Increasingly, government regulations are recognizing the importance of conserving energy in order to make better use of the resources available on Planet Earth. Even small savings can add up when practiced by many people. For example, the European Commission recently endorsed a plan to phase out incandescent lamps by the year 2012. The hot bulbs will be replaced by energy saving lamps designed to provide cool light at a lower operating cost.
Incandescent Lights
Although the standard light bulb has been the norm for more than one hundred years, it is no secret that they are inefficient when it comes to energy consumption. Standard bulbs are made of a clear or frosted globe with a partial vacuum inside. The base of the lamp has a very thin filament or metal wire through which electricity is passed. The filament quickly glows red and then white hot. In the process it gives off both heat and light. Unfortunately only ten percent of the energy is converted into light. The rest is released as heat, as anyone who has tried to touch a light bulb is aware.
Fluorescent Lights
A fluorescent bulb saves energy because is constructed in an entirely different way than an incandescent lamp. No heat is produced and wasted with a fluorescent bulb. The energy -saving fluorescent lamp has three main parts: the base that attaches the power supply, the electronic circuit that includes a small transformer, and the glass bulb containing a small amount of mercury.
Fluorescent lamps work by generating moving atoms, thanks to the power circuit. The excited electrons that result enter the glass tubes and collide with atoms of mercury. The energy from the collision with mercury atoms is released as ultraviolet light. The inside of the glass tubes is coated with phosphor. When the UV light strikes the phosphor, it is converted into light within the visible range.
By using fluorescent bulbs, you get a usage curve of about 1000%. Energy consumption required to operate one of these lamps is only about twenty percent of that used by a standard bulb. Using standard bulbs releases more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, almost a ton more than released over the lifetime of a fluorescent lamp.
LED Technology
More recently, technology in the manufacture of light bulbs operated by a light-emitting diode (LED) has blossomed. An LED acts much like a standard lamp, but it uses a stream of electrons as the source of light, rather than using a metal filament. As with fluorescent lights, LED lights are cool and thus do not create heat as well as light. LED lights are very long-lived. Imagine not needing to replace a string of Christmas lights for an entire lifetime. At present, LED lights come in many colors. They cost more to manufacture, but energy consumption will be reduced.
Applications
Lamps are used to brighten your home, to provide lighting and warnings in traffic, to decorate homes and businesses during the holiday season and to advertise goods and services in outdoor settings. The information and beautification produced by the use of electric lights is undeniable. Technology now allows for the continuation of positive characteristics gained by the use of lighting, while reducing both the cost of producing the lamps and the cost of producing the energy supply.
Even if you don't subscribe to the whole concept of global warming, it just makes good sense to purchase and use energy saving lamps to light your home. You won't need to replace bulbs as often and the cost to operate the lights will show you savings on your energy bill. - 32387
Incandescent Lights
Although the standard light bulb has been the norm for more than one hundred years, it is no secret that they are inefficient when it comes to energy consumption. Standard bulbs are made of a clear or frosted globe with a partial vacuum inside. The base of the lamp has a very thin filament or metal wire through which electricity is passed. The filament quickly glows red and then white hot. In the process it gives off both heat and light. Unfortunately only ten percent of the energy is converted into light. The rest is released as heat, as anyone who has tried to touch a light bulb is aware.
Fluorescent Lights
A fluorescent bulb saves energy because is constructed in an entirely different way than an incandescent lamp. No heat is produced and wasted with a fluorescent bulb. The energy -saving fluorescent lamp has three main parts: the base that attaches the power supply, the electronic circuit that includes a small transformer, and the glass bulb containing a small amount of mercury.
Fluorescent lamps work by generating moving atoms, thanks to the power circuit. The excited electrons that result enter the glass tubes and collide with atoms of mercury. The energy from the collision with mercury atoms is released as ultraviolet light. The inside of the glass tubes is coated with phosphor. When the UV light strikes the phosphor, it is converted into light within the visible range.
By using fluorescent bulbs, you get a usage curve of about 1000%. Energy consumption required to operate one of these lamps is only about twenty percent of that used by a standard bulb. Using standard bulbs releases more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, almost a ton more than released over the lifetime of a fluorescent lamp.
LED Technology
More recently, technology in the manufacture of light bulbs operated by a light-emitting diode (LED) has blossomed. An LED acts much like a standard lamp, but it uses a stream of electrons as the source of light, rather than using a metal filament. As with fluorescent lights, LED lights are cool and thus do not create heat as well as light. LED lights are very long-lived. Imagine not needing to replace a string of Christmas lights for an entire lifetime. At present, LED lights come in many colors. They cost more to manufacture, but energy consumption will be reduced.
Applications
Lamps are used to brighten your home, to provide lighting and warnings in traffic, to decorate homes and businesses during the holiday season and to advertise goods and services in outdoor settings. The information and beautification produced by the use of electric lights is undeniable. Technology now allows for the continuation of positive characteristics gained by the use of lighting, while reducing both the cost of producing the lamps and the cost of producing the energy supply.
Even if you don't subscribe to the whole concept of global warming, it just makes good sense to purchase and use energy saving lamps to light your home. You won't need to replace bulbs as often and the cost to operate the lights will show you savings on your energy bill. - 32387
About the Author:
Employing energy saving lamps in the rooms in your house that have a lot of use can save the you a lot of money. An energy saving lamp lasts longer than a regular lamp and they are easy to find.
