Light Bulbs Banned!

zingo

I'm a little scared with CFL right now. In my fiance's garage, there was one installed, and it burned it. I told myself, "This is weird. I thought these things lasted a long time." I pull the bulb and there was a large, black burn where the bulb met the plastic base. That can't be good...

hockeyboy

Here is a relevant article. I am a stockholder of CREE who is one of the largest manufacturers of LED lighting. I am talking about clean burning, long lasting light that is equal or better to the lights we currently use. If we ever hope to get off of fossil fuels, we have to do away with wasting energy. There is of course a camp who says "I can burn as much energy as I want as long as I pay for it" assumes a never ending supply of such energy.

The world can no longer afford incandescent lighting. The wave of light-bulb banning is HUGE -- worldwide -- and growing like a tsunami!

California and Canada are banning the use of incandescent bulbs by 2012, while Australia has announced plans to ban incandescent bulbs by 2010. The European Union votes on a region-wide ban by 2012 in the next few months -- and a "yes" vote is looking like a slam dunk. And in New Jersey, where the first practical incandescent bulb emerged from Thomas Edison's laboratory in 1879, a bill has been introduced to ban its use in government buildings.

Why?

Energy conservation and strategies to overcome global warming are becoming increasingly important political and social issues.

The fact is, banning incandescent light bulbs is a relatively easy way to make a significant contribution to energy conservation -- and politicians get all the glory for relative zero negative press.

Therefore, the death of the incandescent bulb in the United States and many other developed countries is only a few years away. In the United States, lighting accounts for 22% of all electric consumption -- 22%!According to the U.S. Department of Energy, widespread use of LED lighting could cut related energy consumption in half.

And compact fluorescent bulbs are NOT an option.

Compact fluorescent light is the primary alternative to the aging incandescent light bulb right now, but it is not a viable option in the long run.

Compact fluorescents are currently less expensive than their LED counterparts, but the price to produce white-light LEDs is dropping every day. And although compact fluorescents have been widely available for the last decade, their consumer adoption rates of have been low because the light quality sucks.

The reading light from compact fluorescents is poor, and there is a significant delay when compact fluorescents are turned on. LEDs, on the other hand, provide a MUCH higher quality of light, with no delay -- and they should last about five to eight times longer than compact fluorescents.

hearingimpared

Rivrrat wrote: »

I thought Bush already signed this into law, along with the new strict fuel guidelines.

I hate the color spiral bulbs put out, and I intend to have a garage full of incandecents when the law goes into effect.

shack

I'm all for choice...but I'm sick and tired of being slaves to the oil cartels and big oil and the conservationist. If something as simple as a light bulb can make a big difference (and by all accounts it can)...they can mandate all they want and I'm fine with it. Lack of energy will cripple this country and it is too important to let people waste...just because they want to.

glemay

Lately my dad has been on an energy saving mission, lol. In short, he is just trying to reduce our hydro bill as much as possible. So far he has replaced all of the incandescent lights in our house except for the ones in my room, lol. I just don't like the light that fluorescent lights give off. They aren't a full spectrum light. Does anyone else feel the same way? The light is just very unnatural to me... maybe I just need time to adjust...

Talking about saving energy, has anyone looked into wind generators or solar panels?

exalted512

I bought a bunch on the bay a while back. Ive had 1 (out of 16) go bad within the first week, theyre all fine now.

I love them in my bathroom, I like to have bright light in the bathroom, but when I wake up, I dont want to be blinded. I dont have a dimmer and these things take about a minute to 'warm up'...poor mans dimmer
-Cody

schwarcw

steveinaz wrote: »

Do yourself a favor and try one of the "spiral bulbs" they work great, and I believe they have a 5 year life...could be wrong on that detail. In the long run they are cheaper, brighter, and last longer.

This hasn't been my experience Steve.:( I've tried them all in various wattages and by various manufacturer's. Some definately last longer, but five years. HELL NO! They might last that long if you never turned them off. My spiral floods in the kitchen, don't last more than 4 months. They do produce good light with less electricity. I'm not buying the claimed life span.:mad:

If anyone has a new one that you believe will last, send it to me and I'll send it back burned out in less than 6 months.

nadams

First thing I did when I got in this house was change every bulb over to CFL... that was in May. I haven't had to replace one yet... The troubling thing is that there's no recycling centers listed on Earth 911 that take CFLs in my area, yet.

MacLeod

I would just like the ability to buy whatever the f**k I wanted. I personally would rather go buy 10 regular bulbs for $2 thatll last me 5 years and be done with it. And I dont want to have to call the CDC should one ever break or I needed to throw one away that burnt out. Im sure theyre great and we could power a small city but then again we could build a couple new nuclear plants and REALLY power a whole bunch of large cities.

shawn474

I replaced every bulb in my house (have recessed lights, some with dimmers, lamp lights, etc.) at the urging of my tree hugger wife over two years ago and have not had one burn out. The only difference that I notice is that it takes a minute for them to warm up and get bright. I don't mind them one bit and I get them at Home Depot in a pack of four for like 7 bucks (they go on sale often). It made her happy which in turn makes me happy.

Shawn

dorokusai

If the ballasts loaded quicker, I would be all over flourescents, but that delay just puts me in a blind rage. I've started punching the air alot lately and am afraid it will escalate.

brettw22

schwarcw wrote: »

I'm not buying the claimed life span.:mad:

If anyone has a new one that you believe will last, send it to me and I'll send it back burned out in less than 6 months.

I don't know what the deal is with them in your place, but they should last a lot longer than that. They're just like TV's or Computers....life spans shorten the more you turn them off and on........

Leave it to Joe to go partisan.........:rolleyes::rolleyes:

markmarc

90% of the bulbs in my house are CF's, and all are working just fine, but I hate to see legislation force change. However, the energy demands of LCD and Plasma TV's are far greater than tube ones. The switch to cf's will only counter balance the increased energy needs from these new toys.

It's time to follow GWB's idea and put nuclear reactors of a STANDARDIZED design on military bases and open up WIPP in Nevada. Too many new things require electricity, plus the movement towards oil independence will put more pressure on electric cars as a choice.

wingnut4772

steveinaz wrote: »

Do yourself a favor and try one of the "spiral bulbs" they work great, and I believe they have a 5 year life...could be wrong on that detail. In the long run they are cheaper, brighter, and last longer. I use them on my outdoor lights right now, but I'm slowly replacing the indoor ones as well--- for both cheaper electric bills AND less digging the ladder out of the garage...

Polkmaniac wrote: »

which spiral bulbs are you referring to? I've tried those bulbs and my main issue is they've never just been bright enough...

Demiurge wrote: »

Lame. More stupid **** regulations that will end up have some other goofy unitended consequences far worse than anything we're trying to solve. Our kids will probably start developing beaks or something. :rolleyes:

I have tried the spiral bulbs and I can't stand them. I like my old normal bulbs just fine.

I hate the spiral bulbs. They are hideous looking and throw off an ugly light. Yuck. If they ban the incandescents I will stockpile them like there is no tomorrow.

avguytx

I replaced every light bulb in my house with the CFL's in February and the old ones are in the attic. If I ever sell, those bulbs go back in! For what I've spent on them versus the decrease in my electric bill this year versus last, they've way over paid for themselves already. I have no problem with the light they put out...it looks fine to me. I haven't had a single bulb go out in almost a year. I used to have those clear glass bulbs in the light fixtures to the left and right of the garage door and those had to be replaced a couple times a year minimum. Those CFL's out there are still working.

Wait, I still have to change the 2 lights in the garage door opener and I'm done. That'll happen this weekend. Oh, and I'd change the 2 little bulbs in the microwave above the stove but I don't think they make those...and the oven and fridge light....yet!

F1nut

I just don't like the light that fluorescent lights give off. They aren't a full spectrum light. Does anyone else feel the same way? The light is just very unnatural to me... maybe I just need time to adjust...

BINGO!!!

You'll never adjust, it's the damn light that sucks. Not to mention the mercury issue. JHC, there's not much else out there as poisonous as that stuff. It never goes away! We can look forward to 3 eyed, two headed kids in the not to distant future.

****!!!

WilliamM2

How do these bulbs work in the cold? It's cold here in Michigan, and the flourescent bulbs in my garage take 10 minutes to quit flickering.

SCompRacer

schwarcw wrote: »

This hasn't been my experience Steve.

I have used them in the basement over the last year with poor results like you report. One day the wife told me she smelled something burning down there, and I found one with the base hot and starting to discolor. It takes a couple of minutes for them to get to full brightness too.

Jstas

I prefer to sit in the dark. It helps my brooding.

schwarcw

markmarc wrote: »

It's time to follow GWB's idea and put nuclear reactors of a STANDARDIZED design on military bases and open up WIPP in Nevada.

Damn! I like the way you think;):D

Don't forget Yucca Mountain. A better choice would be to dump the spent fuel in the Persian Gulf:eek:

phuz

Very lame. And, this has already been done by the way.

http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=24226

Thankfully there will still be energy efficient incandescent bulbs in the future.

I use GE Reveal bulbs everywhere in my house. I'll try the new types when they have some decent looking ones that have the 'Reveal' feature. I've seen folks who have put the new spiral bulbs in fans, chandaliers, and recessed lighting and it looks like **** and the color and light is terrible.

hockeyboy

Incandescent=going away
Compact flourescents=going away
LED=coming to a home near you...

lightman1

I'm Lightman...and I like pie. CFLs suck.

markmarc

Schwarcw:
My uncle is a world renowned concrete stress engineer. He spent several years working on Yucca Mtn. Believe me when I say that his ethics would never let him approve of something that would cause massive environmental damage. He gets pissed every time I mention it not being open. But he also wants the US to have nuclear rod reprocessors which would return 70% of the material to the plant.

shadowofnight

Since I already knew to keep the older separate ballast type fluorescent lamps away from my audio gear ( Added major noise to the AC line...sometimes even added audible noise )

Did a quick search on these new types of CFL's...guess I will still keep them out of the audio/HT room....might even fire up the O-scope and see how much noise they introduce onto the AC line.




RF Interference from CFLs

Unlike conventional incandescent bulbs, the electronic circuitry (electronic ballast) in CFLs generate radio frequency interference (RFI). Depending on where they are installed, this may not be a problem, or it may be so severe, you will be unable to use CFLs in some applications.

They will interfere with most radio receivers, particularly AM (Amplitude Modulation) radios. You may be able to mitigate this by moving the radio farther away from the CFL, and/or plugging the radio, TV or other device receiving the interference into a different outlet or branch circuit. CFLs will render some remote controlled devices inoperable. I use home automation remote control devices sold under the X-10 brand name. The X-10 modules will simply not work anywhere near a circuit with an energized CFL. They produce so much RFI that they blind the X-10 receivers.

Worse yet, some X-10 modules will randomly turn on and off due to the noise coming down the AC line (I’ve also seen this problem when trying to use X-10 modules to control computers which use switching mode power supplies). The closer a CFL is to an X-10 module, the more problems you will experience.


I suspect this is true to varying degrees, for any brand of CFL, and any brand of RF-based remote control device.
If you have a burglar/fire alarm system that uses wireless modules, such as motion detectors or door/window sensors or smoke detectors, I think that the RFI generated by some CFLs might cause the alarm system to malfunction. Since this could create a dangerous situation, use CFLs with caution in these environments.

I’ve noticed that CFLs, like most other fluorescent lighting, can produce some acoustic noise. Conventional fluorescent lighting fixtures and ballasts carry acoustic noise ratings, which tell you how much buzz or hum they generate. I’ve never seen an acoustic noise rating on a CFL package.

mhardy6647

One day the wife told me she smelled something burning down there, and I found one with the base hot and starting to discolor.

We had a CFL fail in the living with the base (ballast) getting hot and smelling/smoking, too. Doesn't exactly inspire confidence, does it?

That said, we have many CFLs (and more traditional fluorescent fixtures) in the house. I am experimenting with dimmable "floodlamp" style CFLs in two can fixtures in the kitchen. I like CFLs, especially for lamps that are on for long periods. I wish small, higher-brightness CFLs could be developed. The CFLs do take time to reach full brightness, and also tend to get dimmer as they age. They seem to be worse than traditional fluorescent tubes in both regards (IME and IMO). Many of the CFLs that we've used have failed much more quickly than their design ratings would suggest. The three-way versions seem to be particularly bad in this regard.

I DO very much like the reduced electrical consumption (i.e., higher efficiency) of fluorescent lamps in general. Unfortunately, the plasma emission from mercury vapor is mostly at 254 nm in the UV, thus "phosphors" inside the lamps are used to absorb the 254 nm light and re-emit visible light -- thus some of that intrinsic efficiency is wasted. Plasmas that emit in the visible (e.g., sodium vapor plasma) make for much more efficient lamps, but of course have weird color temperatures. LEDs are promising for future high-efficiency home lighting, but they've got a ways to go, IMNSHO.

For now: stick with simple "100 watt" equivalent CFLs in nondimmable fixtures, base down, and you'll probably maximize value.

One final gripe: I'd pay extra for premium quality CFLs rather than the cheap and chintzy imported goods currently available with formerly great brand names at your local big box store.

Serendipity

exalted512 wrote: »

I bought a bunch on the bay a while back. Ive had 1 (out of 16) go bad within the first week, theyre all fine now.

I love them in my bathroom, I like to have bright light in the bathroom, but when I wake up, I dont want to be blinded. I dont have a dimmer and these things take about a minute to 'warm up'...poor mans dimmer
-Cody

Same here. I don't want to be blinded when I walk into a dark room, especially a bathroom. Also it's good when you wake up early and its still dark outside.

Systems

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lightman1

Datastorm wrote: »

They make fixtures now that will start up better in the cold weather. I have them in our shop here in Montana and they work very well.

Ask for cold start ballast fixtures. I've installed a bunch in cold storage warehouses, commercial freezers, etc. They are a bit pricey, but the benefits of cold weather start up without the flickering should make forget about that!
Some are good down to -20F.
Lightman Russ

WilliamM2

Datastorm wrote: »

They make fixtures now that will start up better in the cold weather. I have them in our shop here in Montana and they work very well.

Do they make these fixtures for outdoor lighting? The garage lights don't bother me, because I go out and fire up the furnace, turn on the lights, and go back inside for 20 to 30 minutes to let the garage warm up a little.

I was thinking that these new bulbs would save me the most on outdoor lighting. I currently have 6 100 watt floods. So I would be most interested in the flood light replacements.