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 ...
If you break a CFL, your neighborhood will be encased in a concrete sarcophagus with any remaining life in it. The radius of the tomb will be 2 miles. So be real careful handling these things or you will really tee off a lot of people.
Much of that was new to me, thanks.
I was shocked to find 4-packs of CFL bulbs at Vons supermarket last week for 99 cents. The last time I bought a CFL was for the promised longer life-time and it seems to be more like $4 for one bulb. At 99 cents a 4-pack, I’ll replace the whole house and hope I see a lower electric bill.
Factor in the increased first cost and the increased replacement cost, divide by your energy savings, and figure out your payback period for the "cheaper" bulbs.
Will you still be alive, or long dead, by the time your energy savings offsets your increased first cost?
Cost was $28 for the bulbs from Costco. Paid for itself in 1 month. Not counting the fact I’ll have to buy 5x as fewer CFLs as a normal bulb.
Not in my house. I’ve not had one last a whole year.
I’m looking at the light fixture in my dining room right now. 4 CFLs, less than a year old. 2 are burned out. My wife likes the light, but they do not last any longer than incandescents in my house.
I looked it up but found nothing on it.
What brand did you buy and when (they weren’t nearly as good several years ago)? How long / day do you use them (average use is 3 to 4 hours per day)?
Free republic looked at it in this thread.
I think the low energy consumption of super bright LEDs make them the best option now though, especially if you were to put the rectifier and filter into the fixture and make 12VDC bulbs that would be interchangeable with automotive use LED bulbs. There is already a 12VDC rail on the USB buss and there a ton of small devices using 12VDC converters, so it seems to me a ubiquitous choice.
Go with Sylvania, GE, Osram, or Phillip’s. My CFL’s are 5+ years with no problem. Do not buy them from the big box stores. They are cheapened down reproductions.
Well, I bought a 3-pack of GE 13 watters (equivalent to a 60w incandescent). I must say, I’m impressed. No flicker, no sickly skin tones. IMO you losing nothing to incandescents in terms of eye appeal. And the time it takes for them to reach max brightness is no big deal. This is good technology.
Microwave lighting might work in offices and things that need lights in many areas at the same time but not very efficient in a house with very few lights on at one time.
You can get incandescent light bulbs rated for 25,000 hours that are used by the hospitality industry. If you use them for an average of 7 hours a day they’ll burn out in just a little under 10 years and cost about a buck or less per bulb depending on how many you buy.
https://www.nathosp.com/product/25k19_c/standard_incandescent_light_bulbs
Once you stock up all you’ll have to do is watch out for the light bulb police who’ll be monitoring everyone who might be using those unauthorized, evil incandescents!
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