A few e-mails have come through our contact form recently asking about CFL technology, specifically as it relates to the heat they create (or lack thereof) while turned on.
It seems that some folks are concerned about switching from old-fashioned incandescents, which are terribly inefficient as lighting products since only about five to eight percent of their energy consumption produces light, while the rest is dissipated as heat. CFL bulbs do not give off anywhere near as much heat, which is a large part of their overall efficiency. However, our concerned correspondants say that they rely on that heat from their lightbulbs to help keep themselves warm.
Let's think of the heat given off by an incandescent lightbulb. They're extremely hot to the touch, but you don't feel that heat very far away. It's sort of similar to electric floorboard-type heaters, which work well in enclosed spaces but are notoriously expensive to run and inappropriate for most heating situations. A better solution in most cases is a forced-air heating system, like your furnace, which pushes warm air all around, instead of the radiant heat given off by a floorboard heater, or, I suppose, an old lightbulb.
Since we know that CFL bulbs use 75% less energy to operate than their old-fashioned counterparts, we can estimate that the average household will save about $10 per year when they switch one bulb from an incandescent to a CFL. For those who are huddled around a lightbulb for warmth, I suspect that the $10 saved each year by a CFL would be better spent on a more efficient heating system!
Let's also remember a simple fact about heat: it rises. Unless your light fixtures are all on the ground below you, the heat given off by your incandescent lightbulb is probably just warming the ceiling around it. Again, not a very efficient way to keep temperatures comfortable, although it might keep your feet toasty if you've mastered walking upside down up there. (And if you have, I want to know more, so please don't hesitate to use that contact form to tell me about it.)
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