CFL Vs. LED

Artificial lighting was first invented to illuminate a room in times of
darkness. But recently, beyond just the purpose of illumination, artificial
light is more of being used as an aesthetic element in the modern
architecture of many kinds of spaces. Conservation of energy is also one of
the main considerations in the modern life of the human race. Artificial
lighting accounts to about 15% of the energy consumption of a typical
building. It is then obvious that it depends on the supply of energy and
this energy – which is mostly of electrical form – should be used
efficiently.

Old model bulbs were made of incandescent globes which use a tungsten
filament enclosed in an air-tight clear glass case filled with an inert
gas. A high electrical current is used to heat the filament until it glows
while the inert gas protects the filament from oxidation. This process is
estimated to use around 5% of the electrical energy to produce light and
the rest is converted to heat.

New electrical bulb inventions mostly concentrate on improving this
disadvantage. Two of the most common such electrical bulbs are the Light
Emitting Diode (LED) bulb and Compact Fluorescent Light (CFL) bulb. These
new-tech bulbs are designed to replace the incandescent bulb in form and
function but with a much improved efficiency of converting electrical
energy to light. However the use of any of the two has its own pros and
cons.



[image: Typical incandescent, CFL and LED bulbs (as they appear from left
to right)]

Typical incandescent, CFL and LED
bulbs<http://engineering.electrical-equipment.org/tag/led-bulbs> (as
they appear from left to right)

*Light Emitting Diode (LED) Bulb*

These bulbs are made from a cluster assembly of small solid state light
emitting semiconductors that work by the principle of electroluminescence.
Even though these diodes were originally small in size and produce a weak
intensity of light, they have been improved to be brighter. The grouping
design is also made to resemble the shape of the incandescent
lamp<http://engineering.electrical-equipment.org/tag/incandescent-lamp>
and
the connector is made to fit outlets that were designed for theincandescent
lamp <http://engineering.electrical-equipment.org/tag/incandescent-lamp>.
These bulbs are advertised to use only a third to a tenth of the amount of
energy other kinds of lamps will use to produce the same amount of light.

*Compact Fluorescent Light (CFL) Bulb*

As their name indicates these lamps are fluorescent lamps constructed in a
compact shape and size. The working principle here is using electrical
discharge to excite a small trace of mercury vapor – which is trapped in a
glass tube that is coated with a fluorescent material – so that it produces
ultraviolet light. The ultraviolet light causes the fluorescent coating to
produce bright visible light. In order to support the discharge across the
tube, electronic ballast is housed in the base of the bulb. This process
uses only one third to one fifth of the energy an incandescent lamp would
use to produce equivalent amount of light.

*Comparison between LED and CFL*

- Efficiency: LED bulbs use close to a third of the amount of power CFL
bulbs would use to produce the same amount of light. This makes them the
ideal choice in portable applications for the purpose of extended battery
life.


- Durability: LED bulbs last ten times longer than CFL bulbs.
Additionally, the lifetime of a CFL bulb tends to drop drastically when it
is used in a frequently cycled application. LED bulbs also exhibit a far
better performance in a vibratory application.


- Cost: The complex manufacturing process of semiconductors makes LED
bulbs expensive on the market. LED manufacturers rationalize this fact by
the bulbs longer life time and energy efficiency.


- Environment: The traces of mercury in CFL bulbs will be spilled when
the glass is broken. The smallest amounts of mercury vapor are toxic to the
human body and cause nervous system problems. Mercury is not used in LED
bulbs.


- Versatility: CFL bulbs are limited to general lighting applications
while LED bulbs could range in size, color and shape. LED bulbs could be
used from decorative to heavy duty industrial applications.

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