GE's Bright Idea is a Halogen/CFL Hybrid Bulb

[ivanlucrazy]

[citation][nom]Nimmist[/nom]Can’t say how Belarus treats toxic substances, but I did link the EPA’s guild line for CLF clean-up. I have broken several CLFs while screwing them in, they are more fragile than incandescent bulbs. Saying there is no chance of them breaking under normal use is utterly false.[/citation]

As I've stated, if you end up breaking them while putting them in, you shouldn't be doing it in the first place. From all the time back in the states to here in Belarus, after installing over 50 CFL's I have not had one break on me. And like I said not one has ever exploded on me.

I've also never had any flickering problems or anything else people mention. If they do for whatever reason go out, there is a 1 year warranty on most sometimes 2. At least that is the way it is here.

If you really are concerned about the effects of throwing the bulbs out, you will do what it takes to recycle them because it's important to you. The shops you mentioned that are close just add to the convenience. Being "Green" doesn't mean convenience. If you have to, you will drive to the waste management facility and go from there. Otherwise you could just put the light bulb in the box and throw it out.

The choice is yours, I'm not trying to force CFL's down your throat, I just cant stand that some people post problems about these that they themselves experienced and are trying to pin it to the majority when it's the other way around. Isolated cases. I think I would be right in saying that the majority are happy, otherwise there wouldn't be any demand. As long as they keep giving us more choices, I will be happy.

Personally I am waiting for LED's.

 

[lloydie_p]

I grew up in Jamaica in the 80’s. Back then I lived next to a school where old CFL tubes were dumped next to an area where rubbish would be burnt (no internet and no environmental warnings back then). My friends and I being silly kids would smash and break the old florescent tubes for fun. Jedi knight lightsabers was theme of our many replays with said tubes (Old school T12 1200mm tubes I think).

20 years on and knock on wood we are all alive. I don’t recall anyone getting ill while playing (being morons) with said tubes. We probably broke as many as 20 tubes at any one time. So I don’t know how daft someone would have to be to get seriously ill from the mercury in CFLs... I suppose you could break 50 of these smaller CFLs, all at once in a small closed room and stand around to inhale fumes? Anyone wants give that a try...

In regards to life of CFLs; I don’t think manufactures give all the facts; again in Jamaica I remember one these CF tubes (commercial) lasting 11 years (I remember my dad remarking) and most would last at least 5 years.... now I live in the UK and I have the experience of the CFL tubes/lamps only lasting no more than 2 years on average. So voltage, temperature and or poor design (profit margins) must play a part in life of these modern lamps.

The flicker issue dose exists but this doesn’t affect everyone. Weirdly I’m one of those people that could notice when a computer CRT was set to 60Hz (flicker) and not 75Hz, but I don’t usually notice flicker in modern CFLs.

Thinking about it, if we’d build houses with ability to take commercial fittings i.e. the T12s; the issues of dim start up and the reddish glow of the smaller CLFs (I grew up around T12s and dislike the redish glow of incandescent bulbs) would have never come to be. So is it the technology’s fault or is it we who are stuck in our ways?

LED lighting does show promise. LED Lamps should be good for at least 10 years if there low intensity appliance application is anything to go by. Again maybe LED lighting diffuser issues might beresolved better if the designers didn’t have fit LED lamps in diffusers and fittings originally designed for incandescent bulbs first made 100+ years ago.

My 2 cents

 

[theuerkorn]

I can see the use in location like bath rooms etc. where the light is often used only for a few minutes. Dimming is more important to me personally as dimmable CFLs are still somewhat scarce, but in some applications this might be a good idea (even if I have no problem with the initial brightness.)

LED lighting is still far out from being bright enough and cheap enough to be a full replacement. Tried many PAR20 "replacements" and even the expensive ones are rarely dimmable and light output is nowhere close to a 35W bulb, let alone a 50W Halogen. Of course high power LEDs cost a lot of money these days, and CFLs are for the time being the most cost efficient solution.