Starting in July, the U.S. Department of Energy has new regulations to upgrade old, inefficient, mercury-laden fluorescent light bulbs. About 500 million of the lights, called T12, need to be replaced. The change will save $10 billion a year in energy costs nationwide.
There are at least two kinds of lamps that are more energy efficient than the 80-year-old T12 tubes – T8, developed in the 1980s, and T5, which were produced in the mid-1990s. According to Katrin Mehler, president of the Miami-based company LUXADD, a leading lighting solution provider, upgrading to the T5 light is the best – though not necessarily the easiest – choice.
“The T5 has the best lumen maintenance, and it has an extremely low mercury content. It doesn’t evaporate like in the old tubes,” Mehler says. “But it is shorter in size, and that’s a big problem because it requires a different fixture and changing a fixture is very expensive.”
Mehler says one alternative to having to rip out a fixture and put in a new one is a new T5 fluorescent lighting adapter, recently introduced by LUXADD. The company’s Express T5 Retrofit Kit Series is designed to retrofit old T12 light fixtures to the T5 fixtures without the significant costs of parts and labor to replace the entire fixture. The T5 saves up to 73 percent on lighting energy costs and reduces a company’s carbon footprint by up to 60 percent. And because the T5 tubes don’t produce the same amount of heat as the old T12 bulbs, businesses will also save about 15 percent on air conditioning costs, Mehler says.
Retrofitting fluorescents has brought happy side effects. “Most of the time (the buildings) have been overlit to begin with, so we can go from four T12 to two T5 and nobody’s going to know,” she says. “It’s a little less lumen, but it’s still enough light.”
She says one client, from a CPA company, also noticed a noted difference in temperature after changing to the T5 lamps.
“He could never close the door of his office because the T12s were getting so hot and the air conditioning couldn’t go against it, and ever since he’s had T5s, he can close the door,” she says.
Mehler pointed out that some people are opting to switch to the T8 light because it doesn’t require a new fixture, as it has the same pins and length as the T12.
“But it’s still 30-year-old technology; it’s not a new technology at all,” she says. “What you really want to do if you retrofit and spend (big) money, you want to go all the way. You don’t want to get stuck halfway and go only to T8. You want to go to T5.”
Mehler says T5 tubes are also much better for the eyes than another type of energy-efficient light – LED.
“LED still has the bluish effect, like the ‘Twilight Zone’ … and T5 has a beautiful light,” she says.
Mehler says that with the savings in lighting and cooling costs, the Express T5 Retrofit Kit Series pays for itself within one year. Companies can add to their savings by installing things such as occupancy sensors, which detect motion in a room and turn on and off accordingly, as well as dimmers, which vary the brightness of a light.
“There are a lot of possibilities for consumers and companies to save on energy,” she says.
Tag Archives: lamp recycling
Green lighting: Ways to cut costs and save energy
NLR’s New Technology Still First & Best in the States
NLR’s new lamp recycling technology was first in the nation and continues to be the largest unit in the states. It can process up to 5,000 lamps per hours and can accept waste from multiple access points.
Full Circle, Part 4: NLR – The Green Apple
For whatever reason, the light bulb will not go off in the collective conscience of most American businesses when it comes to complying with the Universal Waste Rule.
Even though the rule has been a part of a federal regulation of the Environment Protection Agency since 1990, Raymond Graczyk said that only about 30 percent of private businesses properly handle the removal of universal waste such as mercury-containing light bulbs, batteries and ballasts – even though the numerous toxic effects of mercury poisoning has been well documented for years and years. Those effects include damage to the brain, kidney and lungs.
“What happens with mercury is that it accumulates in the environment, so when you’re getting hundreds and hundreds and millions of lamps being thrown out a year that mercury is released to the environment and then it finds its way back into the food chain, especially in fish,” said Graczyk, who is the co-founder and president of NLR, a company based north of Hartford, Conn., that specializes in lamp and universal recycling services for mainly commercial businesses. “[Awareness] is increasing some but it’s not as rapidly as it should be. It’s hard to say and necessarily come up with a reason why… Whether people aren’t properly informed. Whether they don’t care. I don’t know. Maybe they don’t realize how really available and easy it is to recycle.”
raczyk was working in the electric wholesale business before helping start NLR as a response to the EPA’s new regulations and the relative lack of a facility needed to process mercury-containing light bulbs in the Northeast. “There wasn’t any viable solution at that point in time,” he said.
NLR began with lamps — according to the company’s website it has recycled more than 300 million linear feet of lamp waste — and then quickly expanded to electronics and battery recycling and similar services. The company has more than a thousand customers in New York City alone, Graczyk said. He added that the company has clients all over the Northeast, stretching from Maine to Maryland.
“What we do at our company is keep a lot of mercury out of the environment,” said Graczyk, who also serves as the president of the Association of Lighting and Mercury Recyclers, which has an “Education and Resources” page on its website.
Here’s how it works: A large blue and yellow machine (see above) crushes the lamps and removes calcium phosphate powder that contains the mercury from the glass. The metal and glass is then separated. The phosphate powder then is sent off for a process called retorting where the mercury is reclaimed through the powder. In the case of lamp recycling and all other similar processes, the raw materials, such as aluminum from a lamp or nickel from a battery, is smelted to later be made into a variety of products.
At the moment, the main involvement NLR at the residential level is only through partnerships that have been arranged with municipal transfer stations throughout the area. That could change, though, as more Americans begin using compact florescent lights in their homes with the federal ban of traditional 100-watt bulbs. Furthermore, manufacturers will stop producing 75-watt bulbs on Jan. 1, 2012, but will be allowed to make 60- and 40-watt bulbs until 2014.
“I’m sure as the use of compact fluorescents becomes more prevalent than we definitely will be more involved on the residential side,” Gracyzk said. “When you throw out florescent bulbs, they don’t even make it to the landfill. They’ll start releasing into the environment from the dumpster because they get broken right away.”
Does your company use services such as the ones provided by NLR? What are your thoughts on the spread of mercury into the environment in regards to light bulbs? We’d love to hear from you on the topic.
Thumbs Up for Lamp Recycling!
Fluorescent lamp recycling for a business of any size has its positives that far outweigh not recycling and just going on with business as usual. There are positives that can be quantified, ones that can be physically seen and still others that have long reaching effects.
- Can be implemented quickly and easily. This often can be done through a national pre-paid program that can be set-up online in minutes or through a bulk pick-up service.
- Through tracking and reporting a business can have a total of all their recycling efforts across one or multiple sites. This will allow them to be able to craft a more effective lamp recycling program by being able to pin-point which program (bulk or mail back) is right for them.
- The bottom line. As with most things there is a charge for lamp recycling, but the cost is less than fines that can be assessed for improper management. Would a company rather pay $49 for a pre-paid recycling program that eliminates their liability or would they rather pay hundreds of dollars in fines for the same material that wasn’t recycled?
- By collecting and correctly storing used lamps a business can reduce their liability for breakage, environmental breach, and possible employee injury
- Lamp recycling can garner credits toward LEED certification
- Recycling is both environmentally and corporate responsible. Recycling lamps keeps mercury out of our landfill and in turn out of the water and food sources that can directly impact our health
- A lamp program can help a business increase their green image as well as convey a message of environmental stewardship to their employees and customers. Businesses can set up a company-wide recycling drive for all their employees or use their total lamp recycling numbers to quantify how much mercury was kept out of the environment. Real “Green Press” is green gold in today’s PR world.
- Simply-Its the law and the right thing to do.
Tips for the Day: Lamp Packaging Do’s and Don’ts
When companies are set to recycle their universal waste lamps there are some things they should know about how to package them. Our crack team of packaging specialists have put together the below list to help assist you in making the right choice:
The Don’ts
- Don’t use any amount (mass or otherwise) of any type of tape (duct, masking, scotch, electrical) to keep the lamps together
- Don’t place lamps in wet or damaged boxes. Hint: if you can push your finger through the box, see the lamps inside due to rips or if they fall out the bottom chances are its not usable
- Don’t try to fit a square peg in a round hole. In other words don’t put an 8′ lamp in a 4′ box or vise versa
- Don’t pack with broken/crushed lamps. Hint: if you have to use a dust pan or shovel to load the box then they are not acceptable
- Don’t let the containers “get fresh air” and be kept outside exposed to the elements
- Don’t break the lamps in the box to make more space
The Do’s
- Make sure you have the proper size boxes/containers
- Make sure both ends of the box are securely taped (Not the lamps)
- Be sure that the boxes are properly labeled with “Accumulation Start Dates”
- Store boxes in a dry space inside facility
- Use proper PPE (personal protection equipment) such as glasses and gloves when loading
- Make sure to use a properly permitted recycling company to transport and recycle the lamps
The Thin Green Line
Programs like office paper, glass and can recycling are often implemented by a business’s ”green team’ or as part of a corporate sustainability program. These programs help not only the environment but also provide a tangible aspect to a businesses green image and environmental responsibility. A corporate officer or employee can easily see the recycling bins and see what they have accomplished. However a company may not be subject to EPA fines if the program is improperly managed or liable for incorrect storage of these items.* Would a EPA auditor say “Hey those aluminum cans and paper for shredding have no accumulation date.” or “What is your procedure to guard against environmental breach of those Snapple bottles?”. Most likely not. So when does environmental responsibility become a environmental requirement? Answer: When a company generates used lamps, batteries, ewaste, ballasts or mercury devices.
While used fluorescent lamps are taken away to the proper storage containers in the back of a facility may not be in your face “look at us we recycle” it is still environmentally friendly and most importantly is the LAW. Simple things such as having a universal waste recycling program, trained staff or properly stored containers with accumulation dates can help companies be compliant and reduce their liability. All of these things can be accomplished without a environmental health and safety officer or being a draw on budgets. The below are a few simple steps to successful universal waste recycling:
1) Learn & Educate-Understand your state’s regulations and specifics on universal waste
• What is Universal Waste? • RCRA Requirements • My State’s Regs
2) Assess Your Company- Take a general look at what universal waste your company produces and how often. See if you are a small or large generator3) Plan the Program- Based on the amount of waste generated see if a national mail-back program or bulk pick-up service is needed. Also look at factors beyond quantities such as ease of management, your facilities locations, or specific needs of your industry.
4) Implement & Monitor- Once you have selected the proper program be sure to implement it company-wide, educate employees, monitor progress, keep recycling records/certificates and evaluate the program yearly.
5) Have Questions or Need Assistance? Get Help-Call 877.822.4733 to discuss your company’s specific needs, implement a new program or to enhance a current one.
*depending on what state your company is in this may not be true. Check your local laws and regulations.
Fluorescent lightbulbs are environmental timebombs
Fluorescent lighting is a ‘doomed’ lighting technology, set to be replaced by more efficient and environmentally friendly technologies, the managing director of Ruud Lighting Arabia has said.
Terming the lighting technology as an ‘environmental time-bomb’, Vic Andrews warned that fluorescent lighting could cause greater problems further down, despite their energy efficiency.
“I think fluorescent is doomed. From a performance point of view, they’re generally okay. [But] what’s happening now is that a lot of markets, Australia for example, have deemed that by the end of 2012, your incandescent light-bulbs are going to be replaced by fluorescent,” he said.
“That’s great from an energy point of view, but what people don’t realise is that they’re a bit of an environmental time-bomb. This is because every fluorescent contains mercury, a fairly high percentage of mercury.”
He explained that this could potentially cause major environmental problems as the mercury posed a serious contamination risk to water supplies should it escape into them.
“All this stuff is going into landfills, so you’ve got over a billion incandescent light-bulbs out there and you’re replacing them with time-bombs. Now, they work very well, but we also need to educate people about handling and replacing them, that’s the first part,” he explained.
Andrews said that he believed LED lighting technology could be a viable replacement despite its higher cost, which he believed would come down in pricing as the technology gained momentum.
“Eventually, more and more companies will go into retrofitting, developing lamps that will replace these (current lighting technology). There is an LED replacement now for an incandescent lamp, the cost is high, but you know, 15-30 years ago, the cost for replacing incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescent light bulbs was around $7 per fluorescent light bulb, now it’s like $1. So [pricing] is all relative.”
“I think that within 25 years, fluorescent and incandescent will disappear altogether,” he concluded.
via Fluorescent lightbulbs are environmental timebombs | ConstructionWeekOnline.com.
Farmer: Shedding light on fluorescent bulbs || OnlineAthens.com
By MARK FARMER IS A PROFESSOR OF CELLULAR BIOLOGY AT THE UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA. – Athens Banner-Herald
In 1878, Thomas Edison had a really bright idea.
With U.S. Patent No. 214636, Edison described an improved means of controlling electricity to a metal filament which kept it from melting. Thus was born the commercialization of the incandescent light bulb.
For more than a century, Edison-style light bulbs have allowed us to vanquish the dark and greatly expand the range of human activities. Perhaps no other invention has so transformed our society. But it has come at a cost. The fact that cities never sleep has added stress to our lives; light pollution swamps out our view of the heavens, and lighting accounts for a very large portion of U.S. energy use.
Homes and buildings account for more than 40 percent of the energy consumed. Approximately half of that goes into keeping the lights on. A single 100-watt bulb, used only six hours a day, can cost more than $25 during the course of a year.
As versatile and hardy as they are — one bulb in Livermore, Calif., has been burning nonstop since 1910 — the problem with incandescent lights is evident in their name. In addition to giving off light, they give off a lot of heat. And they do both of these things very inefficiently.
When electricity was cheap and plentiful, the wastefulness of incandescent lights mattered little. Even though more efficient lighting sources, such as fluorescent lamps, have been available since the 1940s, the Edison-style bulb has reigned supreme.
Today we are more aware of the environmental and human costs associated with energy production. As we struggle to develop alternative forms of electricity and wean ourselves from foreign oil, we no longer can afford to produce light the way we have since the Wright brothers first flew at Kitty Hawk. We need something new.
One such innovation is the compact fluorescent lamp. In the 1970s, American engineer Edward Hammer designed the now-familiar spiral fluorescent lamp, which produced the same amount of light as a regular bulb with only a fifth of the energy.
In the 1980s, the Dutch electronics firm Philips came up with a way of making CFLs compatible with standard screw-in sockets, and the first real replacement for incandescent lamps was born.
Hammer’s employer, General Electric, chose not to invest in the technology in the 1970s, so spiral CFLs were not commercially available until the 1990s, when they were manufactured in China.
In 2007, President George W. Bush signed the Energy Independence and Security Act, which detailed how general household lighting must become 30 percent more efficient than conventional incandescent lamps by 2014.
Most specialty lamps are exempt from these restrictions, and nearly all halogen bulbs and CFLs already meet this energy standard.
The act was supported by American lighting manufacturers.
With the first phase of the act set for implementation in 2012, some have been lobbying for its repeal. Minnesota congresswoman and Republican presidential candidate Michele Bachmann has said, “The government has no business telling an individual what kind of light bulb to buy” and talk-radio hosts have been brought to tears over the idea of these mercury-containing devices coming in contact with their grandchildren. Earlier this year, Georgia state Sen. Barry Loudermilk, R-Cassville, went so far as to sponsor Senate Bill 61, which would defend Georgia’s right to keep manufacturing incandescent bulbs.
The truth is there never was a light-bulb ban, just a requirement to make lighting more efficient. We all have reaped the benefits of similar laws that have brought us higher-mileage vehicles, new homes with insulation, toilets that help us deal with droughts and appliances that use a fraction of the energy of those of my childhood. All of these things have saved money and resources. Even if not a single CFL is recycled, over a lifetime of use CFLs release less mercury into the environment than do incandescent bulbs.
And CFLs are not the end of the story. Light-emitting diodes have the potential to do even more. LEDs consume roughly 10 percent of the energy of an equivalent incandescent bulb and therefore have only 10 percent of the environmental impact. LEDs contain no mercury and don’t suffer from the problems of cycling on and off that can shorten the life of a CFL.
We’ve been using LEDs for years in our TVs and traffic signals. Only their cost keeps them from being a viable alternative for household lighting.
Rather than trying to preserve a century-old technology, leaders like Bachmann and Loudermilk should put their efforts behind promoting the development and manufacturing of sound alternatives such as LEDs.
Now that would be a bright idea.
LEED the Way
LEED certification has started to become a staple of businesses in the United States. LEED for Existing Buildings (LEED-EB) is often the certification obtained by many property owners. It applies to building upgrades, retrofits and typically focuses on the performance of a building rather than the design.
If a business is going for LEED certification they are most definitely looking at their lighting systems for a retrofit or change over to the LEED-EB specified lighting standards. There is a category within LEED-EB called “Material Resources” that includes a prerequisite for low mercury bulbs. The prerequisite is detailed as to”establish and maintain a toxic material source reduction program to reduce the amount of mercury brought into buildings through purchases of light bulbs.”. It goes on to state the specifics including mercury content and specific lamps that meet LEED-EB. Most likely a business would need to change out it’s current bulbs resulting in a need for a proper lamp recycling program.
While lamp recycling is not required for LEED-EB it does fall under Occupant Recycling in Material Resources and up to 3 points can be awarded. Additionally this credit also requires 95% recycling for batteries, and 30% (1 point), 40% (2 points), or 50% (3 points) of all waste, including paper, metal, cardboard, plastic, etc.
We have always seen recycling as an easy initial rung on the LEED ladder. Setting up a lamp and battery recycling program is easy and can garner up to 3 points for a certification. We have put together the NLR LEEDPak to assist in this goal. The LEEDPak contains everything needed to start your recycling program including: Choice of any (2) 4′, 8′ BakPak or MultiPak containers and (1) BatteryPak at a reduced rate. Its the easiest way to start your path to LEED certification.
Learn About:
Vt. governor signs mercury lamp recycling bill
Associated Press – May 18, 2011 4:45 PM ETMONTPELIER, Vt. AP – Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin has signed a bill calling on manufacturers of light bulbs containing mercury to set up and pay for a recycling program for the bulbs.Vermont becomes the third state in the country – behind Maine and Washington – to pass what’s called a producer responsibility law for mercury-containing products.Lamps containing mercury, including compact fluorescent bulbs, are praised for saving energy. But mercury is a known nerve poison and is a cause of concern when released into the environment.The law calls for producers to provide for the collection and recycling of the bulbs and other products containing mercury, including some thermostats and auto switches.
via Vt. governor signs mercury lamp recycling bill – WCAX.COM Local Vermont News, Weather and Sports-.
