City of Hamilton, Ohio

Electric
4th Floor
Tel: 513.785.7200
Fax: 513.785.7230

CFLs & Home Lighting Efficiency

Making improvements to your home lighting system is one of the fastest ways to cut your energy bills. An average household dedicates 11% of its energy budget to lighting. Using new light technologies can reduce lighting energy use in your home by 50 to 75%.

Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFLs) are small fluorescent light bulbs that use up to 75% less energy than a traditional incandescent bulb and can be screwed into a regular light socket. CFLs should be used in fixtures that remain on for at least three hours daily. Switching from traditional light bulbs to CFLs is an effective, easy change every household can make right now to reduce energy use at home and prevent greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to global climate change.

Changing to CFLs costs a little upfront but provides a quick return on investment. To link directly to GE’s Smart CFL Savings Calculator, click here

If every home in America replaced just one incandescent light bulb with an ENERGY STAR qualified CFL, it would save enough energy to light more than 3 million homes.

All fluorescent bulbs contain a small amount of mercury (about 5 mg – equivalent to the tip of a ball point pen); however, the use of CFLs still results in a net reduction of mercury compared to incandescent bulbs. This is because of the lower energy use. Using less electricity equals lower mercury emissions from coal-fired power plants.

Even though CFLs result in a net reduction of mercury, they require careful disposal to avoid mercury contamination in landfills. The best way to dispose of used CFLs is to take them to an approved hazardous waste facility. Drop burned out CFLs off at:

Butler County Solid Waste District
10163 Cincinnati-Dayton Road
June through September
2:00 PM thru 7:00 PM

WHAT SHOULD I DO IF I BREAK A CFL BULB?
The U.S. EPA recommends the following clean-up and disposal guidelines:
1. Open a window and leave the room for at least 15 minutes.
2. Remove all materials without using a vacuum cleaner.
3. Place all clean-up materials in a plastic bag and seal it. Wash you hands after disposing the bag.
The first time you vacuum the area, remove the vacuum bag once done cleaning the area and put the bag, as well as the cleaning materials, in two sealed plastic bags in the outdoor trash for normal disposal.