Posted on 01/02/2007 8:57:15 AM PST by mathprof
As a way to cut energy use, it could not be simpler. Unscrew a light bulb that uses a lot of electricity and replace it with one that uses much less.
While it sounds like a promising idea, it turns out that the long-lasting, swirl-shaped light bulbs known as compact fluorescent lamps are to the nation’s energy problem what vegetables are to its obesity epidemic: a near perfect answer, if only Americans could be persuaded to swallow them.
But now Wal-Mart Stores, the giant discount retailer, is determined to push them into at least 100 million homes. And its ambitions extend even further, spurred by a sweeping commitment from its chief executive, H. Lee Scott Jr., to reduce energy use across the country, a move that could also improve Wal-Mart’s appeal to the more affluent consumers the chain must win over to keep growing in the United States.
“The environment,” Mr. Scott said, “is begging for the Wal-Mart business model.”
It is the environmental movement’s dream: America’s biggest company, legendary for its salesmanship and influence with suppliers, encouraging 200 million shoppers to save energy.
For all its power in retailing, though, Wal-Mart is meeting plenty of resistance — from light-bulb makers, competitors and consumers....
A compact fluorescent has clear advantages over the widely used incandescent light — it uses 75 percent less electricity, lasts 10 times longer, produces 450 pounds fewer greenhouse gases from power plants and saves consumers $30 over the life of each bulb. But it is eight times as expensive as a traditional bulb, gives off a harsher light and has a peculiar appearance.
As a result, the bulbs have languished on store shelves for a quarter century; only 6 percent of households use the bulbs today.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Wal-Mart started this push months ago.
Our local store has had enormous displays of these bulbs since early fall ... at least.
The New York [behind the] Times.
Sort of "Aside from that, how was the play, Mrs. Lincoln?"
I did some serious bulb changeout to cut down on the heat from the incandescents. But 13 watts (= 60 watts?) doesn't quite cut the mustard when I'm trying to read. I finally changed all the bulbs back to incandescents. The danged fluorescents blacked up pretty quickly too.
We now have installed overhead fluorescents in our kitchen and in the computer/TV room. The overheads are quite satisfactory and our electric bill is reasonable even in the summer.
But when I need a 200 watt bulb for a specific purpose, I have no intention of replacing same with a 13 watt fluorescent .
I have found the opposite. I just replaced one that was about 5 years old. It was a test. Now all the fan bulbs are CF and are at least two years old and get heavy use in the kitchen. We run the fan all the time.
"So people don't run over pedestrians.
So you can find your car in the parking lot."
Car lights serve the first purpose.
I didn't say eliminate, I said cut by 50%. This is a tremendous waste of electricity and can be easily solved by the stated method.
Just curious. Why can't these be used with a dimmer switch?
Yes they are...........but to be honest, I had to get up and go look because I didn't remember :)
...and so your car is still there when you go to find it...
The CFBs have several flaws.
1. long warm-up period (sometimes as long as a minute).
2. thay can't be used in glass enclosed fixtures without reducing their life expectancy to minutes.
3. somewhat harsh lighting
4. they don't work well in the cold.
5. the capability to dim (sometimes solved by the 15 dollar 3-way versions that are difficult to find anywhere).
6. expensive
Once these flaws get attacked people might actually use the bulbs.
(by the way - all fluorescent bulbs contain mercury.)
I have the same experience. As incandescent bulbs burn out I'm replacing them with CFs but the ones I'm using (Home Depot) don't have nearly the life promised on the package.
The LED bulbs are wicked expensive but last forever.
Did you hear that? That was the sound of a million greedy tort lawyers rubbing their hands.
I have quite a few in my house, but they're terrible for reading by, so my reading lamp has a regular soft-white bulb. Some that I have in the kitchen have been in use for over 5 years now, and I use them in fixtures where the light stays on at all times. We're out in the country, so I like a little light because some nights there isn't any at all.
I can't use them outdoors, and when it gets really cold the one on the enclosed porch is worthless.
I'm not saving the planet...I'm cheap!
Agreed. I bought my first low watt bulbs about 10 years ago when they were even more expensive. To date, none have expired.
Again, cut the street lights in half across the nation if you want real savings in electricity consumption -- the savings would be staggering while the downsides would be minimal. Who needs all the light pollution? Easy for me to say since I live in the country now and have never had an outside light within a 1/4 mile of my house.
The cost savings computed over the life of the bulb are substantial - like $50 to $100 NET SAVINGS per CF bulb (that includes the purchase price of the bulb). Most CF bulbs easily outlive incandescents by a factor of 5 or so, so you should be comparing one CF to 5 incandescents (OK, OK, even throw in future value discounting on future incandescent bulb purchases if you want to get technical) and it's still a win-win to switch to them.
We have used them for years (our utility was giving them away for a while back when the cost $15 each) and have rarely seen one die prematurely. We even have them on the outdoors post light (a yellow bug-lite version). The sizes and shapes available now mean that you can put them almost everywhere (just not on dimmers). They've gotten so cheap that I'm now using them even in many short-use applications.
Little gusts, that's all. They were predicting fairly major winds in some couunties today.
They have made significant improvements in brightness, speed of lighting, cost, variations in sizes and in wattages.
In the early 1980, I bought 2 big circular for table lamps. It took them several seconds to come on. They were still burning 15 years later, when I left the lamps at a residence I sold. IIRC, I paid around $8 each, but I figure I saved more than that over those 15 years, as they were lighted most evenings.
About 3 of years ago, I started replacing most of the bulbs in my current residence -- a few at a time. Now, nearly all outlets and lamps have the CF bulbs. The one in my computer room is on 5+ hours every evening. It was one of the first I bought. I paid between $1.50 and $3.00 for these (15) CF bulbs. Only one was a dud -- it lasted a week and went out. All the others still work fine.
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