Shoppers Hoarding Incandescent Lightbulbs

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kezix_69

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zirbmonkey

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And all these bulbs are made in China containing Mercury. Way to help the environment guys!

That being said, my house is filled with compacts fluorescents. They're just cheaper to operate, so I spend less on electricity. I'm waiting for LED manufacturing to get cheap enough to replace CFLs, so I can get all the mercury sources out of my house. One broken CFL will cause more heavy metal problems to your house than lead paint. Lead stays in place, but mercury travels and evaporates into your air.
 

kezix_69

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or actually I think it is due to the blinking of these new lightbulbs... they blink at 60Hz or 120Hz or whatever. Sorry I don't know exactly what causes it I haven't looked into it much since it doesn't affect me.
 

valcron

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While I do agree that we need to change our normal practices when it comes to carbon emissions I don't think this is even close to the right step.

When they develop an energy saving bulb with the same quality of light as a normal bulb and the same cost then I'll switch. In the meantime stay the hell away from my choice of which bulbs I use.
 
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I'd use them more often if they fit into more lights and they didn't spark/pop in older light fixtures.
 

pharge

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[citation][nom]kezix_69[/nom]or actually I think it is due to the blinking of these new lightbulbs... they blink at 60Hz or 120Hz or whatever. Sorry I don't know exactly what causes it I haven't looked into it much since it doesn't affect me.[/citation]

Yes it is known because of blink.... but that only happen when you buy the cheap low quality CFLs or/and have unstable voltage of electricty supply. By the way... it can also happen when the CFLs get very old.... but that means it is time to replace it...:p

One more thing... about the dimmer switch.. there are already some CFLs on the market which is capable to work with the dimmer switch... though they are hard to find and tend to be more expensive.

Good quality CFLs are not too bad from my experience, but I am still waitting for the LED light to get brighter and cheaper.

One more thing... regarding to the heavy metal in the CFLs... it is not the problem of using CFLs (we have been using FLs for many many years)... we just need to have a good system to recycle them.. maybe a system like we recycle our beer bottles in the US (with deposits to gain money back) will help.


PS: it is great that most of us are not using CRT monitors/TVs anymore... they have way more heavy metals in those CRT tubs....
 

kittle

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I have a few of them in my place.
No issues with headaches or sparking fixtures.
but neither have I seen a noticable drop in my power bill.
 

Onus

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I've been using CFL bulbs (and their small circline predescessors) for years now. I do it a little because it lowers my bill, a little because it's "greener," but mostly because I don't need to change them very often. In over five years, I think I've replaced 3 bulbs in my house, and I'd owned them for more years before that. Light quality is much improved from early models, and the flicker is gone thanks to more persistent phosphors. There are both dimmable and three-way versions of them as well. Guys like Thomas Edison were the closest thing I had to a "hero" growing up, but it's time to move on.
 

jerther

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Hopefully soon more LED lighting will hit the mainstream giving consumers an even more energy efficient alternative
Those have a still long way to go to compete against a 43W (150W incandescent equivalent) CFL.
 

trevorvdw

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The CFL bulbs have been great in general in my house except for the non standard sized ones, e.g.: The big guys you use above the bathroom mirror. Those go out on me constantly and cost much more than regular ones, so this is not saving me any money in fact my costs have gone up by trying to do the right thing due to poor quality manufacturing.
 

Montezuma

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When will people realize that carbon dioxide emissions will do nothing to hurt the environment? When will some of the idiots in the world realize that people behind this "green" bullshit are only looking to make a quick buck? Climate change is utter bullshit, but people are too stupid to understand this fact.

Sure, I am all for saving energy and reducing waste; it will cut down on the money I spend. Past that, I could care less.

You have got to love the "snake oil salesmen".
 

amnotanoobie

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[citation][nom]montezuma[/nom]When will people realize that carbon dioxide emissions will do nothing to hurt the environment? When will some of the idiots in the world realize that people behind this "green" bullshit are only looking to make a quick buck? Climate change is utter bullshit, but people are too stupid to understand this fact.Sure, I am all for saving energy and reducing waste; it will cut down on the money I spend. Past that, I could care less. You have got to love the "snake oil salesmen".[/citation]
Unfortunately this attitude is what got us into this "climate change" problem. I don't know about you but I am noticing the massive change in rain patterns where I live. Two years ago by October through February rains rarely hit where I live, now it's an all year thing. Also the hot days are now really really hot.
 

Major7up

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[citation][nom]kezix_69[/nom]I know of several people that get headaches from the new lightbulbs. What are they doing for these people?http://www.dailymail.co.uk/science [...] perts.html (one of many articles that can be found by googling)Something about the frequency of the light in these new bulbs causes the eye to constantly try to focus on different wavelengths of light causing headaches... or something crazy like that. It doesn't happen to everyone though.[/citation]
There are even studies that support this and suggest against use in office environments.
 

megamanx00

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Hah, economic boost due to light bulbs. Now that's a bright idea ;). Anyway it's good for the environment and more importantly, will help these bulbs be produced in larger numbers, which will lower the cost per such bulb, which is great for us here in the states :D.
 

dextermat

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While compact fluorescent lighting is much more energy efficient than incandescent, there are arguments against having CFL bulbs as replacements. For one, they contain mercury which could be problematic at time of disposal. The immediate concern, however, seems to be the energy savings.

Have you even been in a room where one of those died, i totally
chocked when the toxic smell hit me...

They should have a new modo :Buy While compact fluorescent lighting to save the planet and kill yourself with toxic fumes...
 

dark_lord69

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[citation][nom]ricdiculus[/nom]What about those of us with dimmers?? CF lamps ownt work with dimmers.[/citation]

Damn that's a good point I might stock up too.
My wife and I both have dimmer lamps on our night stands.
 
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