Comparison between filament lamps and compact fluorescent lamps

Filament and Fluorescent Lamps Case Studies and Projects

Case Studies and Projects

Comparison Between Filament Lamps and Compact Fluorescent Lamps Rolf P. Pfeifer

Hauptstr. 75, D-79356 Eichstetten, Germany

Abstract "Produktlinienanalyse" (PLA) and life cycle assessment are analytic- al approaches which are used as instruments to survey the life cycle of a product, but whose main purpose can be viewed as being the optimization of this life cycle. The lesser known instrument of PLA includes an appraisal of product utility, and assesses the life cycle not only according to environmental, but also according to economic and social impacts. Moreover, PLA involves the agents rele- vance to the life cycle. This case study, a comparison between filament lamps and compact fluorescent lamps, shows that the purely environmental perspective is insufficient and omits a series of rele- vant criteria. It illustrates that additional social and economic para- meters, and the examination of the utility of a product, have a great impact upon this comparison. The method of product system improvement with agent cooperation is put forward as a technique for the transposition of the results into concrete action. This study was financed from own funds of the Oko-Institut e.V., Freiburg.

Key words: Life cycle assessment; product utility appraisal; product system improvement; sustainable product development; actor chain analysis; actor cooperation; actor networking; filament lamps; compact fluorescent lamps; product analysis

1 Introduction

In the past years, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) has matur- ed to a useful instrument for the analysis and assessment of the impacts of products along their life cycle, and now finds widespread application in industry. This instrument proceeds from a, so to speak, technocratic starting point. LCA tries to image the whole life cycle, to analyze this, and to use this analysis to assess the impacts. The assessment criteria, however, are restricted to those relating to environmental and resource issues. This deficit, i.e. the absence of further criteria or of the appraisal of the utility of a product, has become all too apparent in many cases, such as in the comparison between cotton diapers and one-way diapers (BAsT/DIEHL 1991) where the inclusion of social criteria has been shown to be indispensable for arriving at mean- ingful results. This has similarly been shown by a study to assess the impacts of the substitution of diesel fuel by rape- oil methyl ester (F~EDRICH et al. 1993), where economic cri teria had to be considered to model the alternatives against the background of the realities of prevailing market conditions, and thus to reveal that cost effects would com- pensate the ecological advantage of the substitute fuel.

This article shall illustrate the differences between LCA and "Produktlinienanalyse" (PLA) on the basis of a concrete example: A study undertaken by the Oko-Institut e.V. (PFEI- FER 1994) has compared the filament lamp with the compact fluorescent lamp using PLA methodology, and has also introduced the instruments of product system improvement ("Produktlinienoptimierung") and sustainable product development with agent cooperat ion ("nachhaltige Produktentwicklung mit Akteurskoopera t ionen") , as a means of transposing the results into concrete action.

According to the Enquete Commission of the German Bun- destag on the "Protection of Humanity and the Environ- ment" (Enquete Commission 1994), PLA and LCA are defined as follows:

�9 Product life cycle assessments analyze the entire life cycle (product system) of a product (including extraction and processing of raw materials, production, distribution and transport, use and consumption, and final disposal), analyze all environmental interventions, and assess all the material and energy inputs/outputs arising throughout the life cycle and their resulting impacts upon the envi- ronment.

�9 "Produktlinienanalyse" studies analyze the entire life cycle (product system) of a product (including extraction and processing of raw materials, production, distribution and transport, use and consumption, and final disposal), analyze the environmental, economic and social interventions, and assess all the material and energy inputs/outputs arising throughout the life cycle and their resulting environmental and socio-economic impacts. PLA studies also identify, analyze and assess the relative benefits of a product in the context of a cost-benefit analysis. PLA studies are reviewed-by a forum consisting of representatives of different groups in society (project group). PLA studies thus also comprise (as a constituent part) the methodology of life cycle assessment.

Thus PLA studies can be viewed as ultimately being an extended form of environmental life cycle assessment. The main differences between the two instruments are:

1. PLA further includes social and economic criteria. 2. PLA also identifies the utility of a product., analyzes this

utility, and assesses it with the instrument of a cost-benefit analysis. The comparison of the utility of two different products demonstrates much more quickly which

8 Int. J. LCA 1 (1) 8-14 (1996) �9 ecomed publishers, D-86899 Landsberg, Germany

Case Studies and Projects Filament and Fluorescent Lamps

advantages and disadvantages the compared products have, and whether the comparison makes any sense what soever at all or whether the utility packages are too different (for example when trying to compare the options of a bicycle with a car).

3. PLA involves the agents concerned in a life cycle. This may take place by direct participation (project workshops), or by simple interviewing of these agents and evaluation of the results of the interviews.

4. Where the improvement of the product life cycle is concerned, the PLA offers more possibilities for influencing this than does an LCA study. By involving the agents in the analysis and assessment, it is possible to pinpoint the roles of each agent within the product system, to clarify the separate relations of each agent to the product and to create specific means of product improvement.

In the following, the differences between PLA and LCA are highlighted using the example of a comparison between compact fluorescent lamps and conventional filament lamps.

2 T h e Resul ts o f the L C A

In July 1991, RUI~IK and D'HAEslr were commissioned by the European Environnaental Bureau (EEB) in Brussels to perform a study to find ecolabeling criteria for lamps in general. For this purpose, Rul~IK find J)'Ha~:sl~ compared two different types of lamp, the filament lamp and the compact fluorescent lamp, using the methodology of environmental life cycle assessment. The resulting study (Ru- 13IK/D'HAEsE 1994) served as the data foundation for the PLA prepared by the Oko-lnstitut, and the boundary conditions and findings of the former will therefore be presented in the following sections.

2.1 Boundary conditions of the LCA

The guiding aim of this LCA was to find and define criteria for the ecolabeling of lamps 1 under the European eco- label scheme. With this aim in mind, an LCA was undertaken to compare two fundamentally different kinds of lamp, the conventional filament lamp and the energy-saving compact fluorescent lamp. In all, four different alternative types of lamp were selected for analysis:

�9 A conventional s tandard filament lamp with a power input of 60 W, a light output of 650 lm 2, and an average life of 1000 h,

�9 a compact fluorescent lamp with integral electronic control gear 3 a power input of 11 W, a light output of 600 Im, and an average life of 8000 h,

�9 a compact fluorescent lamp with integral inductive control gear, a power input of 13 W, a light output of 650 Im, and an average life of 8000 h, and

�9 a compact fluorescent lamp with separate ballast, a total power input of 11 W, a light output of 600 lm, and an average life of 8000 h for the lamp as such and 32000 h for the separate ballast unit.

A further important boundary condiuon is the definition of the functional unit. RUBIK and D'HAESE use the criteria of brightness and average life for assessing this. The descriptions of the four alternatives clearly show that these two criteria differ greatly. The filament lamp has a much shorter average life than all three compact fluorescent lamp config- urations. Brighmesses also vary. RUBIK and D'HAESE state, "It is important that such comparisons are fair to the products examined, that is the alternatives must fulfil equiva- lent functions. To ensure this demand the symmetry principle claims that light bulbs have to satisfy the same needs". Following this principle, the functional unit is defined in the LCA as one million lumen-hours (lmh). This corres- ponds, over the entire useful life of the lamps, to roughly 1.6 times the light yield of a conventional filament lamp, and about one fifth of that of a compact fluorescent lamp.

As regards the inventory analysis criteria, the authors were forced to exclusively use data from the literature available in the public domain, as none of the lamp producers was willing to provide further information. The inventorization criteria relate exclusively to environmental and resource issues, namely energy consumption, raw material consumption, emissions to air and water, and waste productions.

The authors stress explicitly that the available data basis is insufficient and that there are, in part, substantial data gaps.

The life-cycle phases examined include the extraction of raw materials, the prodt, ction of intermediate products, the production of the product, the use, the disposal and the packaging of the lamps.

2.2 Findings of the LCA

The boundary conditions described above naturally also lead to particular findings along certain lines. In the following, the findings are represented by two main environmental issues. The many more findings not reiterated here pointed in similar directions.

Energy consumption: With respect to the criterion of energy consumption, the LCA clearly finds much more favorable results for the compact fluorescent lamp. The deci- sive weak point of the conventional filament lamp is its energy consumption in the use stage. Only some 1-5 % of the total primary energy consumption are used to produce the lamp itself, while approx. 95-99 % are consumed in the use stage. In total, a filament lamp consumes about five

i The term "lamp" is used to signify the actual source of light, such as a light bulb or fluorescent tube, while the term "luminaire" is used to signify the light fittings in which the lamp is placed, i.e. the housing, lampshade, the lamp holder or socket, etc.

2 lm (lumen) is the unit of luminous flux, and thus quantifies the light output emitted by a source or, colloquially speaking, the "brightness" of a lamp. Lux is the unit of illumination of a surface, referred to tech- nically and in this paper as "illuminance', whereby one lux equals one lumen per square meter.

3 Compact fluorescent lamps are based on the principle of electron discharge of ionized gas. This necessitates control gear, comprising some form of starting device ("starter") to create the requisite ionizing vol- tage within the discharge tube, and a device for controlling the lamp current once started ("ballast"). This control gear can function on an electronic or inductive basis.

Int. J. LCA 1 (1) 1996 9

F i l a m e n t a n d F l u o r e s c e n t L a m p s C a s e S tud ies a n d Pro jec t s

Table 1 : Energy consumption (in Mega Joule) of the different aher- natives over their entire life cycle (RuI~IK/I)'HAI-.~,I~ 1994)

All data in Mega Joule

'Incandescent lamp

lamp with integrated electronic

ballast

Compact Compact Compact fluorescent fluorescent fluorescent lamp with lamp with integrated integrated magnetic electronik

ballast ballast

Production of 0,8-3,1 1,1-3,7 intermediate ~roducts and ~roduction of lamp

Use of the lamp 875 174

Total 875-878 175-177

1,0-2,1 0,6

189-214 116-174

190-216 117-175

Table 2:

All data in mg

Production of intermediate ~roducts: - Air - Water

Mercury emissions (in mg) of the different alternatives over their entire life cycle (RUBIK/D'H,w',,I" 1994)

Compact fluorescent

Incandescent lamp

lamp with integrated electronic

ballast

Compact Compact fluorescent fluorescent lamp with lamp with integrated integrated magnetic electronik

ballast ballast

1,1-3,7 1,0-2,1 0,6-3,1

0 0

0,0001178 0,00007

notexaminer

0,000012 0,000001

0,042

1,9

0,5326- 0,5990

2,4746- 2,54101

Production 0

Else/Disposal 0 2,1

Energy caused 0 0,487593 .~mission

Sum 2,45801 2,58772

0,6

0,000054 0,000003

0,042

2,1

0,325012 0,487323

2,46707- 2.62938

to eight times more primary energy than the compact fluorescent lamp. A further consequence of the higher energy consumption of the filament lamp is that its ascribable emissions to air are much higher than those of the compact fluorescent lamp (--~ Table 1).

Emissions of mercury: A further issue of particular rele- vance here is that of mercury emissions. Compact fluorescent lamps both use mercury in production, and contain mercury in the final product. Mercury is highly toxic and accumulates in nature. Therefore this substance should be kept isolated, and emissions should be reduced as far as possible. The point is often brought against compact fluorescent lamps in that they represent a high hazard to human health, particularly that of users, because of this mercury problem. This point was researched in detail, with the finding that the total emissions of mercury over the whole life cycle of both lamp types, the filament and the compact fluorescent lamp, are approximately equal. This is due to the fact that the comparatively higher mercury emissions of the compact fluorescent lamp in the production and disposal stages (assuming that the entire mercury content is released) are compensated by the mercury emissions of the filament lamp that follow from its higher energy consumption. Coal has a slight, but detectable mercury content, and this is emitted by the conventional coal-fired power plants that supply the power for the lamp (-+ Table 2).

These results clearly demonstrate that LCA is an efficient instrument for analyzing and assessing the environmental impacts of products throughout their entire life cycle, in order to find weak points and, where necessary, to develop improvement strategies.

3 The "Produktl inienanalyse" Study

3.1 Supplementary boundary conditions of a "Produktlinienanalyse"

The three crucial elements that distinguish the boundary conditions of a "Produktlinienanalyse" from those of a life cycle assessment are:

1. An in-depth appraisal of the utility of the studied products,

2. the inchlsion of social and economic criteria in analysis and assessment, and

3. the involvement of agents.

Product utility appraisal:

In order to be able to compare two products with each other at all, the utility of both products must be identified and defined. In a further step, these two utility packages must be compared with each other.

In the case of the products under consideration here, we ar- rive, at first glance, very quickly at a specific utility: They must illuminate a certain space m a given level. Thus, in the LCA described above, the light output and average life of the lamps were taken as a reference basis without consider- ing any further characteristics, and the functional unit was defined accordingly. However, lighting is a more complex matter than this.

Light has further properties that are often made use of without the benefiting persons being consciously aware of them. These properties can be defined by the physical criteria of the light spectrum, color rendering of an artificial source of light, natural alternation between brightness and darkness, and other characteristics of lesser importance. The following gives only a selection of examples taken from the literature where this is described in depth:

�9 Invisible ultraviolet radiation is necessary for the formation of vitamin D3 which is indispensable for the organ- ism. This portion of the light spectrum also bestows an intensive feeling of life (GREINER-SCHUSTER 1990).

�9 Research at American universities has found that the natural UV-B proportion of light leads to the formation of substances that protect against cancer (SML 1989).

�9 The high proportion of infrared radiation that mainly oc- curs in the evening twilight leads to the formation of the hormone melatonin in the human body, which exercises a calming effect (GREINER-ScHUSTER 1990).

�9 Light exercises further physiological effects upon the ac- tivity of the thyroid, pituitary and sexual glands (STEUDEL 1989).

�9 Psychological changes are also caused by the brightness and the rhythm of the natural course of the sun. Thus, the absence of enough natural sunlight is assumed to be one cause of so-called winter depressions.

1 0 Int. J. LCA 1 (1) 1996


If we consider all these descriptions of utility, then we find an extended utility behind the initially assumed technical description: Interior lighting is then effective for visual performance and conducive to visual comfort if the quality of lighting and illuminance is similar to daylight or is daylight itself.

The advent of industrialization in Europe was accompanied by the widespread introduction of artificial lighting which has made it possible to turn night into day. The introduction of electric lighting also made it possible to arti- ficially illuminate spaces during daytime that would other- wise have remained dark. Thus, for instance, mine shafts could be lighted, factories could be built without windows and offices could be designed without daylight penetrating from outside.

The primary need, namely lighting with natural daylight, was thus joined by the economic demand for lighting inde- pendent of the time of day as a precondition to industrial economic development. We might call this the secondary need for the ilhlmination, by means of artificial light, of any given space at any given time.

Proceeding from these two levels of needs, we can derive the following utility aspects:

�9 The fundamental visual requirement of sufficient values of ilhunination (illuminance) must be ensured,

�9 the type of lighting used should have characteristics that are as similar to daylight as possihle, and should preferably be daylight itself,

�9 the light source must satisfy certain safety requirements, such as the avoidance of indoor pollution restllting from the operation of the source (radioactivity, magnetic fields, gaseous emissions, etc.),

�9 the selected lighting equipment or types of lamps should be suited to the usually required purposes and lighting schemes, such as localized lighting or the provision of uniform illuminance over larger areas, and

�9 the consumer should have access to the chosen alternatives without difficulties being too great.

To compare the two product variants, it is indeed necessary to define a functional unit. The concrete utility to which a functional unit should refer, of course, remains debatable depending upon the specific application to which a lamp is to be used. For a designer floor lamp for the living room which is generally only used in the evening and during the night hours to harmonize a certain ambience, the description of utility will certainly be quite different than in the case of a flexible arm lamp for an office desk. The definition must therefore proceed from the most important functional characteristics of a product. In the case of a lamp, this is the light output. The functional unit is thus defined in the same manner as in the above LCA, although with the difference that the further utility aspects identified above are also taken up in the subsequent analysis and assessment.

On the selection of social and economic criteria

As discussed above, the aim of PLA studies is to pursue an extended approach in analysis and assessment. This analy-

sis and assessment can therefore not be restricted to environmental criteria, but must address the whole range of impairments ascribable to a product, and must thus also include social and economic aspects. In the concrete case of the comparison of the two lamps, the following analysis and assessment criteria were defined in addition to the criteria used in the LCA:

�9 Influence of the light spectrum, the color rendition and the frequency upon humans,

�9 indoor pollution through operation (radioactivity, etc.), �9 particular operational characteristics of the lamps, �9 purchasing and operating costs, �9 availability to the consumer of the products through lo-

cal retailers, �9 the possibilities for the consumer to receive information

from the retailer, and �9 particular aspects of disposal/recycling.

On the involvement of agents

The most disparate agents are inw)lved in the life cycle of a product. Each agent stands in a different relationship to tile product. Thus, the interests of the individual agents also diverge greatly, as do their levels of information and opportunities to influence the product life cycle. If, for instance, concrete data on the production process are required, the manufacturer is best qualified to supply these. If, however, specific functional properties are to be identified and defined, this can best be asked from the consumer, et cetera. The same applies to any improvement of the product life cycle. If, for instance, the analysis and assessment of the life cycle shows that the wholesale and retail trade should undertake stronger efforts to distribute the product, this group of agents would then be the direct partner to contact for this problem.

In order to realize this inw)lvement of agents, the individual agents and the relationships in which they stand to the product must first be defined by means of an agent chain analysis. In our concrete exalnple, this takes the following form shown in Table 3.

Using the agent chain analysis, the individual agents can be addressed and invited to participate in a project workshop. This project workshop has the purpose of collating concrete product information for the performance of the "Pro- duktlinienanalyse" study, discussing the divergent interests of the individual agents and finally ensuring that proposed improvement measures are instituted more efficiently.

In our concrete case, no project workshops were conducted due to the lack of the necessary funding. In other PLA studies, however, numerous project workshops have already been performed and have provided the results outlined above.

3.2 Findings of the "Produktlinienanalyse" study

The findings of the PLA can be organized into three groups, as were the set criteria - i.e. those of environmental, economic and social nature, whereby the findings of a social nature concern aspects of design and application on the one hand, and aspects of environmental psychology on the other.

Int. J. LCA 1 (1) 1996 11


Table 3: Actor chain analysis of the compact fluorescent lamp

Life-cycle stages of Involved actors Roles o! actors the compact fluorescent lamp

Design and Designers, Specify the external dimensions construction of the engineers and designs, lamp and physical properties

(light spectrum, etc.)

Raw material Lamp Manufacture the lamp acquisition and manufacturers product fabrication

Distribution and trade Wholesale trade Distribute and sell the lamps, and retailers inform the customers of

applications and characteristics

Use Consumers Use the lamps and apply them in various fields

Energy supply Supply electrical energy for companies operation of lamps

Luminalre Design and manufacture designers appropriate luminaires for the use and of compact fluorescent lamps manufacturers

Disposal/recycling Consumers Discard the lamps

Recycle the lamps or consign them to final disposal

Bodies responsible for waste management (municipalities, disposal contractors, etc.)

Table 4: Radioaktive emissions of the incandescent lamp and the compact fluorescent lamp over their entire life cycle

All Data in Microcurie Incandescent Compact lamp fluorescent

lamp

Direct omissions by the lamp o 0-0,66

Radioactive gases 3.738 296

Highly radioactive waste 1.452.000 117.000

Emissions of uran by incineration of coal 0,74 0,06

Total 1.455.738,74 117.296,72

Table 5: Costs and cost savings of the different lamp alternatives for the user

Incancescent Fluoresc. I. Fluoresc. I. Fluoresc. I. lamp with integr, with integr, with ext.

electr, balast Induc. balast balast

7,64 18,49 Acquisition costs (in DM)

Costs during use :fit the lamps {in DM)

60

Total costs K G 67,64 (in DM)

Cost savings by using the compact Fluorescent lamp instead of incandescent lamp (in DM)

20,40 15,75

13

33,40 28,75

34,24 38,89

31,49

36,15

Ecology: The environmentally related findings of the PLA are naturally the same as those of the LCA, where the issues addressed by the latter are concerned. In addition to the issues examined by the LCA, research was undertaken on the issue of indoor radioactive pollution. The first gene- ration of compact fluorescent lamps with inductive ballasts

was based on starters containing radioactive material (usually krypton-85). Much attention has been brought to this problem in the media. Exhaustive research on this point showed, however, that (similarly to the case of mercury) the radioactivity emitted by nuclear power plants ascribable to the increased power consumption of the filament lamp is roughly twelve times higher than the total of the radioactivity contained in a compact fluorescent lamp plus that emitted due to its energy consumption. (--9 Table 4).

It further became apparent that a far greater array of materials is used in the make-up of a compact fluorescent lamp than in that of a filament lamp. In particular, rare- earth element compounds such as yttrium, strontium and barium are used to coat the discharge tube. Some of these compounds are highly toxic. Currently no technologies are available for their prevention. This means that the compact fluorescent lamp must be handled as hazardous waste in the final disposal stage. In the production stage, particular precautions must be taken at the workplace.

Economy: On the cost side, only the impacts upon the individual consumer were examined. The study showed that an average home in (West) Germany saves between 30 and 40 DM per year if compact fluorescent lamps are used instead of conventional filament lamps (--9 Table 5).

Retailing deficits are an associated point. A market analysis performed in the context of the PLA showed that the supply of compact fluorescent lamps is far poorer than that of filament lamps. In the average supermarket, it is rather the exception to find a compact fluorescent lamp, while filament lamps are practically always available. The sales personnel is correspondingly uninformed. Compact fluorescent lamps have particular characteristics in both installation and handling, to which attention should be drawn upon purchase. Only in the rarest cases was the sales personnel able to provide the most basic information.

Design and use: Compact fluorescent lamps have the disadvantage that they require a ballast unit. Because of this ballast unit, the lamps have relatively large dimensions and weights, and this can lead to problems in a flexible arm lamp for the desk if it acquires a tendency to sink down because of the weight or if the length of the discharge tube makes it protrude from the lampshade and thus cause direct glare.

A further disadvantage of compact fluorescent lamps is the unfavorable angle of radiation 4 which does not match present luminaires. Most modern luminaires are designed for use with filament lamps. Due to the differing angle of radiation of the two types of lamps, the luminous flux at the working plane (illuminance) is lower if a compact fluorescent lamp is used in a conventional luminaire than if a filament lamp of equal light output is used.

Another disadvantage of the compact fluorescent lamp is that it fails to deliver its full nominal light output if it is

4 The angle of radiation characterizes the field illuminated in a vertical cross-section along the axis of the lamp. Filament lamps radiate mainly to the side and downwards, compact fluorescent lamps mainly only to the side.

12 Int. J. LCA 1 (1) 1996


mounted both hanging and under cold conditions (out- doors). This is due to physico-chemical processes linked to the rapid dissipation of heat from the discharge tube. The packagings of these lamps fail to note this effect (and fail to note the necessary separate disposal as hazardous waste, as well!). Nor is the sales personnel informed about this point.

Environmental psychology aspects: The analysis of the cha- racteristic light spectrum emitted by the two types of lamp shows that compact fluorescent lamps emit light with a higher proportion in the blue spectrum range, whereas filament lamps emit mainly in the red part of the spectrum. The effect of this is that the light given by the compact fluorescent lamp appears "colder", while the light of the filament lamp is felt to be "warm". If the space to be illuminated involves work requiring high concentration or if the light is to ensure high rendition of contrast, the compact fluorescent lamp is preferable. In rooms that are more in- tended for a comfortable atmosphere, the filament lamp with its warm, more pleasant light will provide more suitable lighting. These perceptions are clearly strongly depen- dent upon the subjective impressions of the individual. It is impossible to make any final assessment of different sour- ces of light that holds true for all applications.

3.3 Product system improvement

Following the findings of this study, the ideal "ecolamp" of the future should satisfy the following conditions:

�9 Configuration: External electronic ballast with plug-in lamp, whereby the ballast should preferably be integrated into the luminaire. Benefits: This combination provided the best results in the assessment of environmental criteria. The reason for this is that the separate external ballast unit has an average life of approx. 32,000 hours, i.e. about five times the life of a compact fluorescent lamp with integral control gear. This impacts positively upon such criteria as waste development and environmental impairments via production.

�9 The luminous efficacy (light output per watt of electrical power consumed) of compact fluorescent lamps should be at least 50 lumen/watt in the future.

�9 Radioactive ballast units should cease to be used, since electronic alternatives are now available.

�9 The mercury inventory of an individual compact fluorescent lamp tube should not exceed five milligram. Production techniques should be optimized in this respect.

�9 The light spectrum of compact fluorescent lamps should be approximated to that of the full-spectrum fluorescent tubes already available on the market today. This would substantially improve environmental health aspects such as the psychological influences of the emitted light.

�9 It is essential that future packaging contains instruction on disposal and hazards in order to inform the consumer about the risks in disposal and hazards in use arising from the mercury contained in the lamps.

�9 The design of lamp fittings must in future be more orien-

ted to the use of compact fluorescent lamps. �9 The information available about compact fluorescent

lamps in the individual sale outlets must be improved. Noticeboards such as those found in the course of this study in some do-it-yourself store chains, and well-informed sales personnel should provide information on the specific use of and any problems associated with compact fluorescent lamps prior to purchase.

�9 In the supermarkets offering filament lamps, the range of compact fluorescent lamps should be extended.

�9 Recycling techniques for specific dismantling and materials recovery should be developed and implemented.

3.4 Forms of agent cooperation

The findings of the PLA study have shown that the compact fluorescent lamp is still, in many respects, far from 'perfection'. On the other hand, they have also shown that this lighting option offers benefits, at both the environmental and economic levels, that can be brought to be more efficient when accompanied by suitable improvements. Impediments to these improvements lie, above all, in the inadequate cooperation between the individual agents involved in the product life cycle.

These agents and their relations to the product in question have been described above. Figure 1 illustrates graphically interactions between these agents which can be taken as the basis for sustainable product development through agent cooperation. Regarding 1: The systemic link between the lamp and the luminaire makes it indispensable that the engineers and designers of the two products coordinate their work. Con- crete examples of such coordination are: Improvement of lighting installation efficiency by orienting ]uminaire design to the angle of radiation of compact fluorescent lamps, in- tegration of a separate modular ballast into the luminaire housing, etc.

Designers Engineers

Lamp manufacturers

Retail trade

Consumers

L Energy supply companies

Luminaire designers/ manufacturers

Bodies responsible for waste management

Fig. 1:

Designers ] Engineers

Lamp ] manufacturers

Retail trade ]

Consumers ] Energy supply

companies

Luminaire designers/ ] manufacturers

Bodies responsible I for waste management J

Interactions of actors in the life cycle of the compact fuorescent lamp

Int. J. LCA 1 (1) 1996 13


Regarding 2.: The retail trade is responsible for the sale of the compact fluorescent lamps to the consumer. These lamps represent a complex product, and the consumer is in need of advice on their installation, operation and disposal. The manufacturer is the agent in possession of this know- ledge and it should be in his own best economic interest to instruct the sales personnel so that these can pass on the necessary information to the ~onsumer.

Regarding 3., 5. and 7.: The consumer has certain expecta- tions upon the 'compact fluorescent lamp' product regarding its possibilities of use (in the office, at home for lighting and decoration, etc.) and physical characteristics (light spectrum, color rendition, absence of pollutant emissions). All these expectat ions should, as well as possible, be surveyed and taken up into the design and engineering process.

Regarding 4.: The retail trade is, as already noted under point 2 above, responsible for the sale and for passing on the necessary information concerning use and disposal. The retail trade is furthermore specifically responsible for the marketing of the products and their appropriate tende- ring to the consumers. At present, the supply of compact fluorescent lamps in the retail trade is very limited. The consumer is often forced to search for these lamps, whereas filament lamps are generally very well presented. The retailers are under an obligation to provide better presentation and wider availability of compact fluorescent lamps to the consumer.

Regarding 6.: The purchase of electrical energy delivered by the energy supply company is the indispensable factor for the operation of the lamp. The consumer has a justified interest in operating lamps that are as economical as possible, and this means lamps that consume as little electricity as possible. The energy supply company may have other interests.

Regarding 8.: The management of compact fluorescent lamps at the end of their life is problematic for two rea- sons. Firstly, the lamps contain a number of contaminants such as mercury, strontium or barium, and, secondly, the integral control gear makes them hard or impossible to recycle in an environmentally sound manner. Waste management bodies have a strong interest in the product being free of contaminants and easy to recycle. The great diver- sity of the materials contained in the control gear impedes recycling. The contaminant levels in the lamps make con- signment to municipal landfills impossible. The development of purposeful recycling technologies must be pursued, giving due regard to environmental criteria, in close cooperation between waste management bodies and lamp producers. The interactions between the individual agents discussed here make a closer cooperation between these agents necessary for the environmental, economic and social improvement of the compact fluorescent lamp product.

4 Conc lus ions

The above presentation provides ample evidence for the following conclusions:

�9 Both life cycle assessment and "Produktlinienanalyse" studies are excellently suited fi)r the analysis and assessment of a product life cycle, and lend themselves to the improvement of the associated product systems.

�9 The findings presented above illustrate the benefits of the extended approach of the PLA as compared to the LCA. A PLA study, however requires a higher workload. Alt- hough an LCA study is easier to perform, it often omits crucial criteria, perspectives or individual aspects of a product system, and thus fails to consider certain systemic links that would lead to an efficient product system improvement.

�9 The inclusion of social and economic criteria prevents the shifting of impacts from one area into another (for instance, certain fluorescent phosphorous compounds are used in the compact fluorescent lamp which provide a more favorable spectrum and thus improved light characteristics although they may be more harmful environmentally).

�9 The inclusion of all these criteria also enlarges the possible degree of improvement.

�9 An extensive appraisal of product utility precludes the omission of certain functional aspects and ensures that the symmetry principle is observed.

�9 The involvement of agents facilitates data collection fi)r inventory analysis and leads to a more efficient imple- mentation of improvement strategies.

�9 Agent chain analysis, together with the associated improvement strategy of agent cooperation, has proven itself as an effective instrument of product improvement.

5 References

B,',sr, W.-A.; I)IFIH, S.: Produktlinienanalyse Babywindeln - Eine ver- gleichende Untersuchung yon Baumwoll- und H6schenwindeln. - Klein-Umstadt bet Darmstadt, 199 I

Enquete Commission ted.): Responsibility for the Future: Options for sustainable management of substance chains and material flows; Interim Report (published as the English translation of: Zwi- schenbericht der Enquete-Kommission: Verantwortung fiir die Zu- kunft - Wege zum nachhaltigen Umgang mit Stoff- und Material- str6men, Bundestagsdrucksache 1211951). - Bonn: Economica Verlag, 1994

FRIEI)RICH, A.; GLANTE, E; SCHLOTH~-, Ch.; GOI.Z, C.; NOH, I.; REIN- HARD, G.; HOPFNER, U., SAaORIUS, R.; BENNDORF, R.; BLUMEL, H.; SCHM~.ER, B.; RODT, S.: Okologische Bilanz yon Raps61 bzw. RapsOlmethylester als Ersatz yon Dieselkraftstoff (Okobilanz Raps01). - Umweltbundesamt (German Federal Environmental Agency), Berlin, 1993 (published in the UBA-Texte series as No. 4/93)

GREINER-SCHUSTER, E.: Die Schatten der Kunstlichtwelt. - In: Oko-Test- Magazin, 3/90, pp. 40 ft. (1990)

PFHFER, R.: Produktlinienanalyse "Gliihlampe versus Energiespar- lampe" (Filament bulbs versus high-efficiency lamps: A compre- hensive product assessment; Study only available in German). - Own project of Oko-lnstitut, Freiburg, 1994

RUBIK, E; D'HA~E, M.: Development of Eco-Labelling riteria for Light Bulbs and Insulation Materials. - Study prepared for EEB, Brussels, 1994

SML 1989: Product information of the SML company on full-spectrum fluorescent rubes

STEUDEL, R.: Facharbeit zum Thema Leuchtstoffe - Leuchtstofflampen, Fachhochschule Coburg, FB Innenarchitektur, Coburg, 1989

14 Im.J. LCA 1 (1) 1996

Documents

Comparison between filament lamps and compact fluorescent lamps