You might think that a rural town like Caledon would have excellent air quality but on many days, we don’t. We contribute to smog through the electricity we use, thanks to Ontario’s massive coal-burning power generators – the biggest air polluters in Canada, major sources of mercury and climate change-causing greenhouse gases.
A household lighting tune-up is an easy way to reduce smog and greenhouse gases. Incandescent bulbs are popular, cheap and work in almost any fixture – but they are also short-lived energy pigs! If you’ve touched a burning incandescent bulb, you know that they generate far more heat than light. In summer this is double trouble, since your air conditioning works hard to remove this extra heat. Pot lights are huge power hogs. Incandescents are old technology, best suited to areas that get rare use.
Compact fluorescent (CF) bulbs are excellent when used in the right places. They run cool, fit in most fixtures, have a pleasant light, and are 90% more efficient than incandescents, lasting years longer. They are fantastic for porch or driveway lights that are on all night, and will pay for themselves quickly in such places. Newer designs are smaller and fit reflector and pot lights. They light up faster and are available in warmer colours than before, and prices have dropped significantly. Until Dec 19, you can get $4 off Energy Star qualified CF floodlights and spotlights with a coupon from the Ontario Power Authority.
CF bulbs can’t be used everywhere. They don’t work with dimmers and aren’t cost effective for lights that are turned on and off frequently, such as bathrooms and cupboards. CF bulbs will work with certain timers, but not all electronic ones. At my dental office, I use CF bulbs in waiting room, halls and all outdoor lights, using mechanical timers.
These bulbs contain a tiny amount of mercury, but using a CF bulb reduces mercury emissions far more than the amount contained in the bulb. When they eventually fail, drop them off in Home Depots new CF recycling bin or take them to Caledon’s Hazardous Waste drop-off sites.
The lights of the future are high power LEDs. Most traffic lights have been changed to LEDs. They run even cooler than CF bulbs, last longer, can be dimmed or turned on and off frequently, and contain no mercury. LEDs are fantastic for Christmas tree lights and pathway lighting – an upgrade everyone can make now. There are trade-in programs for old Christmas lights. High-powered reflector LED lights are now available to fit regular sockets or track lights, but they are not yet cheap or common- yet. They are ideal for cosmetic outdoor lights on houses, although it is far more environmentally friendly to just use motion detector lights for security.
If you want to take one green step this week, look for an incandescent bulb in your home that is on more than six hours a day, and change it to a compact fluorescent. Recycle it at Home Depot when it’s spent.
Cost: $3-10.
Payback: You’ll save $15 on your hydro bill annually for a bulb that runs ten hours a day.
Environmental Bonus: If every household and business in Caledon replaced one high-usage incandescent bulb with a CF, the power saved could run four hundred households. Over a year, we’d prevent 3500 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions and reduce sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxide and mercury pollution.
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Dr. Richard Ehrlich