Posted on 12/19/2007 1:18:19 PM PST by truthfinder9
They may lower your bills, but don't really do much for C02:
The U.S. Energy Star program says that if every home in America replaced one normal light bulb with a fluorescent...it would be equivalent to taking 800,000 cars off the road. Sure, that sounds like a lot, but it's less than 0.1 percent of registered cars worldwide. Plus, transportation accounts for only about one-fifth of global emissions anyway.Just the increase in the amount of coal that China will burn by 2020 will send as much C02 into the atmosphere as 3 billion Ford Expeditions, each driven 15,000 miles a year.
An Inconvenient Book: Real Solutions to the World's Biggest Problems, p. 7.
The only thing that matters is hours of operation. I have one 60 watt-equivalent CFL that has now been operating 24/7 for 11 months as a night light. That's about 8,000 hours and it's still going. I would have needed between 4 and 8 incandescents to give me that length of service.
We buy those lifetime bulbs every year.
The box store where I bought them says the humming sound must be coming from my wiring because the fluorescents don’t make noise, but there was no hum from the wiring or light fixtures when I had the incandescent bulbs in place. I think it would be wise to buy and store a good supply of incandescent bulbs of various wattage ratings to use after they're no longer made. The small savings on electricity and the claimed longer life of the fluorescents doesn't save me enough money to matter if the bulbs aren't satisfactory.
Yep... Between the energy savings and the savings from replacement costs, I love my compact fluorescents.
In addition, you have to be extremely cautious with them concerning the mercury they contain. One of my coworkers and I have both been treated for mercury poisoning we got from handling broken bulbs and their packaging and another coworker is currently undergoing treatment. Trust me, it is not fun.”
Many people are just going to throw these out with the trash.
And where do you think that mercury will end up ? Answer: In our drinking water and in our food supply. Only idiot liberals and government could be that stupid to mandate that everyone use bulbs with deadly mercury in them for “environmental” reasons and for a hoax ,namely global warming.
One more example that shows that government laws, government regulations, and government planning does not work but ends up making things worse.
Use your search engine of choice on the web, you’ll find them. To get you started:
If you don’t find exactly what you need today, wait six months. CFL’s are young technology, which means they’re improving rapidly as manufacturers learn how to make them better. So don’t stock up, keep a small reserve for immediate replacements, when you use them up buy again.
CFL’s are at their best when they’re used for long periods of the day, less so when they’re turned on for a minute or two per day, like closets. Swap out your bulbs, keep your incandescents to use in closets or other low use areas until they burn out, but there’s not much point in buying more incandescents. Unless you have medical or other issues with CFL’s - some people do.
Aha! So I'm not the only one hearing that hum and noticing less light. Home Depot was wrong about the source of my humming noise and I intend to let them know it.
Yep... Between the energy savings and the savings from replacement costs, I love my compact fluorescents.”
Yes, but it should be your choice if you want to buy bulbs with mercury in them. The government should not force all of us to buy that poison that will poison our water and food supply.
I am confused. You’re burning 105 Watts of power to get the equivalent of 80 Watt lightbulb? The math’s off somewhere, there FRiend...unless that’s 7 80 Watt lightbulbs you are replacing.
They don't have mercury in them, but I wonder what other nasty chemicals they might have.
The only fluorescent bulbs I have in my house are in a couple of 4-foot strip lights down in the basement. Other than that, I'll stick to regular incandescent bulbs.
Mine are burning out more often then the incandescents. Frankly, I don't think they are worth the price. And the light they produce is not sufficient. But the wife thinks we need them. Oh well.
I really did like them; however, they were much more expensive; but did last longer.
Buy some newer ones, they are barely more expensive now from places like Costco, last 5-7x as long (8000-10000 hours instead of 2000), and use 75% less energy. My energy bill dropped 20% instantly.
“Other than that, I’ll stick to regular incandescent bulbs.”
And what will you do when the light bulb police , big brother, comes knocking on your door? will you still stick with those incandescent bulbs? I feel like I’m living a nightmare. I never thought I’d see the day In America where the government would ban light bulbs . We are going to be a socialist state soon and all standing in bread lines.
I got mine when they were having deals. I paid about 99 cents per 60-watt equivs, and $1.50 per 75/100 watt equivs. Then every once in awhile Home D would have a box of 6 on sale for $8 and I’d pick up a box or two. I have a bunch just waiting to be used. But you’re right, it only makes sense to get them when there is a special deal.
There are seven 15-watt bulbs, each of which emits the light equivalent of an 80 watt incandescent bulb.
And what do you do when they burn out? You can’t just drop them in the trash bin. Do you have to call Haz-Mat?
This is ridiculous. Fluorescent bulbs cause me to get ‘red eye’ immediately, and then a headache. I bring the good old fashioned bulbs with me when I travel.
I have also heard they don’t last as long as we are being told.
I detest the Government invading my home.
CFLs are $1 a piece now at places like Costco, and about $1.5 at Walmart. They saved me about 20% on my energy bill. They last 5-7x as long. I could give two licks about the environmental aspect of it. The amount of mercury in them is small compared to thermometers of old and they are saving me about $300 annually in energy savings plus a lot of hastle of not replacing bulbs as often.
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