Learn Together With This Science Project About GE Light Bulbs! Bringing Choices to Light and Save Energy #GELighting #CBias

Have you purchased light bulbs lately?  Used to be pretty easy, now it’s a challenge.  There are so many shapes, sizes and types to choose from!  Perfect opportunity for a learning project!  (Which is what I tell my daughter when I have no clue myself.)

Tip #1:  Choose a brand and then look at the options offered by that company.

As part of my partnership with GE, I received coupons for my GE light bulbs.  GE is a brand we trust so I started out by limiting our choices to that brand – eliminates a ton of confusion right there!  For over 100 years they have been researching and developing revolutionary lighting products.  All opinions posted about my GE Lighting experience are my own.

Here’s a glossary of the different types of lighting.  It helps to know a bit about it before you go to the store and are confronted with the displays and package descriptions.

• Incandescent

This is your grandma’s light bulb.  It’s the old-fashioned kind with the filaments inside.  An incandescent light bulb works by passing electricity through the filament which heats, glows and emits light.  That is why they are also the most inefficient lighting choice.  Only 10% of the energy goes to light and 90% generates heat.  Wait! –  “light-bulb-moment” – perfect for a science project theme!  More to come later….

• Fluorescent

We typically associate fluorescent lighting with offices, hospitals, and retail stores.  A fluorescent light is a glass tube containing mercury vapor.  When electricity passes through the vapor, it produces light.  The amount of light from a unit of electricity is very high compared to incandescent, making it more energy efficient.

• CFL or Compact fluorescent lights

Compact fluorescent lights work in a similar way to traditional fluorescent, but they are shaped to fit in traditional lamps and fixtures.  The tubes are much smaller and shorter.  They are the most energy efficient choice.

• Halogen

New legislative changes in January, 2013 will change what light bulbs can be manufactured and sold.  GE energy-efficient soft white light bulbs will be the closest available alternative to traditional incandescent bulbs. They are an energy saving alternative to CFLs.

Between 2012 and 2014, standard 40- and 100-watt incandescent light bulbs must use 30% less energy to meet minimum efficient standards. What does it all mean?

• You are not required to throw out your existing bulbs.
• Manufacturers simply can’t manufacture certain bulbs as time goes on.
• There is a range of specialty incandescent bulbs that are exceptions, including 3-ways, reflectors, appliance bulbs and some decorative options.
• Moving forward, you’ll choose from better technology like energy-efficient soft white, CFL and LED options.

Okay!  Now we have a basic understanding of the different types.  We are ready to start planning our science project!

Hypothesis:  CFLs produce less heat than other types and therefore waste less energy and are more energy efficient.

Science Goal:  Observe, use numbers, collect data, graph, communicate, see cause and effect.

Materials:

Light socket

Story boards

Sample of each type of light bulb

Thermometer

Procedure:

1.  Create a story board with a description of each type of light bulb and the pros and cons of choosing them.   Notice size, shape, and design.

2.  Create a comparison chart to record temperatures.

3.  Put each bulb into the light socket and use the thermometer to measure the heat around the bulb.  (Make sure each measurement is the same distance away from the test bulb.)

4.  Learn and laugh!

Rosie and I will be doing this project in the coming weeks.  Join us to see how it turns out!

Watch this funny video and see what happens when you save energy!

For more information:

• Energy Savings Calculator
• GE Lighting Website
• GE Lighting on Twitter
• GE Lighting on Facebook

Disclosure of Material Connection:  All opinions are my own.  I am a member of the Collective Bias®  Social Fabric® Community.  This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias™ and GE Lighting #CBias #SocialFabric.