ClimbingPanther Posted October 6, 2006 Share Posted October 6, 2006 Hey everybody, There is becoming less and less reason to own a single regular old light bulb and more and more reason to switch over to fluorescent bulbs in every fixture in your house. Wal-Mart is selling them very cheaply now, and anybody who gives a hoot about the energy and environmental crises we're creating should go buy these bulbs. And anybody who doesn't give a hoot as well, because they save you a -load of money over their lifetime because they use 1/4 the energy to run, and they last 10 times longer. 6-pack of [60 watt equivalent] bulbs are only $10, making them $1.67 per bulb. Since they last 10 times longer, I challenge you to find 10 60-watt bulbs for that price. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G-spotter Posted October 6, 2006 Share Posted October 6, 2006 Compact flourescents will be replaced by LEDs within a couple years. LEDs use 1% of the energy of an incandescent, which is 1/25th of the energy of a compact flourescent. Get ready to re-upgrade soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fern Posted October 6, 2006 Share Posted October 6, 2006 AFAIK the fluorescents don't work with dimmer switches though ... no more mood lighting Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cj001f Posted October 6, 2006 Share Posted October 6, 2006 AFAIK the fluorescents don't work with dimmer switches though ... no more mood lighting Get the multicolor LED arrays so you can pick the shade and intensity Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClimbingPanther Posted October 6, 2006 Author Share Posted October 6, 2006 A few years, eh? Good, so if you replace all your lights with fluorescents now, you won't ever have to buy another bulb! Then when the LED's come out you can switch to them. How are they shaping up for cost/longevity/[light] temperature/etc.? As if I couldn't google it. But you seem to know, so do tell! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevbone Posted October 6, 2006 Share Posted October 6, 2006 Yeah, but do I want to step into Walmart and buy something there and support the beast? NO! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G-spotter Posted October 6, 2006 Share Posted October 6, 2006 A few years, eh? Good, so if you replace all your lights with fluorescents now, you won't ever have to buy another bulb! Then when the LED's come out you can switch to them. How are they shaping up for cost/longevity/[light] temperature/etc.? As if I couldn't google it. But you seem to know, so do tell! it was in last week's Economist. I'm sorry, I didn't memorize it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fenderfour Posted October 6, 2006 Share Posted October 6, 2006 Compact flourescents will be replaced by LEDs within a couple years. LEDs use 1% of the energy of an incandescent, which is 1/25th of the energy of a compact flourescent. Get ready to re-upgrade soon. Much of my work in the aircraft industry has been with lighting. We are currently working on an all LED system for our newest offering. The control of this system is a huge pain in the ass. You need to account for different LED color, color temperature, brightness, aging, color drift, etc... Another big problem is how LED's make light. All current residential fixtures/light designs are with omnidirectional sources. LED's create a single beam of light. It's tricky to get this light diffused in enough directions to create the same sort of lighting we are accustomed to. In short, I don't think we will be seeing LED's breaking into the common lighting market anytime soon. Ten years? Sure... Five years? No. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G-spotter Posted October 6, 2006 Share Posted October 6, 2006 Already here. In Australia Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cj001f Posted October 6, 2006 Share Posted October 6, 2006 Another big problem is how LED's make light. All current residential fixtures/light designs are with omnidirectional sources. LED's create a single beam of light. It's tricky to get this light diffused in enough directions to create the same sort of lighting we are accustomed to. 1) buy a reflector 2) stick a diffuser in front of it it's much harder to make LED's throw lit in a single direction - that's what I do all day You ever deal with the folks from Florida (ALI) ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fairweather Posted October 7, 2006 Share Posted October 7, 2006 Don't Flourecents contain a fair amount of mercury? Will it end up in landfills/water table? Don't they require ballasts that contain PCB'S? Is the energy savings worth the down-side? Is supporting Wal-Mart with your wallet worth saving a few Kilowatts? How much energy goes into producing the bulb and ballast versus incandescents? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr_Phil Posted October 7, 2006 Share Posted October 7, 2006 How much energy is wasted in Spray? cc.com: The Wal-Mart of Climbing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
underworld Posted October 7, 2006 Share Posted October 7, 2006 Don't Flourecents contain a fair amount of mercury? Will it end up in landfills/water table? Don't they require ballasts that contain PCB'S? Is the energy savings worth the down-side? Is supporting Wal-Mart with your wallet worth saving a few Kilowatts? How much energy goes into producing the bulb and ballast versus incandescents? don't question the rest of the story. if something is bad, that's it... it's that simple. there is no other side! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
murraysovereign Posted October 7, 2006 Share Posted October 7, 2006 Don't Flourecents contain a fair amount of mercury? Will it end up in landfills/water table? Don't they require ballasts that contain PCB'S? Is the energy savings worth the down-side? Is supporting Wal-Mart with your wallet worth saving a few Kilowatts? How much energy goes into producing the bulb and ballast versus incandescents? All valid questions. Regarding the mercury content: treehugger.com and further zerowaste.org PCBs are not used in CFLs - apparently PCBs were a component of magnetic ballasts, but they have been replaced by electronic ballasts in CFLs. That's according to buildinggreen.com I don't know about energy used in production - I imagine it's higher, but by how much? I constantly see references to CFLs using less energy "over the life of the bulb" which may refer to production as well as working life - I don't know. Presumably all the environmental organisations that are encouraging the use of CFLs have looked into the total life span, and have found a net energy saving, or they wouldn't be promoting them so enthusiastically. And as for Mall-Wart, when you get right down to it, they're just one possible source. I've bought a couple hundred CFLs over the past few years in the course of converting the store over from halogens, and I've never bought a single one from Mall-Wart. Home Depot, Rona, the local Home Hardware and Mountain Building Supplies, even the local grocery store all sell CFLs. Sure they may cost a bit more than at Mall-Wart, but if you don't want to buy them there, no-one's forcing you to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
murraysovereign Posted October 7, 2006 Share Posted October 7, 2006 (edited) And just for a bit of first-hand experience, I'm replacing a few bulbs in the store right now, and one that burned out last week was installed on Sept 3, 2003 (I write the dates on them, so I can track which brands/styles last the longest). That bulb is on a circuit that stays on 24 hrs a day, so it burned continuously for over 25,000 hours. There are a few CFLs that were installed in the first batch back in February '03 that are still burning 3 1/2 years later. For comparison's sake, the incandescents and halogens we formerly used lasted, on average, about 6 months. And the electrical bill is about 30% lower than it used to be. Edited October 7, 2006 by murraysovereign Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
murraysovereign Posted October 7, 2006 Share Posted October 7, 2006 But it's hard to beat the 4-watt bulb at the firehall in Livermore, CA - going steady since 1901. Check out the "Bulb-Cam" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G-spotter Posted October 8, 2006 Share Posted October 8, 2006 there is this hydrogen fusion reactor called "the sun" that has been producing light continuously 24/7/365 for several billion years! wow! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
murraysovereign Posted October 8, 2006 Share Posted October 8, 2006 Yeah, but it's not a very efficient light souce - look at how much heat that thing throws off. How much longer would it last if it was replaced with LEDs? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G-spotter Posted October 8, 2006 Share Posted October 8, 2006 and it is only on 12 hours a day at the equator! geez! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mos_Chillin Posted October 8, 2006 Share Posted October 8, 2006 You guys crack me up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G-spotter Posted October 8, 2006 Share Posted October 8, 2006 shouldn't you be at tuft-up, bonsai man? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mos_Chillin Posted October 8, 2006 Share Posted October 8, 2006 I gotta sell my backhoe, You Pencil Pusher Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr_Phil Posted October 8, 2006 Share Posted October 8, 2006 Mike's for sale? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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