Comparison between filament lamps and compact fluorescent lamps

Abstract“Produktlinienanalyse” (PLA) and life cycle assessment are analytical 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 relevance 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 relevant criteria. It illustrates that additional social and economic parameters, 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 Öko-Institut e.V., Freiburg.