If you haven’t known already, for the last couple years the big lighting buzz has been incorporating energy efficient lighting into public as well as private spaces.  A couple months ago, workers replaced the remaining incandescent bulbs (in total about 4,000) around Grand Central Terminal in New York City with new compact fluorescent lights (CFLs).  Not an easy task, so how hard is it changing the bulbs in your home?

People are discovering that lighting their homes has become a process with more options than ever before.  Here at CWOCA we’ll try to break it down for you, illustrating the pros and cons of each kind of major light source: incandescent, fluorescent, halogen and LED.

The pioneer of putting lighting on the market, excluding the caveman’s discovery of fire, is the great incandescent bulb .  It comes in many shapes, sizes and voltages, but the current problems are that they consume a lot of electricity and they contain lead at levels that exceed hazardous waste limits. On the upside they are  the cheapest kind of light on the market and help produce an epiphany when placed over your head.

They may have a negative effect on the environment compared to new lighting systems, but their quality of warm and soft light as well as the dimming option still give them their own niche.  The mellow aura that an incandescent exudes, make them perfect for mood lighting.  Try using them in fixtures with dimming abilities, as this will save energy, provide subtle lighting for intimate get-togethers and cozy movie watching.  To appreciate the full beauty of this iconic bulb, don’t cover it up with a lampshade; let it hang out in an open space; just make sure it’s not in the way of moving objects.   Alot of small restaurants in New York City do this to create exposed interior design particularly in a warhouse in Brooklyn.

Not surprisingly, most people are still using Thomas Edison’s familiar heated filament to illuminate their homes.  This however may change in the near future.  As soon as 2012, the US will start to phase out all general-purpose light bulbs less than 30% energy efficient than current incandescent bulbs as stated by the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007.  Southern California is even aiming one year earlier than the rest of the nation to do this.

Does this mean that after a few years you will never again see these familiar bulbs?   Maybe not according to some scientists who are developing a new kind of incandescent bulb that is twice as efficient as current ones.  If they are successful in making them last as long as the greener light options (covered in the next posts), the next generation of incandescent will be a major contender for illuminating the future.

There is also a portion of society who believe that pure scientific analysis of lumens per watt is not sufficient to understand the subtleties of lighting and that lowering energy consumption lie more in the habits of the user than switching over to “greener” light options which may arguably produce less attractive light.

Now that you know a little about the century old lighting originator, the next article will cover the energy saving options being widely used and their situational applications.

Next week: Fluorescents

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