Did you notice the graphic on that page?
Posted on 01/30/2007 6:54:26 PM PST by NormsRevenge
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A California lawmaker wants to make his state the first to ban incandescent lightbulbs as part of California's groundbreaking initiatives to reduce energy use and greenhouse gases blamed for global warming.
The "How Many Legislators Does it Take to Change a Lightbulb Act" would ban incandescent lightbulbs by 2012 in favor of energy-saving compact fluorescent lightbulbs.
"Incandescent lightbulbs were first developed almost 125 years ago, and since that time they have undergone no major modifications," California Assemblyman Lloyd Levine said on Tuesday.
"Meanwhile, they remain incredibly inefficient, converting only about 5 percent of the energy they receive into light."
Levine is expected to introduce the legislation this week, his office said.
If passed, it would be another pioneering environmental effort in California, the most populous U.S. state. It became the first state to mandate cuts in greenhouse gas emissions, targeting a 25 percent reduction in emissions by 2020.
Compact fluorescent lightbulbs (CFLs) use about 25 percent of the energy of conventional lightbulbs.
Many CFLs have a spiral shape, which was introduced in 1980. By 2005, about 100 million CFLs were sold in the United States, or about 5 percent of the 2-billion-lightbulb market, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
That number could more than double this year. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. alone wants to sell 100 million CFLs at its stores by the end of 2007, the world's biggest retailer said in November.
While it will not give opinion on the possible California law, the EPA recommends CFLs.
"They save money and energy," EPA spokeswoman Enesta Jones said. "They are more convenient than other alternatives and come in different sizes and shapes to fit almost any fixture."
Also, CFLs generate 70 percent less heat than incandescent lights, Jones said.
About a fifth of the average U.S. home's electricity costs pays for lighting, which means even if CFLs initially cost more than conventional lightbulbs, consumers will save, Jones said.
A 20-watt CFL gives as much light as a 75-watt conventional bulb, and lasts 13 times longer, according to the Rocky Mountain Institute, a nonprofit group studying energy issues.
Southern California Edison, an Edison International subsidiary and one of the state's biggest utilities, runs a program that cuts the cost of a CFL by $1 to $2.50. In the past year, SCE has helped consumers buy 6 million CFLs, it said.
California Energy Commission member Arthur Rosenfeld said an average home in California will save $40 to $50 per year if CFLs replace all incandescent bulbs.
While not commenting specifically on Levine's likely legislation, Rosenfeld, winner of the Enrico Fermi Presidential Award in 2006, said the switch from incandescent bulbs became feasible about five years ago when CFL performance improved.
"This is clearly an idea whose time has come," he said.
Levine, a Democrat from Van Nuys in Los Angeles, last year introduced a bill that will become law in July that requires most grocery stores to have plastic bag recycling.
CFLs don't do well in Refrigerators, Freezers or Ovens either.
CFLs don't do well in Refrigerators, Freezers or Ovens either.
so in 2011, people will stock up on incandescents. Whats california gonna do , go door to door checking lightbulbs????
IDIOTS.
Ours is separate, PG&E is just electric, then we have SoCal Gas. So we know right away how much is gas and how much is electric.
Of course we live where it is 113 in the summer and below 30 in the winter. We get the extreme temps along with the extreme bills. Some peoples bills here are more than their house payments.
Dont worry....Earth only has 10 years left anyway, according to the globalwarming loons/UN
WE have local Air Resources Boards trolling the neighborhood on no-burn days checking fireplace use. They commonly hand out tickets and fines.
CFLs also suck outdoors
The marketplace is already seeing increasing sales of CFL lamps on their own merit. Yet, more legislation, which will only backfire (law of unintended consequences?).
Now one poster here speculated (humorously, using absurdity as an illustration), banning white males, then banning heteros. Why not ban people altogether then? The extreme "deep ecology" types actually believe that "humanity is a virus infecting the earth mother goddess Gaia." Of course the elite deep ecology types are exempt from such a pronouncement.
Fixtures with electronic ballasts should be just as good as incandescents.
LEDs are improving too.
All ceiling fans manufactured after Jan. 1, 2007 have to use candelabra (small-base) bulbs, even though bulb manufacturers are several months behind in production of these bulbs. And by 2011, all fluorescent fixtures will use the smaller T8 bulbs instead of the T12's.
While I can see the advantages of using T8's over T12's (they use 80% of the electricity and give off the same amount of lighting), I am stumped over the decision to reduce the size of the bases on ceiling fan bulbs.
Just flush two or three times. Water saving toilets indeed!
Did you notice the graphic on that page?
That was a case of non-real world measurement of water flow. Comparing 3.5 gallons vs 1.6 gallons looks like you're saving more than 50% of the water. However, you often need two flushes to get the job done. Also, the common way of flushing a toilet use to be "push the handle and let go immediately" now I see more signs up to "push the handle and hold it down until everything is flushed". I doubt that the 1.6 gallon toilet is still actually 1.6 gallons if you "push and hold" the handle.
Perhaps, but nothing beats a Ferguson.
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