Science Fact Finder | Energy - What Is The Advantage Of Switching From Incandescent To Fluorescent Light Bulbs?

What is the advantage of switching from incandescent to fluorescent light bulbs?

One 18-watt fluorescent bulb provides the light of a 75-watt incandescent bulb and lasts ten times as long. (A fluorescent light is tubular and its shine is produced by a chemical reaction; an incandescent light is bulbous and its shine is produced by heat.)

Even though the purchase price is higher, a fluorescent bulb is more economical over an extended period of time. An 18-watt fluorescent light bulb, over its lifetime, uses far less electricity than a 75-watt incandescent bulb. In fact, the use of a fluorescent bulb saves 80 pounds (36 kilograms) of coal (coal is used to produce electricity). This translates into 250 fewer pounds (113 kilograms) of carbon dioxide released into the Earth's atmosphere.

Source: MacEachern, Diane. Save Our Planet, p. 34.

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