By Katherine Allen

County Extension Director and Family

and Consumer Science Agent



With gas prices soaring, many people are looking for a simple way to save money. In the home, one way to reduce energy costs is to replace incandescent light bulbs to fluorescent light bulbs (also known in the lighting industry as “lamps.”)

Believe it or not, incandescent lighting is a very inefficient way to produce light. A campfire will help explain, by analogy, how incandescent bulbs work. The more wood (or fuel) you add to the fire, the more heat and the greater the light. This same general principle is true for incandescent lighting. Incandescent, or what we think of as “normal” light bulbs, consist of finely coiled wire filaments in a glass bulb filled with an inert gas. The wire’s resistance to the flow of electricity causes it to become hot enough to glow. So, the more wattage (or fuel) a bulb has, the brighter the light and the greater the heat. Amazingly, about 90 percent of the energy used by an incandescent bulb becomes heat, while only 10 percent becomes light.

In contrast, fluorescent bulbs convert more of the electric energy into light and less into heat. A fluorescent bulb has a phosphor coating on the inner surface of the glass which helps to convert ultraviolet energy into light. The ballast is a part of a fluorescent bulb which regulates the flow of electricity to excite the phosphor molecules. The ballast can either be hard-wired as part of the fixture (often seen in overhead kitchen lighting) or may be attached, as on a compact fluorescent bulb that can be screwed into a lamp. Note: A word of warning: If using these where they will be exposed to the weather, look for packaging that tells you whether they are for outside use.

Ballasts are either magnetic or the more energy efficient and better performing electronic. Electronic ballasts are typically lighter and produce less eyestrain, noise and flicker. Look for the instant-start or rapid start versions for lighting that reacts immediately when you flip a switch. Usually the ballast lasts longer than the bulb, which is a consideration when purchasing compact fluorescent bulbs. Over time, vibrations inside the tube cause the phosphor coating to vibrate off. When the tube won’t light, the phosphor has been used.

Now, here’s the great news...typically the fluorescent bulbs last ten times longer than incandescents. How will you know how long yours will last? Look for the “hours” on the packaging. If it reads that the bulb is rated for 10,000 hours, that bulb will light for ten years for at least 80% of its rated lumens. Lumens, you ask? Lumens are the measurement to know the brightness or light output of a bulb. Federal law requires both lumens and wattage (wattage is what you pay for on your utility bill!) to be posted on the boxes. So, now you can look for the lumens on your old incandescents and compare to the new fluorescents!

The old technology of fluorescent light bulbs produced a lot of light, but the quality of the light was poor. Today, great strides have been made. Two factors, color rendering index (CRI) and color correlated temperature (CCT), contribute to current illumination superiority. If you would like more information on CRI or CCT, please contact the Extension Office.

So, there are some fabulous lighting choices available in the marketplace today that can save money in the way that they produce light, as well as reduce the amount of heat they generate that your air conditioner has to remove. When shopping for lighting, start your comparison of brands with price, lumens, wattage and hours of life. If you need more information about lighting or other energy and water-saving techniques, contact your local Extension Office, which is available to connect you with the University of Florida/IFAS research. Locally, the Suwannee County Extension office is supported through the Suwannee County Board of County Commissioners and is available to answer your questions Monday through Friday. For more information contact Katherine Allen at 386-362-2771.

All programs and related activities sponsored for, or assisted by, the Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences are open to all persons with non-discrimination with respect to race, creed, color, religion, age, disability, sex, or sexual orientation, marital status, national origin, political opinions, or affiliations. For persons with disabilities requiring special accommodations, please contact our office at least five working days prior to the program so that proper consideration may be given to the request. Our phone number is 386-362-2771. For the hearing impaired, please contact the Florida Relay Service at 1-800-955-8771.