- Traditional incandescent bulbs have been around since 1879 and the design has changed little since then. The light operates off a tungsten filament that receives an electrical current. The current causes the filament to glow brightly. Compact fluorescent bulbs, on the other hand, use an electrical ballast, which regulates current flow into the light. An electrical current is sent through a mixture of mercury and argon inside the sealed tubing, which creates UV light. This UV light---invisible to humans---then strikes a phosphorus coating on the tube that then glows.
- Although fluorescent lighting holds many advantages over incandescent lighting, it still is much less common than incandescent lighting. Incandescent lighting---due to its long history---is prevalent in almost every area of the world that features light. It makes up roughly 85 percent of the world's lighting as of 2010, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.
- One of the main advantages of compact fluorescent lights over incandescent lights is energy efficiency. Incandescent bulbs waste 80 percent of their energy on heat rather than light and are inefficient. Fluorescent bulbs are roughly 25 to 35 percent more efficient.
- Fluorescent bulbs also operate much longer than incandescent bulbs. They generally last up to 10,000 hours, while incandescent lighting usually lasts from 750 to 2,500 hours.
- Although incandescent lights are the least expensive to purchase, they have the shortest lifespan and the lowest energy efficiency of all types of lighting. The operating cost over time of CFLs will be less than incandescent bulbs.
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