■ Benicia resident highlights $1K investment, expected savings

Ken Paulk, a Benicia resident, announced this week he’s switching out all his light bulbs to light-emitting diode types, and expects to recover his $1,000 investment in 10-11 months through savings on his electricity bill.

But what are those bulbs, and why have incandescent bulbs been disappearing from store shelves?

Incandescent bulbs have been on the way out as countries worldwide began banning their manufacture, importation and sale. The United States joined the movement in 2007, initiating a gradual phase-out that concludes this year.

As inexpensive but inefficient incandescent light bulbs have disappeared, consumers initially were introduced to compact fluorescent light bulbs, or CFLs.

These are a small bulb version of long fluorescent lights that could screw into ordinary lamp sockets.

Their rival in the energy-efficient light bulb market are light-emitting diode (LED) bulbs.

CFL bulbs have raised concerns about their disposal, particularly because of their mercury content.

In addition, a report from Stony Brook University in New York indicated ultraviolet radiation leaks from those bulbs could damage skin cells if a person stood too close.

Some of those concerns have been disputed by researchers at Jackson State University, Jackson, Miss.

They said it would take weeks for the mercury vapor from broken bulbs to reach levels that could harm a child, and that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s cleanup procedures — including putting a broken bulb into a zipping plastic bag and recycling it at a home improvement store — is sufficient.

One researcher who participated in the Stony Brook report said people are safe if they stay at least 2 feet away from a CFL, though a Canadian government study said UV radiation at 11 inches from the bulb is no more dangerous than that from an incandescent bulb.

Other complaints about CFLs are related to their operation.

They can’t be used or don’t work well with dimmer switches, and they are dim — or don’t light up at all — in inclement weather. Some of the earlier versions of the bulbs didn’t come on immediately after a lamp was switched on, frustrating some consumers who objected to the delay.

Others have complained about the cost.

Accustomed to buying an incandescent bulb for less than a dollar, they were shocked to discover the energy-efficient bulbs cost from five to 10 times that amount.

However, some energy producers began subsidizing the new bulbs’ costs, and manufacturers of both CFL and LED bulbs reminded consumers that the electricity used during the life of a single incandescent bulb costs five to 10 times the original purchase price of the bulb.

The environmental firm Eartheasy has published a cost, use span, light production and power consumption comparison of incandescents, LEDs and CFLs on its website, www.eartheasy.com/live_led_bulbs_comparison.html.

Not only are energy-efficient bulbs cheaper to use month by month, they often have longer lives than the inefficient bulbs they’re replacing.

Many people are familiar with LEDs through the tiny single-bulb early uses in instrument panels and strings of decorative tree lights.

Eventually, manufacturers began clustering those tiny bulbs in flashlights and head lamps, then began using diffuser lenses to spread the light in wider beams.

That technology led to the development of LED light bulbs, initially designed for recessed and under-counter illumination and later constructed to fit and perform better in conventional lamps.
While LED bulbs have been priced at 10 to 12 times the cost of incandescent bulbs, two manufacturers, Cree and Phillips, announced this week they are lowering those prices somewhat — though the new prices still remain significantly higher than incandescent bulbs.
However, LED bulbs last up to 10 times the expected use span of CFLs, which themselves operate longer than incandescents.
LEDs are described as sturdier than the old bulbs, too. They don’t have fragile filaments, and are solid, so they are less likely to be damaged by bumping or dropping.
Nor do they produce much. They create 3.4 BTUs an hour, compared to 85 BTUs for ordinary incandescent bulbs.
That saves a consumer on energy spent to cool a house, though some wildlife rescue operations have said those old incandescent bulbs and the heat they produce are helpful in keeping injured birds and animals warm.
Unlike CFLs, the LED bulbs have no mercury, and use about 2 to 17 watts of electricity. Because of their low power draw and longer life, they’re becoming popular as lighting in remote areas.