THESE days, not having a compact fluorescent light bulbs?or CFLs?in residences is almost unimaginable. They not only help households save money on electricity bills but also has become a symbol of efficient use of energy.

A CFL is a fluorescent light bulb that has been compressed into the size of a standard-issue incandescent light bulb and typically last at least five times as long and use at most one-fourth the power of an equivalent incandescent bulb.

Best used for rooms that needed lighting for long periods of time, CFLs are now being used in almost all locations where incandescent light bulbs used to be attached.

Improved popularity

?A few years ago, the use of CFLs is more of a luxury. But the lowering of its price and improvement of its quality versus incandescent bulbs and regular fluorescent tubes helped improve its popularity,? related Jhie Greenwood, marketing manager of Firefly Electric and Lighting Corp. (Felco).

Felco, which manufactures Firefly brand of CFLs has been one of the leading companies that helped popularize the use of CFL in residences.

Started operating in 2001, Felco was able to establish its presence here in the Philippines thanks to its provincial offices in Naga, Bacolod and Cagayan de Oro and partnership with more than 5,000 hardwares and electrical stores nationwide, including big names such as Federal Hardware, True Value, Kuryente Electrical Shops, CitiHardware, Wilcon Builders Depot and Ace Hardware.

High quality

?Because of our manufacturing plant located in China and the company?s tie up with a German technology firm, we are able to produce high-quality CFLs at a cost that most Filipino households could afford,? Greenwood said.

Their partnership with the German firm also enabled Felco to expand its product lines that now consist of (aside from their wide variety of CFLs) straight and circular fluorescent tubes, dichroic and linear halogen lamps, starter, ballasts and lighting fixtures.

?Firefly brand of lighting products are currently being exported to, sold in over 32 countries and available in a variety of styles or shapes, from the now ubiquitous two tubes to spiral-shaped tubes,? Greenwood said.

Greenwood explained that with nearly 20 percent of all home electric costs stemming from lighting alone, CFLs can have tremendous impact in any home.

Energy efficient

So how are CFLs able to do this? While incandescent bulbs create light by heating a filament inside the bulb (a lot of the energy is wasted in this process), CFLs like in fluorescent lamps contain a gas that, when excited by electricity, hits a coating inside the fluorescent bulb and light is produced as a result.

This process is more energy-efficient since heat is taken out of the equation in creating the needed light.

But one advantage of a CFL over its regular fluorescent counterpart is the ease of installation.

Just like incandescent bulbs, CFLs could be easily screwed into any incandescent socket, a process which is not as complicated as using a regular fluorescent lamp that needs a ballast and a starter switch in order to work.

Moreover, a CFL is available in several color temperature as determined by Kelvin (a unit increment of temperature).

?One could now buy a CFL that gives out yellowish light similar to incandescent or white like the ones given out by fluorescent light. It all depends on your taste and effect one would like to have in the house,? Greenwood explained.

According to him, these innovations in CFLs are now converting a lot of homes from energy hogs to an energy misers.

?Their long life and low operating costs make CFLs some of the most talked about lighting choices for any home or business. Using them is indeed, well worth the investment,? Greenwood assured.