why should we replace incandescent lamp with CFL

Have you seen the incandescent lamp of your room? Of course you have seen. What is the electrical rating of the bulb? How much light energy does it emit? How much you pay for the lighting your house or work place? Is there any method that reduces your energy bills? If you don’t know some of these questions, I am here to help you.



This blog throws light about how we can save energy.



A general incandescent lamp we use in our homes is 60 watts or 100 watts. A 100 watt bulb emits 100 lumens of light energy and is sufficient. We shall confine our discussion about the savings. The average life time of a lamp is 1000 hours and the cost is 15 rupees.



A 15 watt CFL ( Compact Fluorescent Lamp ) which does the same purpose of a 100 watt incandescent lamp. The average life time of a CFL is around 10000 hours and the cost varies around 150 rupees to 200 rupees.



Now I shall show you the savings in the energy bill if you shift to the CFL from the incandescent lamp.

Assume the cost of 1 unit of energy in India is Rs 3/- per unit. It may be higher or lower depending on the state you are in and the type of load whether household or commercial. I go with 3 rs per unit.

Cost of using 1 lamp for 10000 hours = (100watts*10000hours*Rs 3/- per unit)/1000

= Rs 3000/-

Cost of using 1 CFL for 10000 hours = (15watts*10000hours*Rs 3/- per unit)/1000

= Rs 450/-

Total cost (lamp cost+ energy cost) for 10000 operating hours = 15*10+3000

= 3150/-

Total cost (CFL cost+ energy cost) for 10000 operating hours = 200+450

= 650/-

Hence the total savings of replacing 1 lamp with 1 CFL = 3150-650

= 2500/-



If we daily use 5 hours for lighting, 10000 hours is meant for 5 years and 6 months.

However, the cost of 1 unit for industries and offices is quiet large and is around Rs 6/- per unit. The savings would be Rs 5100/- for 10000 hours. If we consider replacing all the lamps with the CFL’s the savings is further enchanced.



Miscellaneous benefits :

1) The amount of heat generated by the incandescent lamp is larger than the CFL, if we are using air-conditioned room, the savings is AC bills is improved.

2) Further you can decrease the ratings of any battery systems and the backup systems and preserve capital investment.

3) You have taken your part in preventing global warming by reducing your energy consumption.