Comments on: Traditional light bulbs to be phased out

By: Jason Pereira

Jason Pereira — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 13:04:55 +0000

There are plenty of these in my house- guess we’ll have to upgrade soon! :D. The cost for the energy saving bulbs is worth it in the long run, shame they don’t have more of them here

By: Enki

Enki — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 15:13:21 +0000

Yes, but ARE they actually greener? OK, they consume less power, but how much energy goes into making them compared to normal bulbs? And what about the mercury that goes into them - what happens to that after they are discarded?
As for lasting longer, I’ve just lost the third one in my hall light, and not one of them has lasted more than two years. Hardly ‘12 times longer’ than conventional bulbs. So in my case they’re certainly not saving me money!

By: fenderflip

fenderflip — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 15:15:05 +0000

Jolly good old chaps! I think this is a GREAT idea! I wish every government would make it’s people more eco-friendly!

By: DJK

DJK — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 17:28:08 +0000

One of my low-energy bulbs has been working for thirteen or fourteen years - takes a while to “warm up” now, but when on is as bright as it has ever been. Two of my others failed fairly quickly (within a couple of years), but not nearly as quickly as ordinary bulbs used to.

By: profxuk

profxuk — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 17:39:58 +0000

They are a good idea, it would work if they did them in all the sizes. I struggle to find the right ones for all my lighting needs

By: jake3988

jake3988 — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 21:52:43 +0000

To address Enki’s bogus issues:

A) Roughly the same amount of energy is used to produce them. Also, CFLs are fairly cool (120F). Whereas normal lights operate at burning hot temperatures. So… this will save on the air conditioning bill as well.

B) You calculate by hours used, NOT total time. The boxes are printed for 4 hours a day usage.

In fact, there’s a warranty still. If it burns out earlier than it should you can send it back for a refund!

C) The Mercury problem is solved by good ol’ fashioned recycling. The mercury content inside is tiny, if millions don’t recycle, we have a BIG problem.

D) Hopefully CFLs will eventually be phased out for LEDs. LEDs use even less energy than CFLs, and last nearly forever. And they don’t contain mercury.

Even at $100 a bulb for 100w equiv LED bulb, it STILL pays itself off because of how insanely cheap it is to run compared to a comparable bulb.

By: Enki

Enki — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 16:27:48 +0000

Thanks for the responses, Jake.
Point A - I disagree about the energy going into manufacture. CFLs are many times more complex and have more components than incandescents, so it is simply unfeasible that they can be manufactured cheaper.
I’m in the UK and don’t have aircon, so that doesn’t apply here.

Point B - I *know* they go by hours. I don’t have my light fixtures wired through an hour meter, do I? I was going by empirical comparison with the tungsten bulbs I replaced with the CFL in the same fitting, all of which lasted approx. 3-4 years at an average burn time of 4 hours a day. No mention of warranty on my ones that I could see.

Point C - yes, it would be great if the mercury problem was solved by recycling, but how many of them actually get recycled? Most local authorities over here can’t even cope with recycling normal fluorescent tubes, never mind CFL’s. And that also depends on people making the effort instead of chucking them in the trash.
And what happens if you break the CFL? You have (admittedly small) amounts of mercury vapour in the air and up to 5ml of mercury on the carpet. I wouldn’t want that around pets or kids.
CFL’s are also largely produced in China, and the workers have minimal or zero protective measures against mercury contamination. So it’s OK for us, but not for those who make them?

There’s not enough space here to go into all the arguments, but I am a lighting designer so I *do* research these things. Have a look at this site if you want to learn the truth about these abominable things:
http://www.sound.westhost.com/articles/incandescent.htm

I’m with you on the LEDs - it won’t be too long before we these become cheap enough for domestic use. Let’s hope it happens before the world supply of tungsten runs out!

By: James

James — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 03:49:04 +0000

Ikea sells the energy efficient bulbs for about $3 apiece. That’s where I get them.

By: Huffmast3r

Huffmast3r — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 13:21:29 +0000

Totally agree. Got these all round my house, replacing one every 3-4 months. cost me £7 each, old style 50p each. what a rip-off!