Everybody knows that to reduce energy usage at home we should be switching to compact fluorescent lights (CFLs). At the same time, most people are now aware that these bulbs contain small amounts of mercury, a metal that is best not released into the environment, especially inside a home. So what is a planet-friendly consumer to do?

Safer CFL
One option is a CFL made with safer materials; in the case of the ClearLite ArmorLite CFLs that would be amalgam, a safer type of mercury. Even better, they’re also wrapped in a silicone shell that keeps them sealed in the event that the glass should be broken.

LED
Even better than CFL is a newer alternative lighting technology: LED lighting, like the Pharox III, a dimmable 6 watt replacement for 60 watt incandescent bulbs. OK, nothing new about LEDs; they’ve been showing up as the little red, green, amber and more recently blue indicator lights in your electronics for literally decades now. More recently, they’ve gone bright white and turned up in flashlights (torches) and even cars and traffic lights. But now you can also get them in light bulb form factors for use at home.

Currently, they’re even more expensive than CFL technology, but the prices are coming down. And they should last longer than CFL bulbs and don’t have any mercury in them.

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