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Introducing the $60, 20-year light bulb ("Going Green" still "Going Ridiculous")
cbs ^ | 4/18/2012 | ap

Posted on 04/22/2012 8:59:47 AM PDT by tobyhill

How much would you pay for an amazing, state-of-the-art light bulb? Shoppers will be asking themselves that very question at Home Depot and other outlets starting Sunday — Earth Day — when the bulb that won a $10 million government contest goes on sale.

The bulb is the most energy-efficient yet, lasts about 20 years and is supposed to give off a pleasing, natural-looking light. But what separates it from the pack most is the price: $60.

That price reflects the cost of the components, especially the top-notch chips, or diodes, that give off the light, and is the price commercial customers will pay. But the manufacturer, Netherlands-based Philips, is discounting it right away to $50 for consumers, and working on deals with electric utilities to discount it even further, by as much as $20 to $30.

This means the bulb will cost anywhere from $20 to $60, depending on where it's found. Online, consumers will be paying $50 for each bulb, because utilities don't subsidize online sales.

(Excerpt) Read more at cbsnews.com ...


TOPICS: Extended News; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: 60dollarlightbulb; greenenergy; greenscam; lightbulb; lightbulbscam
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To: Don Corleone

that’s actually not a bad marketing strategy. They get the bulbs for next to nothing and more than make up the difference in energy sales. But not very greeny-weenie ;-)


41 posted on 04/22/2012 10:36:21 AM PDT by rockrr (Everything is different now...)
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To: tobyhill

The Philips contest winner is way overpriced - look to see the LED prices come down dramatically in the next few years. However, LEDs are not likely to replace CFL for general illumination. The component prices for LED are tied to the commodity price of the massive aluminum heatsink - a component absent from CFLs. Each type of lamp has its place.


42 posted on 04/22/2012 10:40:31 AM PDT by Jagermonster (TANSTAAFL)
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To: DB

Yes. That’s why traffic light bulbs last so long. Of course you get less light but your aren’t changing bulbs every few months. Here’s a good article.

http://donklipstein.com/longlife.html

These ought to last a while!

http://www.bulbs.com/Incandescent_Bulbs/200V+/results.aspx


43 posted on 04/22/2012 10:51:17 AM PDT by Right Wing Assault (Dick Obama is more inexperienced now than he was before he was elected.)
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To: Peter from Rutland
I can get LED bulbs from a farm supply place for about 20 bucks.

Okay. Help us out here.

Name? Available online?

44 posted on 04/22/2012 10:53:54 AM PDT by Right Wing Assault (Dick Obama is more inexperienced now than he was before he was elected.)
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To: tobyhill

The world wide market is about 2.5 million homes-the same number that purchased a Prius.


45 posted on 04/22/2012 10:57:46 AM PDT by Raycpa
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To: Jagermonster

You have some good points, but I think your examples are over-stated in terms of costs. Guess I’d have to see the figures. In any case, I’m always suspicious of business models that depend on rebates for business.


46 posted on 04/22/2012 11:09:42 AM PDT by Lou L (The Senate without a filibuster is just a 100-member version of the House.)
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To: tobyhill

I suspect that when they claim it will last 20 years they mean it will probably take 20 years to sell one of these $60 turkeys.


47 posted on 04/22/2012 11:13:22 AM PDT by layman (Card Carrying Infidel)
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To: Right Wing Assault

www.farmtek.com

Infinity led ultra A-19 bulbs - 19.95 each. Replaces a standard 60w bulb.

I’ll be ordering myself a few.


48 posted on 04/22/2012 11:19:06 AM PDT by Peter from Rutland
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To: molson209

I have always been disappointed with the actual longevity of supposed long-life light bulbs. I think the best you can hope for is that they last 20% longer than a regular bulb, if that.


49 posted on 04/22/2012 11:26:01 AM PDT by Sicvee (Sicvee)
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To: bd59903

How did you see the full movie? I can’t find it on Netflix, but would like to watch.


50 posted on 04/22/2012 11:40:32 AM PDT by boop (I hate hippies and dopeheads. Just hate them. ...Ernest Borgnine)
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To: Oztrich Boy

I never had an incandescent bulb last less than 2 years unless it was just a bad bulb from the pack and then I took it back. Are there returns 20 years when someone buys one?


51 posted on 04/22/2012 12:09:36 PM PDT by tobyhill (Fight Fire With Fire)
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To: boop

i did, very interesting, was on YouTube but was removed. it should be available via torrent though


52 posted on 04/22/2012 12:46:58 PM PDT by bd59903
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To: tobyhill

For $60 you could buy 100 old incandescents at retailers who are getting rid of their stock.

If the bulb lasts 6 months, you’ll have enough for 50 years.


53 posted on 04/22/2012 12:53:16 PM PDT by hattend (Firearms and ammunition...the only growing industries under the Obama regime.)
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To: tobyhill

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1243138/Still-glowing-strong-109-years-worlds-oldest-lightbulb.html

Edison light bulb burns for over 100 years.


54 posted on 04/22/2012 12:57:11 PM PDT by P.O.E. (Pray for America)
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To: tobyhill

They said certain computers would last 20 years back in the late 90’s.
This bulb will be obsolete within two years, in less than five years we will have illumination products that are chemiluminescence. lamps may evolve into an advanced chemical stick that requires a meager voltage source once a day, and may last for over a hundred years.


55 posted on 04/22/2012 1:02:59 PM PDT by Eye of Unk (Liberals need not reply.)
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To: The Working Man

Correct. Buddy of mine is into lighting/electrical in general.

He says an LED buld could very easily outlast and have better efficiency, all the criteria (there may be a few incandescent types that have a better color spectrum) than you would want from a bulb.

Problem is, the power supply.

Takes a bulky rectifier/transformer setup to step down the 110 AC to the four or five volt DC that LED’s like. And just like ballasts in florescents, these are the parts that are prone to fail.

If a guy was to partially rewire his house, and alot of people did it, you could light the whole place with LED bulbs off the shelf that cost about 75 cents each and last for ten years minimum.


56 posted on 04/22/2012 1:06:43 PM PDT by djf (Life's a play, we're actors not authors, and nobody even cared to give us the script!)
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To: molson209

One of my handful of 5 year CFLs lasted less than 6 months. The thing turned magenta on me. Bring back incandescent bulbs. They use more energy but have no mercury making them better for the environment.


57 posted on 04/22/2012 1:18:45 PM PDT by Dutch Boy
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To: jiggyboy
If it’s made in China, it’ll fry itself in two years, tops.

And it likely doesn't cost any more than a dime to produce...

58 posted on 04/22/2012 1:46:34 PM PDT by Iscool (You mess with me, you mess with the WHOLE trailerpark...)
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To: Iscool; jiggyboy
If it’s made in China, it’ll fry itself in two years, tops.

And it likely doesn't cost any more than a dime to produce...

And it's likely chock full of toxic poisons.
59 posted on 04/22/2012 1:48:17 PM PDT by samtheman ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZ-4gnNz0vc)
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To: tobyhill
At four hours per day, that's 20 years.

In the real world, days last for a lot more than four hours.

60 posted on 04/22/2012 2:34:51 PM PDT by grundle
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