Honey, I Shrunk the CFLs: Crazy-Small New Bulb from SYLVANIA
The micro mini Twist CFL: Big light, small package
When it comes to the advent of the compact fluorescent light bulb (CFL), I am proud to say that I was an early adopter. And while I instantly noticed a reduction in my monthly electric bill, I also noticed that the compact fluorescent was not without its flaws. I found that the early compact fluorescents were often too bulky, preventing their use in certain fixtures; that they took a while to ‘warm up’ to full their full brightness; and that the light they put off could be a little harsh, especially as compared to the warm glow of the Edison-era incandescent light bulb. But times have changed, and the new micro-mini Twist from SYLVANIA is evidence that CFLs don’t need to be big, slow, and bright to be effective.
The micro-mini’s size is one of its biggest appeals and is what jumped out at me right away. Featuring an ultra-small ¼ inch tube diameter and a compact integral electronic ballast, the 13W micro-mini is the smallest CFL on today’s market.
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The bulb measures 3.7 inches long or over half an inch shorter than a standard incandescent lamp, a mere 4.4 inches. As you can see by the picture, the Twist is significantly smaller than the other 13W CFL I had in my home-lighting arsenal. The bulbs compact size makes it usable in virtually any lamp fixture, large or small - not a claim that can me bade about all CFLs.
The Soft White micro-mini compact fluorescent light bulb features a warm color temperature of 3000 Kelvin (K) and it boasts instant-on capabilities. The micro-mini Twist compact fluorescent lamps are available in 13-watt (W), 20W and 23W models. The mini CFL is designed to replace 60, 75 or 100W incandescent lamps and boasts an average rated lamp life of 12,000 hours.
Finally, I really enjoyed the ‘instant-on’ capabilities of the Twist. I often find that when I go to the bathroom and flip on the light, a CFL won’t reach its full luminescence by the time I am done with my business (thus cutting into valuable crossword puzzle and magazine time). This bulb, however, had no delay and was instantly bright as soon as I flipped the switch.
The only downside I found to the bulbs were how they were packaged. For a bulb that is claiming to be an energy saver, it seems that printing a picture of a tree on a useless cardboard tab is not exactly the best way to show consumers real concern for saving energy. I hope SYLVANIA will recognize this inconsistency and adjust the packaging accordingly.
Considering that changing just one 60W incandescent bulb to a 13W CFL will save the average American about $56 dollars over the life of the bulb. And that changing out all thirty-six bulbs (the number in the average American home), will amount to a savings of more than $2,000** over the life of the bulbs, it seems that an investment of $4.99 is a small price to pay for substantial energy savings.
**Based on 11 years at 10 cents/KwH.
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Photos: Hurst
Yeah, but does it contain mercury?
Probably, but also probably too little to matter to you unless you break it, and even then the cleanup is simple. You can find instructions online. And by saving energy there’s less pollution emitted by power plants for it.
13W is not the smallest CFL.
The smallest ones are 4 and 7W for the smaller candelabra socket. Often they come with adapters to mount them in a regular socket. IKEA also has had (still?) 11W ones with a bluish light - but with probably the best efficiency I’ve seen (lumens/watt) - that I’ve had in use for a good decade so far.
It’s nice to see the lifetime now creeping up to 12,000 hours - most are only 8,000 - and that’s optomistic. I’ve lost none of the CFL’s I’ve had in service for a decade - but ones I’ve bought over the past 5 years have had a signif. failure rate. Friends have had the same issue - even ones on 24×7 - not lasting near their rated life.
LED lights are currently $20->$30 each; about what I was paying for CFLs when I bought them - without the mercury and with a better life (I hope - it’ll come down the electronics).
If the average is 36 bulbs in one American home, that amount of mercury adds up quickly. Where is all that mercury going? Are we going to be facing a mercury issue in the years to come?
@Thad: We already are facing a mercury issue, with all that is emitted from coal-fired power plants. Mercury can be recovered from a spent bulb much easier than it can from the environment.
So, where can we purchase these magical micros? They don’t even come up in a search at Sylvania’s website…
Very nice, $5/bulb is still very high though. Also, there should be a simpler and safer way to dispose old bulbs.
If they break, mercury (neurooxin) contaminates your home. CFL’s are not supposed to go in the trash where they probably will break. They are supposed to go to a toxic waste dump.
@David - That’s great until the bulb shatters in your home and the shards (which contain mercury) pierce your skin.
Keep your anti-coal bs for the rallies. CFLs SUCK.
Mercury (plus a hundreds other nasty things) is emitted by every coal burning plant in the country.
By reducing the amount of electricity a bulb uses, you are directly reducing the amount of mercury emitted into the atmosphere.
So yes, CF bulbs have mercury in them, but overall they REDUCE the amount being put into the enviroment.