Posted on 11/11/2007 7:20:25 PM PST by Westlander
If U.S. lawmakers have their way, the lights may soon go out on Thomas Edison's greatest invention -- the incandescent light bulb. The 19th-century inventor brought illumination to the world's fingertips, but according to Congress, his invention isn't efficient enough for an age anxious about energy supplies.
"Only 10% of the power used by today's incandescent bulbs is emitted as light, while the other 90% is released as heat," Rep. Jane Harman, D-Calif., said when she introduced her legislation to ban standard light bulbs.
To eliminate this waste, Harman has proposed legislation that would effectively eliminate incandescent light bulbs from store shelves nationwide as early as 2012.
(Excerpt) Read more at realestate.msn.com ...
Why not LED lamps?.......
Fluorescent bulbs are OK in my book on a regular lamp, but what does Harman propose I use on the dimmer?
Just looked at that bulb and it has a big warning about containg MERCURY and about how to dispose of the bulb!! Geesh.
CFL’s don’t work on a dimmer?
One question about those new-style bulbs. I notice that the 100-watt version of these state that it is equal to the old-style 26-watt bulb. Does this mean that you can put these bulbs in sockets that are rated for 60 watts (the old style)?
Our area allows us to drop them off as hazardous waste for free. It’s every Monday and centrally located so it’s convenient.
In a way, LED lamps are why we are seeing this. The Japanese who own the patents on super bright LED’s have refused to keep them off the market. GE has been buying up patents and keeping better light sources off the market at least since the 1960s, when they developed and then shelved radio directed lights. I know an engineer from the project who is still furious after all these decades.
LED is the way to go
I clicked the link and read until I got bored with it and also every name I saw had a “D” behind it which automaticly makes me against it.
I’m well stocked with the old bulbs. It’s just more nanny statism from the rats, it might or might not have merit but heaven forbid that a free market decide these matters when we have the rat party to do it for us.
Brilliant. Impose a gov’t solution, don’t let the market take care of the problem. Much of what is wrong with Washington today, in microcosm.
Not below a certain critical voltage - and using them on a dimmer shortens their lives anyway.
Just as long as the light fixture doesn't have a dimmer control, no problem. In fact, a lot of new light fixtures are limited to 60 watts maximum anyway.
Yes
GOOD GRIEF!!! Take a LIGHT BULB to a DUMP?? Are you out of your MIND??? We live in the US and they want us to use light bulbs that are HAZARDOUS????
#10 and #11, we think alike.
They work, but they don't dim. I've seen dimmable flourescents, but they're hard to find. LED lamps would be the right solution -- a chip could turn individual diodes on or off depending on the current -- but they're hell of expensive and not widely available. Yet.
There are plenty of things dangerous in any household. Our waste collection service has a hazardous waste collection done every Monday that collects all sorts of things. I take everything I can there just to feel like a good little environmentalist. I don’t have a hybrid yet to act snobby though.
I prefer incandescent lights and they’re easier on the eyes for reading at nights.
If the government makes me switch to Gorebulbs, my room will either be colder, or my regular heating system will need to cycle more often to keep my room the same temperature.
I like Gorebulbs for some applications, but if you multiply lumens by life and divide by cost, incandecents are cheaper, simpler (no ballast to chuck into a landfill), don’t use mercury, and warm the room they are in by convection, and warm me by direct radiation in the IR, something a Gorebulb cannot do.
For outdoor use where the heat is dumped into the air without people to appreciate the warmth, some other tech may be appropriate, but for most indoor uses the old nitrogen-filled glass filament lamp has its advantages.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.