Health hazard of CFL bulbs

CFL bulbs are as safe as incandescent bulbs unless the bulb is not broken. Once it is broken it has to be handled with great care. Never throw it in the trash. It has to be recycled.

CFL contains a neurotoxin called mercury (5 mg) in vapor form for its operation. It is this mercury vapor which causes health problems.

Environment Protection Agency of USA has issued a set of instructions as to how to Clean up a broken CFL. Here is a summarized version:

1. Have people and pets leave the room.
2. Open windows/doors for 5-10 minutes.
3. Collect broken glass and visible powder to a sealable container.
4. Place the container outside and dispose properly.
5. If practical, keep the windows/doors opened for several hours

Source:
Cleaning Up a Broken CFL

image copyright - howstuffworks.com

Use Pedestal Fan whenever possible

How do we feel air temperature?

Moving air is "cooler" than still air. Go to weather.com -> Colombo, Sri Lanka and there you can find "Feels Like" temperature. It is how warm temperatures feel to your body. Feels Like temperature is "calculated" using air temperature, wind speed and humidity.

Fans operate on this principle, i.e. it circulates air around you giving you a "cool" comfort.

There is no question that we need both ceiling fan and pedestal fan, just because their usage is different. But we can control how they are used. Average wattage of these two fans are listed below:

Wattage

	Wattage (W)
Ceiling fan	70 - 90
Pedestal fan	40 - 55

So, you can save ~30 watts of power ultimately reducing your energy bill if you switch to Pedestal Fan.

This is an innovative ceiling fan called Sycamore Ceiling Fan with two fold efficiency made using biomimetics by a company called Sycamore Technology in Sydney. I wish it will be available in Sri Lanka soon.

Mr. Electricity

What matters ultimately is the reduction of your electricity bill. Below web site tells you how to do that. A great site indeed!

• Mr. Electricity

Carbon Terms

Sometimes you may be familiar with these terms: "Carbon Footprint" and "Carbon Neutral". For those who don't know:

Carbon footprint:
A measure of the amount of CO₂ produced by the activities of an entity [person/organization/state/etc...]

Carbon neutral:

Absorbing the same amount of CO₂ as it produces.

e.g. You produce 1 Kg of CO₂ by your activities and you absorb [trees?] same amount or buy carbon credits to make up the difference.