British Sign Language Glossaries of Curriculum Terms

BSL Environmental Science Glossary - CFL (Compact Fluorescent Lamp) and LED (Light emitting diode) definition

Definition: CFLs are energy saving light bulbs that are slow to light up whereas LEDs are also energy saving bulbs but are quick to light up. The reason for the difference goes back to the older traditional light bulbs that lit up quickly but used a lot of electricity. CFLs came out that used much less electricity, but the coil design meant that they were slow to light up and were not as bright as the traditional light bulbs. Then along came LEDs that lit up quickly and used much less electricity, like the CFLs but also were much brighter like the traditional bulbs and much cheaper than the traditional bulbs as well.