electric power to fuel incandescent bulbs. However, says the government, the best thing for the environment is not to break CFLs and to dispose of them responsibly.

Some commenters in the web site poll were unhappy because they don't find CFLs as bright as the incandescent bulbs they are rated to replace, although one noted that they seem to get brighter after they've been left on for a while. That same commenter also praised CFLs' much-longer life span.

"None have burned out yet," said the commenter. "It has been months on a few of them." The government says the bulbs last up to 10 times longer than incandescents.

Another commenter noted that perhaps the best energy-saving idea is less about what kind of bulb you use but about what you do with it.

"The best saving is to cut them off when leaving a room," said the commenter.

Voluntary web site polls are considered non-scientific because there's no way to guarantee that the people who choose to participate in the poll represent a true cross-section of the target population.