My translation of a news clip from Swedish national television, SVT titled Lågenergilampan – en brandrisk:
The CFL – a fire hazard
The compact fluorescent lamp is becoming more common in Swedish homes, with the phase out of the incandescent bulb. But the lamp has proven to be a fire hazard in itself.
The problem with CFLs is that the plastic surrounding it easily burns at high temperatures.
- Unfortunately it leads to many bigger fires when the plastic starts burning. In some cases there is only a smaller incident but those in turn may lead to more damaging fires. In the worst case scenrio people can die if you’re in a house and don’t get out in time, says fire investigator David Wiklund at Södertörn’s fire department to Rapport.
Common cause
Counted in numbers, fires started by lamps is a big problem. Between 1996 and 2008 1 033 fires were started by lamps. During the same period, only 96 fires were stared by coffee machines and 63 by irons.
How many of these were started by CFLs specifically, the statisics does not tell us. But a CFL is filled with technology which may catch fire – and the lamp [base] is enclosed by plastic.
In Sweden there are no rules requiring the lamp to go out by itself at high temperatures.
David Widlund wishes there were stricter regulations for the lamps than what currently exists.
-It is not at all good to have a type of plastic in the lamps that may catch fire. We would rather see a fire-proof plastic, he says.
Regulation lagging behind
As incandescent bulbs are phased out, the demand for CFLs has increased. But regulation has not caught up.
-There has been little awareness of these problems, they have only arisen as demand has increased to rapidly. But STEM, the Swedish Energy Authority, will inform the EU commision about these problems, says Kalle Hashmi who is lighting expert at STEM.
Today there is nothing one can do to make sure the lamp doesn’t start burning. The safety markings on the CFLs themselves give no guarantee.
-Compared to an incandescent bulb which in itself cannot burn, we are replacing it with this product which can start burning. That is of course a poorer alternative, David Wiklund thinks.
For those of us with lighting as a special interest, this is old news. [1]
However, to be fair, most of the fires mentioned in the statistics above were probably started by wrongly installed recessed halogen lights, or by halogen spotlights used too close to something burnable. They get very hot and the focused beam needs at least 50 cm distance or more. Recessed halogen lights should always be installed by an electrician. Especially dicroic halogen lamps where the heat is reflected backwards to avoid getting too hot in the direction of the beam; instead these get very hot at the base and constitute a fire hazard if not installed correctly, with enough ventilation. If a wrongly installed lamp is found after a fire, your home insurance company may hold you responsible and I’m sure you can guess what that means. [2]
But back to CFLs. Many appear to have some safety thing that makes them give off a lot of foul smelling smoke as they go out but not actually burn. But if they do catch fire to the point where the glass cracks, that will add the additional hazard of releasing its mercury vapour content into the air.
Do use all lamps with care:
* Always follow safety instructions.
* Don’t use a higher wattage lamp than the luminaire is marked for.
* Don’t install recessed spotlights yourself.
* Don’t use halogen spotlights too close to anything burnable (including house plants, which may dry out if not burn).
* Don’t let children handle CFLs or halogen lamps, and do not use such lamps in luminaires which may get knocked over by playing children or pets.
* Be extra careful with lamps left on when you’re asleep or not home. Don’t leave lamps with a paper shade unattended. Safest (and most economical) lamp to leave on would be LEDs which do not get hot at all.
References
1. Should There Be a Ban on Incandescent Light?
2. “Populära lampor kostar försäkringsbolagen miljoner” (Swedish article called “Popular lamps cost insurance companies millions”)
