Changing Attitudes on Changing Lamps

New triple tube lamps (left), and helical lamps (right) are almost small enough to go anywhere an A-lamp (center) can go.

Linear fluorescent tubes now come in a variety of lengths and diameters, from the traditional 1 1/2-in diameter T-12s (left) down to the new pencil-thin 1/4-in T-2s (right).

Screw-in CFLs that work with standard dimmer switches are now available (center), as are CFLs designed for 3-way sockets. Shown are the 2D lamp (right) and Circline lamp (left).

Working in the Fixtures Lab over the last four years, I have seen firsthand how quickly compact fluorescent lamp (CFL) technology has changed, and how slowly the public perception of fluorescent lighting has followed. Many people still feel that fluorescent light is better than no light at all, but just barely. After all, people have suffered under bluish, flickering and buzzing cool-white fluorescent lights for decades at work, and the last thing they want to do is bring one home with them.

Fortunately, CFLs have improved considerably. High-quality phosphors and electronic ballasts that first began to appear in the early 1990s are now the industry standards, and are built into all but the least expensive CFLs. CFLs come in many shapes, sizes, and colors, giving consumers many options when deciding what is attractive and what is not. If they didn't have fluorescent in the middle of their name, consumers might just give them a chance. And the CFL may still have its day. Major technical barriers have been overcome, prices continue to drop, and availability is increasing.

They cost too much

Even some environmentally conscious individuals who would walk 10 miles to recycle an aluminum can are unwilling to slap down $15 to buy a CFL that would save them $60 in energy. Luckily, the market has matured and initial price is less and less of an excuse. Consumers can walk into Home Depot and choose from a wide variety of CFLs starting at around $5. While less expensive CFLs are often of dubious quality or rely on outdated technology, at least they are available. The best lamps cost around $20. CFL torchieres, including fixture, ballast, and lamp, sell for between $30 and $150.

They don't fit in my fixture

With over 100 types of CFL now on the market, there is a lamp for almost every application. Two developments in the last couple of years have led to the production of CFLs small enough to fit almost anywhere that the traditional light bulb--the A-lamp--will fit.

First, improvements in the durability of the CFL's phosphors have increased lamp power density--that is, there is more light emission per unit area of the CFL lamp wall. Thus the length of the lamp can be shortened for a given wattage. This has led to triple-tube lamps shaped like older CFLs, only shorter. Many measure only about 1 inch longer than an old-fashioned incandescent A-lamps. The other notable development is a new shape. The helical lamp, now available from at least two manufacturers, has a coil-wrapped tube that attempts to match the look, feel, and light distribution of the incandescent lamps that consumers know and love. Both the new triple-tube and the helical CFLs are truly compact and will fit in all but the most constrained spaces. And new CFL shapes and sizes appear each year. Even linear fluorescents are now available in a wide range of lengths, diameters, and colors to match a variety of applications.

They don't work in my dimmer

Dimming fluorescent lamps and CFLs have been around for years, but they used to require fixtures designed specifically for them (see Savings that Stick: Dedicated Fixtures). Most screw-based CFLs, installed in luminaires with standard dimmers, quickly change from $15 investments into $15 flashes of light. Now hitting the market is a screw-in CFL lamp that will work with nearly all standard dimmers. The lamp, a winner of Popular Science's 1997 Best of What's New award, can dim down to 10% light output.

Several other products that have been around for a couple of years are designed to run in the three-way circuits found in many table lamps. These high-output, 39W 2D or 32W Circline lamps with three-way switching ballasts compete directly with 50W-100W-150W A-lamps. The Circline is one of the cheapest CFLs, costing only about $10; the 2D usually costs over $20. Because of their flat, horizontal shape, 2D and Circline CFLs in table lamps send most of their light flux out the top and bottom apertures of the shade, where it can be useful, instead of into the shade, as A-lamps and vertical CFLs do.

They are unattractive

One big improvement in fluorescent lamps over the past few years has been their improved color. Color quality is measured on the Color Rendering Index (CRI), a scale from 0 to 100. Incandescents approach 100, but the low-quality fluorescents of a few years ago were in the mid-60s. Typical fluorescents today are in the low 80s. Today, CFLs are available with CRIs of 88, and a tube fluorescent has been developed with CRI of 92.

Most lamps are hidden behind lamp shades or sconces, so color quality is often more important than physical dimensions. In our lab we have two identical table lamps next to each other; one uses a CFL, the other an incandescent lamp. During a tour, when someone complains about how unattractive fluorescent lamps are, we make them guess which is which. They are usually quiet and attentive after that.

I don't know where I should use them

That's an important issue. When recommending how to retrofit a home, focus first on the fixtures that are used the most--typically kitchen, living room, and outdoor fixtures. Studies have found that, on average, fewer than 30% of the fixtures in homes account for 75% of the lighting energy costs (see Florida House Aglow with Lighting Retrofit, HE Jan/Feb '97, p. 21). This is because some lamps have higher wattages or are left on longer than others. By targeting the most used fixtures for replacement with CFLs, consumers can immediately cut lighting electricity costs by more than half.

Savings That Stick: Dedicated Fixtures Fluorescent torchieres are being released using various types of lamp. This fixture, designed at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, uses an F-lamp. The fluorescent torchiere designed at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory shows how dedicated fixtures can make the most of a CFL. This 65W torchiere provides 25% more light than a standard 300W halogen unit, while eliminating virtually all fire risks. Retrofitting torchieres requires new fixtures. Old ones can be sent back for scrap, where they'll do less environmental damage. These halogen torchieres went to the recycler when Stanford University banned the fixtures and offered free replacement CFL torchieres. Most fixtures designed for incandescent lamps can accept CFLs, but the Fixtures Lab at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) promotes dedicated fixtures designed specifically around the shape and optical characteristics of CFLs. Dedicated fixtures generally have the ballast built into the luminaire and use pin-based CFLs. Dedicated fixtures allow the lamps to be replaced without replacing the ballast, which generally lasts five times as long as the lamp. This not only reduces waste, but also makes replacement lamps much cheaper, since the ballasts account for most of a CFL's cost. Finally, energy managers appreciate dedicated fixtures because they know that incandescent lamps will never be used in the fixture. A good example of a dedicated fixture that is starting to hit the residential market is the fluorescent torchiere for which LBNL was awarded the Grand Award for Home Technology in Popular Science's 1997 Best of What's New issue. In late 1996, the 40 million halogen torchieres in the United States began to get bad press: they were causing house fires and wasting energy (see Bright Prospects for CFL Torchieres, HE Jan/Feb '97, p. 13). The halogen torchieres could not be easily retrofitted with any existing screw-base products.  LBNL researchers developed a dedicated CFL torchiere that optimized the unique distribution of two flat, high-lumen-output CFLs. This new luminaire uses a fluorescent source that is cool enough to touch. The design provides more light than the standard 300W halogen torchiere, uses 20% of the energy, and eliminates thermal fire hazards.  To promote and demonstrate the CFL torchiere, LBNL teamed up with Stanford University to performed the first-ever halogen torchiere Lamp Swap during the Spring 1997 quarter. In response to rising energy costs and several fires, Stanford banned halogen torchieres. The school offered students CFL torchieres at no cost. Stanford hoped to avoid the situation encountered by other universities, where torchieres were banned but resistant students with no alternative lighting hid their halogen torchieres whenever inspections occurred.  Stanford students embraced the 500 CFL torchieres that were traded for halogen torchieres during the swap. Some reluctant students first took the new CFL torchieres to their room to test out before returning minutes later to gladly turn in their old halogen torchiere. The old fixtures were recycled as scrap metal, while their halogen bulbs were collected for photometric testing at LBNL. LBNL's Energy Efficient Fixtures Group and Stanford's Energy Conservation Center continue to closely monitor students' use of and response to the new torchieres. This data will be used to improve future lamp installation programs at Stanford and other universities, increasing safety and conserving energy on campuses nationwide.  Ironically, the energy-hogging halogen torchiere has opened the door to the residential market for dedicated CFL fixtures. There are tens of millions of halogen torchiere owners in America, and many of them have a well-founded fear that their lamps are going to burn their houses down. But they have come to depend on the bright, high-quality indirect light they get from their torchieres and are not ready to give them up. These consumers may now consider bringing CFLs into their homes, as these dedicated fixtures prove to be the only acceptable alternative to the luminaires they like.

Erik Page is a freelance writer and a research associate at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

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