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Bright ideas for energy efficiency

A changeover from incandescent light bulbs to energy-efficient compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) has been aggressively promoted in recent years by climate change campaigners. Australia has officially announced the phasing out of incandescents by 2010 to achieve a reduction of about five million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions a year. Canada has also decided to switch bulbs and the European Union may follow suit, as will some American States. Citizen sector campaigns to & #8220;ban the bulb” are becoming more vociferous. Although it has a poor record overall on climate change issues, India has also come up with a significant proposal to encourage the use of CFLs. It hopes to fund the plan through the Kyoto Protocol’s Clean Development Mechanism (CDM). The major barrier to wider adoption of CFLs is the high initial cost. The Power Ministry reasons that, by subsidising lamp manufacturers, the end price can be slashed to a tenth of what it is now, which is typically about Rs.100. Consumers, power producers, and the environment all stand to benefit from the reduced electricity use. The bulk of the manufacturing cost of CFLs is to be recovered using the CDM. Considering that there are about 900 million lighting points across the country and that the demand is rising fast, every measure that can reduce consumption is important. A good CFL uses a fourth of the energy an incandescent bulb does for comparable lighting levels and lasts longer.

Environmental concerns over the presence of a small amount of mercury in CFLs have created apprehension among some that burnt-out lamps pose a disposal hazard. The counter-view, which is perhaps stronger, is that more mercury is released into the atmosphere by burning coal in power plants than by the lamps. The answer therefore lies in upgrading waste management systems. The lack of political will at the Centre and in the States to enforce the Municipal Solid Waste Management Rules and the Hazardous Waste (Management and Handling) Rules is leading to serious pollution of the soil and water even now. In the case of CFLs, the issue of collection, transport, and disposal of waste can be resolved by including a small handling cost in the price of the lamps. The Centre is apparently considering such a recovery fee for the cheap CFL scheme. The models operating in the developed world for collection of end-of-life CFLs (and other electronics) at stores and convenient drop-off points in cities may be worth adopting. More immediately, the woefully inadequate municipal waste management systems need to be upgraded and the State pollution control boards made accountable for enforcement.

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