According to some reliable sources, if every household replaced just one regular incandescent light bulb with a compact fluorescent light bulb, it would prevent 90 billion pounds of greenhouse gas emissions from power plants, the equivalent of taking 7.5 million cars off the road. And the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says that by replacing regular light bulbs with compact fluorescent light bulbs at the same minimal rate, people would save enough energy to light more than 2.5 million homes for a year.
What are fluorescent bulbs?
Fluorescent bulbs are bulbs which have a coating of a fluorescent material within them. When this layer is energized by an electric current, it emits light. These bulbs are more energy efficient than incandescent bulbs.
What is an incandescent bulb?
An incandescent bulb is an electric bulb which produces light when the wire filament within it is heated to a high temperature. When heated, it glows with a visible light. Incandescent bulbs are the ones most commonly used in houses.
How are fluorescent bulbs better?
- Your electricity bill will reduce by approx 30%.
- Compact fluorescent light bulbs use at least two-thirds less energy than standard incandescent bulbs to provide the same amount of light, and they last up to 10 times longer.
- The only real drawback to using compact fluorescent bulbs is that each one contains about 5 mg of mercury, a toxic heavy metal that can cause serious health problems if inhaled or ingested over a period of time or in large enough doses. As a result, many environmentalists and other experts recommend recycling compact fluorescent bulbs to make sure they don’t end up in landfills.
Suggested Activity –
- See what changes you can make in your home.
- Ask your parents to do the same at their workplace.
- Talk about this with your friends so they look at making these changes in their homes.
For more environment related articles and videos, visit: https://mocomi.com/learn/environment/.