[GreenKeys] RF noise

[Craig Sawyers]

> Compact Fluorescent Lights are here to stay because they are
> "good for the environment" (despite the mercury content and
> disposal issues when they quit working).

Typically CFL's seem to have a mercury content of about 1.4 milligrammes -
at least the Philips ones do - independent of power rating from 8W to 33W.
Of course all fluorescent lights have mercury in them - the long tubular
type have quite a lot, much more than a CFL, and are used in huge quantities
(The UK consumed 55 million tubulars in 2007!).

If a CFL has a life of 10,000 hours and is used for 3 hours a day average.
That is 10 years life.  Now suppose a house uses 10 such lights - each house
will be responsible for 1.5 milligrams of mercury per year.  In the UK we
have about 25 million houses.  Assuming that every single house uses 10
CFL's (a gross overestimate), that would produce 37.5 tonnes of mercury
waste per year - less than 5% of that from tubular fluorescents.

So the use of mercury in a domestic lighting product is a media emotive
topic only.

Far more significant is the hash that they sqirt out over everything from
high audio through to VHF.

Craig