Harm and benefit from energy-saving fluorescent lamps

In recent years, the policy of switching to energy-saving technologies has led to the sale of a large number of fluorescent lamps. Although this type of lighting equipment has been used for a long time, disputes about their safety do not stop until now. So what are the harms and benefits of energy-saving fluorescent lamps, let's try to understand this article.

Properties of mercury

All concerns about the use of fluorescent lighting were not born from scratch. After all, the production of lamps uses a small amount of mercury vapor, which is poisonous to humans, as most believe. Understand the meaning of this stereotype will allow knowledge about the properties of this single liquid in natural metal conditions.

From the chemistry course we know that at room temperature the mercury is in a liquid state. By itself, this heavy silver metal does not pose a danger. However, mercury can evaporate even at such a low temperature, not to mention its more serious values. These pairs are able not only to be distributed independently through the air indoors, but also to form volatile compounds with organic substances, to be absorbed on household items, furniture and even on ordinary dust particles.

Vapors can penetrate building materials, the thickness of water and soil. Liquid mercury has a weak viscosity and a large surface tension, which facilitates the separation of one drop into many smaller ones. This further increases the area of ​​evaporation. Particles of liquid mercury are very mobile, which greatly complicates the demercurization of the premises. They easily dissolve in organic solvents and even in water in the absence of free oxygen. At pH = 8, the solubility is at a minimum. When this index is changed in any direction, the solubility increases. Liquid mercury can easily dissolve some metals, even noble ones. Thus, the so-called amalgams are formed. In this regard, it is natural that this substance destroys the metal structural materials.

The chemical properties of mercury are such that it is highly ionized, and this creates great difficulties in converting its vapor into relatively safe salts. At room temperature, it is not possible to oxidize it in air. Very strong oxidants are needed. Do not fit even dilute acids, such as sulfuric and hydrochloric. Requires concentrated nitric acid or royal vodka to pass the oxidation of mercury. It is the complexity of neutralization of this poisonous substance that makes it necessary to take serious security measures when using mercury in various devices, including fluorescent lamps.

Advantages and disadvantages of fluorescent lamps

Having understood the chemical properties of mercury, it becomes clear why the fluorescent energy-saving lamps, with all their advantages, have serious drawbacks.

Today we can not imagine our life without the use of artificial lighting. Whatever it is, lamps are used to create it. Most often, since the beginning of the 20th century, we have been using conventional incandescent lamps, which come in various capacities - 40W, 60W, 100W.With such a sufficiently high power, incandescent lamps have a low luminosity, which greatly affects their efficiency, which hardly reaches even 50%.That is, we pay money not only for lighting, but also half for heating the threads in the lamp.

Such waste in modern conditions is becoming increasingly inappropriate, therefore a complex fluorescent lamp has appeared. It is also called energy-saving.

What is the fundamentally energy-saving lamp different from the incandescent lamp?

The device of an incandescent lamp is simple enough that most people understand and know about it. Placed in a glass flask from which air is pumped out, the tungsten filament is heated to a bright glow under the influence of an electric current passing through it. The device does not understand the fluorescent lamp. Energy saving lamp is a glass bulb, which is filled with mercury vapor and inert gas argon. Also in the kit there may be, but not necessarily, a ballast or starter. The inner surface of the bulb is coated with a special phosphor substance. It under the action of ultraviolet radiation emits visible light. When the energy-saving light bulb is turned on, electromagnetic radiation appears, which provokes mercury vapor to create ultraviolet radiation. It, in turn, passing through the phosphor on the surface of the lamp, is converted into ordinary visible light.

The spectrum of visible light can have a displacement in one direction or another. Therefore, there are fluorescent lamps that have light, whose spectrum is closer to yellow, and are closer to blue. The first are more natural, since their spectrum is similar to the spectrum of sun rays. Modern lamps have the same base as incandescent lamps, inside of which the electromagnetic radiator is hidden. The diameter of the socle is 14 or 27 mm. These are standard sizes, allowing to screw such lamps into any modern lamps and chandeliers.

Advantages of modern energy-saving lamps

Now we can list all the advantages of energy-saving fluorescent lamps:

• Serious energy savings. Due to the fact that the efficiency of such lamps is very high, they give 5 times more light energy than incandescent lamps. A fluorescent lamp with a power of only 20 watts produces the same amount of light as a 100-watt incandescent lamp. The savings are about 80%.Over time, luminosity reduction is not observed unlike incandescent lamps.
• High-quality fluorescent lamps have a lifetime, several times( from 5 to 15) greater than that of simple light bulbs. The manufacturer indicates 5 to 12 thousand hours of operation. This is due to the fact that they do not have parts heated to high temperatures. This property is convenient in those places where frequent replacement of lamps is problematic.
• Fluorescent lamps have low heat dissipation, since all their energy is converted into a light flux. Such lamps are slightly heated. Therefore, they can be used in any chandeliers and lamps, even in those where a conventional lamp of higher power can melt the cartridge.
• The increased light output is due to the fact that energy is not expended on heating the tungsten filament, as in incandescent lamps. Energy saving lamp gives light from all its surface. Its light is more mild and diffuse, which favorably affects the eyes. Different shades of the phosphor make it possible to produce lamps with soft or cold, yellow or white light. Everyone is free to choose a more suitable shade for himself.

The advantages listed above have largely led to the popularization of fluorescent lamps in recent years. This was facilitated by the unification of the cap with conventional light bulbs. Nevertheless, there are shortcomings, which so far prevent the complete replacement of incandescent lamps with fluorescent ones.

Disadvantages of energy-saving lamps

At present, the main disadvantage of energy-saving lamps is their too high cost, which exceeds the cost of incandescent lamps by 10-20 times. However, this disadvantage is offset by the economy and the duration of use. According to calculations, a quality fluorescent lamp can pay off in less than a year in some cases. This applies to those places where lighting is required daily. An important condition is the use of high-quality lamps, as some Chinese specimens have the same service life as incandescent lamps, if not less.

There is another important feature of energy-saving lamps, which undoubtedly needs to be attributed to a lack. This is the mercury vapor with which it is filled. Above we have already considered the danger of these fumes and the difficulty of neutralizing them. Therefore, it is too dangerous to break the lamps in an apartment and another room. Handle them with care. This makes them be classified as environmentally hazardous devices, so their disposal is regulated by special regulations and presents certain inconveniences to the user. Dispose of used lamps is prohibited.

Ways of Proper Recycling of Energy-Saving Lamps

An important drawback of energy-saving lamps is the use of mercury vapor in their design. This makes it unacceptable for them to be thrown into a garbage chute or container. Their disposal is strictly regulated. Two methods of recycling are known:

• Burned energy-saving lamps must be attributed to the district Deux or REM.They must be equipped with special containers. Acceptance in Moscow is free of charge on the basis of the Order of the Government of Moscow "On the Organization of Work on the Collection, Transportation and Processing of Used Fluorescent Lamps" of December 20, 1999 No. 1010-RZP.In other regions, there may exist their own regional regulatory legal acts regulating utilization.
• If there are a lot of lamps( this applies to businesses or offices), then an appropriate agreement is concluded with organizations that are engaged in activities for the reception and disposal of mercury-containing products. On the website of Greenpeace, you can find a list of points for receiving fluorescent lamps.

It should be remembered that our environmental safety depends on the proper disposal of hazardous appliances.

What you should pay close attention to when buying fluorescent lamps

When choosing energy-saving lamps for your purchase, you need to have an idea of ​​what characteristics and properties you should pay attention to:

• Power is a very important parameter. In fluorescent lamps it varies from 3 to 90 watts. In this case, it is necessary to multiply the power by 5 to understand what kind of luminosity this lamp will have, when compared with an incandescent lamp. Therefore, when buying a lamp for a particular device, you need to see what kind of incandescent bulb there was in it. If there was screwed a 100 W lamp, then you will be satisfied with a fluorescent lamp with a power of 20 W.
• Spectral characteristics of lamp light. They can be determined by the following marking: 2700 K - warm white light, 4200 K - daylight, 6400 K - cold white light. When the color temperature decreases, the spectrum shifts toward red, and when it increases to blue. So first you should choose the right color for you. Only after this it is possible to purchase bulbs of the same spectral class.

• The shape of the lamp is spiral and U-like. There is no fundamental difference in their work and characteristics. Simply the first few and more expensive second. It is also necessary to take into account the characteristics of your lamp. After all, not every light bulb can fit for it in size.
• By the type of cap lamp are also different. Most of them are designed for socle E27, and some for the base E14.Accordingly, if there are large cartridges in the chandelier, then the first type, if small, then the second one, will do. Lamps for office lighting can be in the form of long thin tubes. They have a fundamentally different type of socle and contacts.

All listed characteristics are available on the light bulb package. For example, the marking ESS-02A 20W E27 6400K on the package means that the lamp has a power of 20 W, with a large base( E27), radiates cold white light( 6400K).

lamps Summarizing the above, it can be concluded that the main advantages of energy-saving fluorescent lamps are their high efficiency and a very long service life. This gives a very serious saving, especially on the scale of the whole household. The assortment of such lamps in shops is large enough that allows each to choose a suitable product. At the same time, the difficulty may arise when recycling mercury-containing lamps, as not all cities have specialized enterprises engaged in this activity.