Important Information about energy saver lightbulbs

[margomaps]

But IMO, all this fear-mongering about CFL's is just that -- fear mongering.  Yes, they contain a small amount of mercury.  Yes, if you break one, some or all of that mercury could escape.  Yes, if you ingest, breathe the vapors of, or wallow in the mercury itself, that represents a health risk.

I still haven't watched that video up yonder, but I haven't yet heard a commotion being made over CFL's from an individual safety standpoint. Every concern I've heard about them is aimed at the "toss it in the trash like a regular bulb" crowd. As long as the government is managing the waste disposal, I don't trust them with millions of mercury bulbs!

You should probably watch the video then.  The guy is a windbag, but he does a good job of pointing out how truly absurd some legislation is.  Apparently the EPA wants you to evacuate your house and call a hazmat crew if you drop a CFL.  Or something along those lines.  Like I said, the guy is a windbag.   

[Coconut]

A type of light bulb being illegal? What have we come to? I use Incandescents in my cheap lights that I use for video. I can change them to lower or higher powered bulbs for different settings. In addition, I'm clumsy and have twice dropped the light. The bulb didn't shatter, but did break. Who knows what'll happen if I start putting CFLs in these lights that I carry around

[lastlady]

hmmmm candles anyone?

[margomaps]

hmmmm candles anyone?

You wish!  In our brave new world, the price of candles (or candle-making supplies) will shoot through the roof once a carbon tax is in place for consumer items.  You'll also need to apply for a permit to burn any non-approved materials.   

[K. Darien Freeheart]

You should probably watch the video then.

Just did, and honestly, from seeing ONLY that clip, I like the guy. The government is absurd. I'd have LOVED if he tossed that CFL onto the floor to see if any of the House janitorial serfs knew how to dispose of those properly.

And as a total side note, when I was a kid I used to go behind the middle school and pull the burn out flourescent lights from the dumpster and light saber fight with them. I wonder if those things had mercury in them. Probably did, I'm fine. 

[margomaps]

Just did, and honestly, from seeing ONLY that clip, I like the guy.

Yeah, I like him too.  How could I not when he so passionately berated the absurdity of this light bulb regulation?  On the other hand, long-winded political oratory like this also annoys me.  Hence the windbag comment.  I'd probably go insane if I had to sit through one full day of stupid speeches like that.

And as a total side note, when I was a kid I used to go behind the middle school and pull the burn out flourescent lights from the dumpster and light saber fight with them. I wonder if those things had mercury in them. Probably did, I'm fine. 

Or....are you? ? ? ? ? ?  DUN-Dun-dun!!!

[doobie]

Just remember to stock up on your pre-ban lightbulbs now.... then in a few years sell them for 10 times the price and profit!

[Free libertarian]

 CFL's definitely help with your wattage consumption. The by product of high energy using incandescents is light, the real product is heat.  I'm not sure of the hazardous waste issues with CFL's and how real that is, but mercury spills could add up when you consider all the bulbs out there...Don't lick your hands after you've swept up a broken bulb I guess. Anyone have stats on what one broken bulb will do? At which point should we run for our lives?

I have done some research on LEDs too.  Seems like LEDs are not only expensive but don't diffuse light over a large area as well as the other bulbs, but I'm still gonna get some. I think so far they make the most sense in a low electric generation house. Either that or I could get a trained seeing eye mole for those evening trips to the bathroom.   

It's kind of funny, the "going green" mantra is now a big time marketing slogan and has convinced some people that they are saving the world if they buy certain products, with the Gov't. blessing of course. I wonder if somewhere in all the save the world stuff the Gov't. has any stats on their own energy consumption...all those planes, trucks, tanks? Countless official buildings, endless offices filled with people keeping "important records" etc. If they really wanted to save the world gov't workers would all be raising food in gardens instead of uh "working" in air conditioned offices huh? Maybe legislative sessions would be alot shorter if the lawmakers had to pull weeds while having their meetings. We wouldn't even need gov't buildings they could rotate their meetings from one persons garden to another...after all they are public servants right?   

Maybe the one thing GW Bush has ever said that I agree with is, we are addicted to oil and I'd also add we are addicted to our gluttonous ways. Drive thru any town USA in the evening and you can see the high consumption, the glow of mindless TV emanating from every living room, countless lights on in unoccupied rooms etc.  I can't help it, I'm being self riteous but our failure to be self reflecting as a society does bother me. Maybe I'm an energy grinch or still have too much Hippie in me, but I would love it if the power grid went down for a few days.  I tend to be very cynical of our over consuming culture, and think we need a wake up call, besides it would be fun just to see the public reaction. As much as  I hate paying $4 per gallon, it makes me feel very smug around some people as prices rise, plus I get to say "I told you so" as the prices climb higher. That's important to know it alls like me.

I think I'm going to look into raising fluorescent pigs, yes they will be low mercury too. They'll eat all your garbage, provide fertilizer for the garden, methane for the vehicle, food for the table and you can read a book beside them in the evening. Anybody know how to go about getting a patent? 

[Recumbent ReCycler]

Somehow I doubt that a CFL would last very long in an oven or in a microwave oven.  I think the best place to put an LED bulb is in the refrigerator because it has the best light to heat ratio, and you don't really want something that produces a lot of heat in your fridge.  CFLs don't work very well in a cold refrigerator.  Thinkgeek.com has some LED bulbs that look promising.  I want to buy one, but my funds are tight at the moment.

[Dylboz]

CFL's take a while to heat up to maximum efficiency, and their life is severely shortened by repeated turning off and on, so they'd be a very bad choice for a fridge. They are great for porch lights that you just turn on at night and leave on for a few hours, but not really for interior rooms, because if you are used to flipping out the lights when you leave a room, you'll kill the bulb faster. Plus, their cold blue light reminds me of work. I'm stocking up on incandescents now. I'll sell them back to you guys after the ban!

[margomaps]

CFL's take a while to heat up to maximum efficiency, and their life is severely shortened by repeated turning off and on, so they'd be a very bad choice for a fridge. They are great for porch lights that you just turn on at night and leave on for a few hours, but not really for interior rooms, because if you are used to flipping out the lights when you leave a room, you'll kill the bulb faster. Plus, their cold blue light reminds me of work. I'm stocking up on incandescents now. I'll sell them back to you guys after the ban!

True, you'll want to use CFL where you're not constantly switching the light on and off.  That's why I use them in rooms where I spend most of my time, and tend to leave the lights on for long stretches.

As far as the 'cold blue light' -- really that depends on the brand and type of bulb.  As I mentioned, I really like the Phillips bulbs I have.  The light is bright and clear and natural.  I've used some other bulbs that have the dreaded blue/green colored light, and it's really unappealing.  And the super-cheap Walmart spiral bulbs have a yellowish look that makes them quite similar to incandescents IMO.

I think that blue color was more prevalent in the earlier generations of CFL bulbs, and among certain brands.  I think I have a Sylvania or two (bought recently) that are absolutely dreadfully blue.  I hate them.   

[maulotaur]

CFL's take a while to heat up to maximum efficiency, and their life is severely shortened by repeated turning off and on, so they'd be a very bad choice

They also do not work well when you use with a dimmer switch!

[margomaps]

CFL's take a while to heat up to maximum efficiency, and their life is severely shortened by repeated turning off and on, so they'd be a very bad choice

They also do not work well when you use with a dimmer switch!

Some don't work at all (depending on the dimmer switch, and possibly the bulb).  I've noticed that there are newer, more expensive CFL's that are advertised to be usable with dimmer switches.

[KBCraig]

I wonder what the net amount of mercury released into the environment is with CFLs, versus incandescents. Incandescent lights burn more energy, much of which will be generated by coal, which dumps a huge amount of mercury into the atmosphere.

[MaineShark]

a "little of this" and a "little of that" makes a lotta of everything.

how many of "a little of this" makes it toxic?

its all insane.

Yeah, like those chiropractors who give people full-torso x-rays all the time, just for the heck of it.

Completely crazy...

CFL's take a while to heat up to maximum efficiency, and their life is severely shortened by repeated turning off and on, so they'd be a very bad choice for a fridge. They are great for porch lights that you just turn on at night and leave on for a few hours, but not really for interior rooms, because if you are used to flipping out the lights when you leave a room, you'll kill the bulb faster.

You don't want to run a CFL less than 5 minutes, or the energy savings from CFL vs incandescent will be less than the expense from shortening the bulb's lifespan.

Joe