Incandescent Bulbs, Compact Flourescents, and the US Goverment

[HistoryNotHisStory]

The misconceptions provided by the media and conservatives is that the government has outlawed incandescent bulbs from the consumers.

This is far from the truth. The truth is that in 2012 you can still buy whatever light bulb that you want from the store.

The US goverment has restricted the manufacturing of traditional 100 watt incandescent bulbs [[energy wasters).

The law was not passed to combat climate change. The law was signed for and advocated by conservative Republican President George Bush in 2007. President Bush censored NOAA and other government agencies concering climate change. Therfore, please don't post any comments about this law being passed to address Climate Change.

This law was passed to become more Energy Efficient. President Bush rallied about energy efficiency and lamented about energy waste. This is why the law was made.

The Freep Press article concerning this issue is misleading and does not present the facts.


http://www.freep.com/article/2011071...w-energy-rules

[oladub]

I use compact flourescents where they will save money and provide enough light. For closets, where the light is briefly turned on and off, I use incandescents. One LED light points down on the kitchen sink. I also bought a Philips LED bulb for $38 that lasted only three weeks. Flourescents don't work outdoors in the winter so I use incandescents for yard lights and exterior unheated buildings.

During the heating season, any heat given off by incandescent lights offsets heat from the natural gas furnace. Electric heat from light bulbs is more expensive than gas but energy saving claims never consider the value of escaped heat. Flourescents make more economic sense in the summer than in the winter.

What percentage of compact flourescents are properly disposed of?

[Jimaz]

It's lights out for the traditional Easy-Bake Oven

Collateral damage in the war on energy waste is none other than the classic children's toy Easy-Bake Oven, introduced in 1963 and an inductee in the National Toy Hall of Fame....

"We are aware that the 100-watt incandescent light bulb will no longer be available beginning in 2012. In fall 2011, Hasbro will launch the Easy-Bake Ultimate Oven, introducing a new way to bake for the next generation of chefs. This new oven features a heating element that does not use a light bulb and offers an extensive assortment of mixes reflective of the hottest baking trends for today."

[gnome]

I prefer the old bulbs, but use the CF.

Also, I prefer Jim Beam, but drink diet pop. There are many things I prefer, but do the opposite just because it is healthier, cheaper or better.

[Locke09]

Are incandescents healthier, considering that they contain mercury? Are they really cheaper, considering the higher initial cost and the discrepancies reported concerning how long they actually last? Are they better, considering that most people complain about the quality of the light they provide?

I only use 100 watt bulbs in the kitchen. I use 25 - 60 everywhere else. I don't even use 100 watt bulbs outside. I'm all for conservation, but it seems like we're trading off environmental safety for energy conservation.

[Bigb23]

Remember when Detroit Edison had neighborhood stores/payment centers where you could exchange your broken bulbs for free?
Now, even if I can find one, a 15 watt incandescent bulb will set you back $3.50 per bulb. I turn off all other lights in the house and use that for a reading lamp. But my mix is about 50/50 now.

[rjk]

Remember when Detroit Edison had neighborhood stores/payment centers where you could exchange your broken bulbs for free?
Now, even if I can find one, a 15 watt incandescent bulb will set you back $3.50 per bulb. I turn off all other lights in the house and use that for a reading lamp. But my mix is about 50/50 now.

Yeah, when did that end? Mid 70's maybe?
I remember some guy who owned a store that sold bulbs filed a lawsuit and that was the end of the free bulbs.

[gazhekwe]

I use both, but prefer incandescent because of the disposal problem for the CFLs. I am willing to bet 95% of them go into the regular trash. Thank you, Home Depot, for providing a place for us to dispose of these bulbs. I sure hope you are not just tossing them in your dumpsters.

[Jimaz]

Our house has had about half fluorescents since before 1967. These are mostly the classic long, straight tubes although there were a couple of circular tubes too. Back then it was very unusual in residential buildings. I'm not sure who made the decision to go fluorescent or why. It was probably for economy. They do last a long time.

I recall some study that found office employees' performance improves when the spectrum of their fluorescents is changed. I worked at a company that was experimenting with this idea. I just happened to have a spectroscope there. [[Good Lord, how nerdy can you get?) So I checked before and after they swapped out all the lights. Sure enough, the spectrum changed. They didn't share any performance data with me.

[rb336]

Are incandescents healthier, considering that they contain mercury? .

They contain tiny amounts of mercury. tiny. it would take 500 of the most modern versions to equal the mercury in an old oral thermometer. don't break 'em, dispose of 'em properly, no problem. plus, less electrical use = less coal = less mercury.

[rb336]

It's lights out for the traditional Easy-Bake Oven

can they switch to halogen?

[Bigb23]

Yeah, when did that end? Mid 70's maybe?
I remember some guy who owned a store that sold bulbs filed a lawsuit and that was the end of the free bulbs.

It was Dorfman Drugs in Oak Park, his son was a childhood friend of mine in the early 60's - so I'm guessing the late 60's when they pulled the plug on that.
[[No pun intended).

[coracle]

I haven't used any of the Flourescents yet and don't have any intention of changing over. I have in excess of 60 bulbs installed in my home of which 95% are only used momentarily for convenience like visiting the bathroom, getting something from the garage or putting pj's on at night etc. so saving money on replacement and renewal costs would be bad economics. I'm always reluctant to do something on the advice of people who tell me it's good for me, particularly if they claim it will save the Planet. When I was young and at college training to be an Engineer i remember one great lecturer once told me "if it don't look right - it ain't" and that's stuck with me all my life; and that's what I think about flourescents.

[thnk2mch]

I like the CFLs [[daylight version) and have them in propbably 85% of my home.

I only have incadescents in a chandelier, in rooms that I rarely go into, and a basement storage room. My problem with CFLs is the life span is no where near what they claim. According to the labels, I shouldn't have had to replace ANY bulbs yet, but I have replaced at least 8-10 of them.

[coracle]

I think changing to flourescents because you like the light quality is the best reason for making the change thnk2mch. If the life span of the product is no where near what the supplier claims on his packaging maybe he should be prepared to replace them or return the purchase price. You can bet that it's happening to all other customers that buy his product - so he's misleading the purchaser. My estimate for changing my incandescents would be 6 - 12 per year for the whole house. Most frequent failures occur in the least used bulbs in terms of hours but most frequently turned "ON"

[Zacha341]

ROTFL! I use the new curlycue ones for a couple of areas, like a lamp that runs on a timer. I only like the warm glo ones, the ice cold glare of the standard mercury energy saver bulbs are horrid to me. Ok, up in a 10 foot ceiling in an office but not nice for a close up lamp. Ughh. The soft glow ones are closer to what a standard light bulb radiated...

I prefer the old bulbs, but use the CF.

Also, I prefer Jim Beam, but drink diet pop. There are many things I prefer, but do the opposite just because it is healthier, cheaper or better.

[Jimaz]

... My problem with CFLs is the life span is no where near what they claim. According to the labels, I shouldn't have had to replace ANY bulbs yet, but I have replaced at least 8-10 of them.

That's surprising to me. Do you have any idea what part of the bulb is failing so early? On our old-fashioned fluorescents, the ballast always fails before the bulb itself. Is there any way to replace the ballast in a CFL?

Wikipedia's CFL article is interesting.

[HistoryNotHisStory]

Are incandescents healthier, considering that they contain mercury? Are they really cheaper, considering the higher initial cost and the discrepancies reported concerning how long they actually last? Are they better, considering that most people complain about the quality of the light they provide?

I only use 100 watt bulbs in the kitchen. I use 25 - 60 everywhere else. I don't even use 100 watt bulbs outside. I'm all for conservation, but it seems like we're trading off environmental safety for energy conservation.

Flourescent bulbs and Metal Halid Bulbs with toxin has been around for over forty years.

[HistoryNotHisStory]

I use both, but prefer incandescent because of the disposal problem for the CFLs. I am willing to bet 95% of them go into the regular trash. Thank you, Home Depot, for providing a place for us to dispose of these bulbs. I sure hope you are not just tossing them in your dumpsters.

Why would you stay with CFL if stores like IKEA provide a dropoff for CFL bulbs.

[HistoryNotHisStory]

I haven't used any of the Flourescents yet and don't have any intention of changing over. I have in excess of 60 bulbs installed in my home of which 95% are only used momentarily for convenience like visiting the bathroom, getting something from the garage or putting pj's on at night etc. so saving money on replacement and renewal costs would be bad economics. I'm always reluctant to do something on the advice of people who tell me it's good for me, particularly if they claim it will save the Planet. When I was young and at college training to be an Engineer i remember one great lecturer once told me "if it don't look right - it ain't" and that's stuck with me all my life; and that's what I think about flourescents.

My fellow American the purpose of a light bulb is to produce light.
The goverment wants people to think allong the lines of paying for light and not for energy. You pay your utility company for the wattage and not the light output of a bulb. Therefore, if one bulbs uses less energy to produce the same amount of light, then you are saving money.


The momentum by consumers and the US goverment to use CFL is not determined by environmental needs. President Jimmy Carter advocated energy conservation prior to the United Nations providing data on Climate Change. So why bring up "save the Planet".

Your college professor was wrong. Engineers look at math and data and not on feelings.

When I travel on a bridge, I hope the Engineer did not say that "it looks like" it will carry you, but has performed the stress, load, engineering, and mathematical calculations.

[HistoryNotHisStory]

I think changing to flourescents because you like the light quality is the best reason for making the change thnk2mch. If the life span of the product is no where near what the supplier claims on his packaging maybe he should be prepared to replace them or return the purchase price. You can bet that it's happening to all other customers that buy his product - so he's misleading the purchaser. My estimate for changing my incandescents would be 6 - 12 per year for the whole house. Most frequent failures occur in the least used bulbs in terms of hours but most frequently turned "ON"

I dare to find someone changing CFLs six to 12 times per year. This should be one reason for switching to CFLs

[Jimaz]

LOL! How many forumers does it take to screw in a lightbulb?

[Bigb23]

LOL! How many forumers does it take to screw in a lightbulb?

Twelve, three to really get the insight, and nine to just complain about the issue.

[gazhekwe]

History, I know I will responsibly dispose of any dead CFLs. I have a problem with mandating their use without making clear the need for responsible disposal, and providing convenient methods for disposal. I have to drive several miles to dispose of my bulbs at Home Depot. I am willing to bet many people will just toss them in the trash.

[thnk2mch]

That's surprising to me. Do you have any idea what part of the bulb is failing so early? On our old-fashioned fluorescents, the ballast always fails before the bulb itself. Is there any way to replace the ballast in a CFL?

Wikipedia's CFL article is interesting.

I can't tell you for sure what's failing, probably the ballasts. The bulb will just quit working, have a little "glow" at the base of the bulb and the ceramic[[?) base gets very hot. This has only happened on the spiral type with me. I have the par30 type flood shape in recessed lighting with no issues.