ZESCO recently introduced the Energy saving bulbs as part of the initiative to save energy and contribute in mitigating the Power deficit the country has been experiencing.

Energy savers, also known as Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFLs), are energy efficient alternative to conventional incandescent lamps. They consume up to five times less energy and can last up to fifteen times longer than conventional incandescent lamps.

Energy savers are used for both private and professional applications, thereby greatly contributing to energy savings in both residential and industrial areas. CFLs give the same amount of light as standard incandescent lights, but use only 20% of the electricity, so that a home can be lit using one fifth of the electricity consumed by incandescent bulbs.

Energy savers have become very efficient in homes as they will not only help save energy, but they will help people save money and the environment as well.

By customers using CFLs in homes, it means using less electricity for the same amount of lighting produced by incandescent bulbs. This means we can reduce the use of precious resources such as coal, diesel, charcoal and gas to produce energy for lighting and heating, as well as the amount of air pollutants released.

The CFLs are now largely being used in United States, Europe, Asia and most of Africa. Infact, some countries have actually banned the use of ordinary incandescent bulbs as they have realized the benefits that are being obtained from the energy that is being saved.

Ordinary bulbs are inefficient as  they only use 10% of the power for lighting and 90% is wasted as heat and only last 3-5 months, whilst CFLs last 3-5 years.

CFLs have been used around the world for over 100 years; and in the SADC region, all countries are using them to mitigate power shortages. For the period 2009 and 2011, SADC member countries managed to save 1500 MW of power from the use of CFLs.

CFLs are also very safe to use in homes or workplaces. Individuals need not worry over the mercury content. The mercury contained in a CFL (3 milligrams) is about one quarter the mercury content of the ordinary Fluorescent tube (12 milligrams), eight times less than that of the mercury found in a watch battery (25 milligrams), at least a 33 times less than the mercury present in standard household thermometers (100milligramms) and 160 times less than the mercury in the silver-colored fillings in teeth (500 milligrams).

Manufacturers of the CFLs are furthermore unanimous in their assertion that the lamps in the homes do not pose any risk, even if they break. The average amount of mercury in a CFL is about the size of a ball point pen and occurs in vapor form in the lamp.

According to energy experts, lighting makes up approximately 14% of the average household’s electricity account.  And 80 % of that can be saved by replacing ordinary incandescent light bulbs with energy efficient compact fluorescent lamps. However, mercury is an essential irreplaceable element in CFLs; it’s what allows the bulb to be such an efficient light source. Mercury has always been in all fluorescent lamps, high intensity Discharge lamps, neon signs, etc. In fact CFLs have less mercury than ordinary Fluorescent Lamps. So the perception that CFLs are hazardous to health is not exactly true.

CFLs can only pose an environmental hazard if millions are not disposed of properly because that quantity can cause mercury to find its way onto dumps or in landfill sites.   That is why for future generations to benefit, it is important for consumers to dispose of used CFLs cautiously, just like other electronic waste such as remote control unit batteries, fluorescent tubes, etc.

Despite the small amounts of mercury in CFLs they actually have significant environmental benefits because their use reduces the release of greenhouse gases. And this is because CFLs use less energy than incandescent bulbs, hence less carbon released into the air by Diesel and coal-fired power plants.

Nothing strange has been brought through the energy savers. They are merely an improvement of the ordinary Fluorescent Lamps which have been around since 1901. Only that, CFLs have been miniaturized, they save more energy and last longer. Meaning, it will take years for a customer in a home to buy another bulb.

Zesco has been promoting and distributing the energy savers around the country for free. Customers have been coming on board to exchange six incandescent bulbs with six energy savers. The company is also sensitsing people on the safe handling of CFLs and the benefits they can add to their lives through saving money through low electricity costs.