CFLs are made of glass and can break if dropped or roughly handled. Be careful when removing the bulb from its packaging, installing it or replacing it. Always screw and unscrew the light bulb by its base (not the glass), and never forcefully twist the CFL into a light socket. If a CFL breaks in your home, follow the EPA's cleanup recommendations. Be sure to properly dispose of your old CFLs.

CFLs are made of glass and can break if dropped or roughly handled. Be careful when removing the bulb from its packaging, installing it or replacing it. Always screw and unscrew the light bulb by its base (not the glass), and never forcefully twist the CFL into a light socket. If a CFL breaks in your home, follow the EPA's cleanup recommendations. Be sure to properly dispose of your old CFLs.

CFLs may or may not burn out in the same way you are used to incandescent bulbs burning out. Just like an incandescent, it is possible to find that the CFL simply stops working while other times there are visible signs that the bulb has failed.

All of the bulbs offered by LG&E and KU are approved by UL, the familiar Underwriters Laboratories, Inc., and are safety tested and approved for use in U.S. homes. "People expect to see the bright flash and to hear the popping like a traditional incandescent bulb, but the burn out of a CFL is different. The light dims over time and might produce a more dramatic pop, emit a distinct odor, and maybe even release some smoke," said John Drengenberg, consumer affairs manager, Underwriters Laboratories (UL).

In some cases, Drengenberg said that the plastic at the base of a CFL can turn black, but further states that this is also normal in most cases, as safety standards require the use of special flame retardant plastics in the base that do not burn or drop particles.

"CFLs are one of the products that we regularly test and investigate to specific UL requirements for electrical safety, fire and shock hazards," he said. "Any popping sounds or smoke that a consumer might see when a CFL burns out means that the bulb's end-of-life mechanism worked as it should have."

The EPA recommends that consumers take advantage of available local recycling options for compact fluorescent light bulbs. The EPA is working with CFL manufacturers and major U.S. retailers to expand recycling and disposal options. Consumers can contact their local municipal solid waste agency directly, or visit the EPA CFL recycling page or www.earth911.org to identify local recycling options.

CFL bulbs do contain a very small amount of mercury and, thus, should be disposed of properly.

Fluorescent light bulbs contain a small amount of mercury sealed within the glass tubing. When a fluorescent bulb breaks in your home, some of this mercury could be released as mercury vapor. To minimize exposure to mercury vapor, the EPA recommends that residents follow cleanup and disposal steps. A cleanup overview is described below. Please visit the EPA CFL recycling page for more information.

According to the U.S. Postal Service, the amount of mercury in an average CFL does not approach the quantity that requires it to be transported as a hazardous material under Department of Transportation regulations and CFLs can be mailed through the U.S. Postal Service.

Furthermore, the Postal Service partners with companies, agencies and organizations in ongoing pilot mail-back programs to safely recycle and properly dispose of small electronics, compact fluorescent lamps and discarded or expired pharmaceuticals. These programs use USPS' national infrastructure, create customer convenience and find new, innovative uses for the mail. If CFL bulbs were not able to be safely transported through the mail, then this service would also not be available for expired bulbs.

Information from Energy Star

According to the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America (IESNA), the rated life of a CFL is determined by operating a large sample of lamps for 3 hours on and 20 minutes off cycle and determining the median time until failure.

According to ENERGY STAR, while CFLs can be used with mechanical timers, electronic or digital timers may cause interference with the electronic ballast, and can adversely affect product performance. CFLs used on electronic or digital timers that aren't made for CFLs will fail far before their rated lifetime. Look for timers that are specifically made to work with CFLs.

The High Efficiency Lighting Program is available to all residential electric customers in the LG&E and KU service territory. As long as the customer's account meets that criteria (and they are not on the "do not campaign" list) they should be receiving a business reply card to participate in the program. Some customers have elected to opt-in to all of our future CFL mailings, and those customers will automatically receive CFLs with each new campaign.

According to ENERGY STAR, in this instance, using CFLs in your house would actually be preferable to using incandescent bulbs. "60-degree C" refers to the temperature (in Celsius) up to which the insulation around your household wiring will protect the wire safely. If the temperature exceeds that, the insulation becomes brittle and there is a danger of electrical shorts and fire. Around light fixtures, this can be an issue since incandescent light bulbs generate a lot of heat. It's also an issue if a circuit in your house is overloaded, since drawing an excess of electricity will cause the wire itself to heat up. Since CFLs are cooler than ordinary light bulbs, and draw less electrical current, they are perfectly fine to use with older 60-degree C wiring.

Warning! If the wiring has already been exposed to excessive temperatures or electrical currents, the insulation is already damaged! While CFLs do nothing to harm the wire if it is still intact, they cannot undo damage that has already occurred. If the insulation around your wiring has already failed, it should be replaced.