What are the advantages of using compact fluorescent lamps?

A compact fluorescent lamp or CFL has the advantage of consuming less power.

It works in the same way as a fluorescent tube light however it is made in a much more compact shape. This means CFLs can be used to replace ordinary light bulbs which have incandescent filaments.

If you replace your ordinary light bulbs with CFLs they will use only 20% (one fifth) of the energy to give you the same amount of light output.

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Energy-saving lamps, such as normal and compact fluorescents, save a lot of money compared to normal lamps which have an incandescent filament because of the fact that fluorescents don't use a high-temperature filament that produces more heat energy than light energy.

Mainly because they run "cool", a fluorescent lamp uses only about one fifth - 1/5 - of the electrical energy used by a lamp that has a hot, incandescent filament.

Put another way, you can use five fluorescent lamps, each giving out the same amount of light as one incandescent, for only the same total electricity running costs.

Another good thing about fluorescent lamps is that they have a useful life that is between 5 and 10 times longer than an incandescent lamp, saving even more money over a period of years.