Compact fluorescent have a longer life span than that of the conventional incandescent bulbs and they also utilize lower amounts of energy. However, as production involves a new technology, the cost of compact fluorescent bulbs is higher than the cost of incandescent light bulbs.

The light spectrum that is radiated by compact fluorescent bulbs is also different from the light spectrum given out by incandescent bulbs. This is due to an improvement in the formula of phosphor being used in the compact fluorescent bulbs. This has resulted in the creation of a pleasing softer shade of white light as compared to the light given by incandescent light bulbs. In the 1890s, Peter Cooper Hewitt created a compact fluorescent lamp which acts as the blueprint upon which the modern compact fluorescent bulbs are built. compact fluorescent bulbs were released in the markets across the globe in the 1980s and since then they have been on an ever increasing rise in the context of popularity, acceptance and acclaim.

An important advancement in the system of fluorescent lighting was the use of electronic ballasts in the place of electromagnetic ballasts. This has helped in minimizing the level of flickering and also the slow starting up process which has always been a hindrance associated with systems of fluorescent lighting. While being compared to incandescent light bulbs, compact fluorescent bulbs often prove to be more viable because of a variety of features. For example, the lifespan of a compact fluorescent bulb is said to be between 8 to 15 times more than the lifespan of an incandescent bulb.

Incandescent bulbs on an average have a lifespan of approximately 750 hours to 1000 hours. Presenting a stark contrast to this statistic, compact fluorescent bulbs are known to have a lifespan ranging between 6,000 hours to 15,000 hours. Incandescent bulbs too can be manufactured to have an increased lifespan, sometimes as high as that of 20,000 hours. However, this feature comes at the cost of a resulting poor quality and quantity of the light produced.

When discussing the energy efficiency of the two categories of light bulbs, once again compact fluorescent bulbs manage to score above the incandescent light bulbs. It is recorded that compact fluorescent bulbs utilize an amount of energy which is can be one fifth to one third less than the energy that it is used up by the conventional incandescent light bulbs.

Most people believe that the increased cost of compact fluorescent bulbs can be an economical hindrance but in actuality, if one considers the significantly increased lifespan of compact fluorescent bulbs as well as the greatly reduced amounts of power being used up, in the long run, the initially high cost gets balanced out in terms of lower running and maintenance costs.

Incandescent light bulbs have an extremely thin filament constructed out of tungsten. The filament is encased inside a glass sphere. The incandescent bulbs vary according to the power consumption and energy output and come with different levels such as “75 watt” and “100 watt” and so on and so forth.

The conventional incandescent light bulbs function on a relatively simple principle. Electricity is conducted through the filament. As the filament is extremely thin it offers substantial levels of resistance to the electric current.

Due to this resistance, the electrical energy gets converted to heat. This heat energy is extremely powerful and it turns the filament “white hot”. It is this “white hot” energy which is released as white light. Due to the excess heat, the filament begins to glow and this lends the characteristic of incandescence to the light bulb, hence the moniker incandescent light bulbs.

Incandescent light bulbs have one major disadvantage which is that the heat energy results in a lot of wastage of electrical energy. It is in contrast to this principle that compact fluorescent bulbs function. Compact fluorescent bulbs contain a fluorescent tube which has electrodes attached to both its ends. The tube contains a gas comprising argon and mercury vapor.

The gaseous mixture allows for a steady flow of electrons from one electrode to another. This flow of electrons upon coming into contact with the atoms of mercury lends energy to them and this results in the mercury atoms getting excited. Upon vibrating between states of inertia to a state of excitement, the mercury atoms release ultraviolet photons. The ultraviolet photons come into contact with the coating of phosphor.

This creates the visible light. Compact fluorescent bulbs are far more efficient and effective because they produce far less heat. Compact fluorescent bulbs are recorded to be four to six times more efficient than incandescent light bulbs. Compact fluorescent bulbs have a higher lifespan as compared to incandescent light bulbs. They have a lifespan which ranges from 6,000 to 15,000 hours.

This presents a definite contrast to the 750 hours to 1,000 hours that make up the life span of an incandescent bulb. Compact fluorescent bulbs are also more energy efficient than incandescent light bulbs. The energy utilized by compact fluorescent bulbs is lesser by one fifth to one third of the amount used in incandescent light bulbs.