As you folks know, I'm a bit of a technophile. When LED flashlights first came out, I got them. I was fiddling with computers when they were little more than glorified calculators. CF bulbs? I've got 'em, except where I've got dimmer switches installed... since CF bulbs and dimmers aren't too happy with each other. I LIKE the idea of LED lighting, but so far there's been a few, um, drawbacks. Brightness is an issue, as is cost. IKEA for a while has had under-cabinet lighting... but it's both expensive and kind of dim. There are alternatives... but I'm not ready to dump the halogen lights we've got under the kitchen cabinets for them.
Not yet, anyway.
However, a bill recently passed in Congress, mandating the phaseout of incandescent bulbs.
WorldNetDaily: Congress bans incandescent bulbsOh, yay. Politicians and physics - I can't think of a better combination for long-term trouble. The only commercially viable replacement at present is the CF bulb, and there's certain, um, drawbacks with THAT particular system. Either there's going to have to be more latitude in CF cleanup, or we're going to need something better.In addition to raising auto fuel efficiency standards 40 percent, an energy bill passed by Congress yesterday bans the incandescent light bulb by 2014.
Well - there might be something out there. Have you heard of the Sulfur Plasma bulb? Apparently after getting pretty much ignored in the '90s, it's making a comeback. It's a neat idea, with no apparent long-term hazards (except from 2.45 gHz radiation - I don't know how you feel about that) and sulfur's environmentally relatively benign. It's only real drawback may be that it's too bright - better suited for industrial use than home.
But something that struck me - have you noticed what the government is doing? They're taking an inexpensive, simple, workable item who's only drawback is that it uses too much power... and forcing a change off of it to a supposedly hazardous, technically complex, more expensive item... which has as it's only real benefit the ability to provide light for the long term at a lesser cost in energy.
Well, maybe OLEDs will save us. But again - they're not commercially viable at this point for consumer lighting.
Time's getting short - and the government's clock is ticking.
J.
Comments (4)
The other thing I found yesterday - didn't bookmark it - was a statement that oil obtained from the Middle East was only a small percentage of our total oil used. If I find it again, I'll bring a site back. It seems to me that freeing ourselves from dependence on the Middle East for oil is the only legitimate rationale for forcing change. There are many jobs done by incandescent bulbs that cannot be done by CFs, although they certainly have their place.
I agree with you on LEDs - at the moment, I think they're greatly overrated, although they exhibit potential. The biggest drawback for me seems to be that they don't _project_ light. I don't understand the physics of it, but those same undercounter lights you say aren't very bright would probably damage your eyes if you were to look directly into them. We can get LED rope lighting - if you hold the rope head on, it's _very_ bright...but if you turn it to look at it sideways, not so. It's still brighter than incandescent rope lights, but I think that's mostly because of the whiteness - and the clarity of the light in colors. The demo LED reflector bulbs we have are simply not as effective as the wattage they're supposed to replace - yet if you look directly into the face of the bulb, it appears really bright.
MM had a article on it, and folks were extremely opposed - they'd tried CFs and were dissatisfied. Part of that, I think, is that some companies exaggerate the comparison with incandescents - it's somewhere between 4 and 5 times the actual wattage. A 13 watt is sold as a sub for a 60W bulb, but is actually closer to a 50 watt. A 15 watt would be a better choice. There's also color - most bulbs on the commercial market are 27k - which is closest to incandescent in color, but doesn't seem very bright because it lacks the sharpness of the incandescent. If you want bright, you need a 4 or 5K bulb.
We carry higher wattage CFs, including a 100w spiral - but the size! They're 4+ inches across and about 14 inches long! And are the equivalent of approximately 400 watts incandescent. Life is about 8000 hours. A 500w incandescent is about 9 inches long, and 6.5 across at it's widest point but the difference in shape as well as size can be a problem.
By the way...I've been told that as of Jan 1, all new residential type fixtures
will have a GU24 base - also called a twist and lock. The bulbs are not out there yet - at least not generally. People are going to be frustrated. The bulbs will be available in 13,18,23,and 26 watts and that's it, as far as I know. No color options available at the moment.
Posted by suek | December 23, 2007 10:57 AM
Posted on December 23, 2007 10:57
Sometimes I think the market is a much more effective remedy to problems than the government is. As far as water pollution goes, instead of mandating the cleanliness of an output flow, simply mandate that the input for a water-using factory be taken from below the output. Then it would be in the best interests of the company to clean up the outflow as much as possible, so it doesn't have to deal with a heavily contaminated input.
But I guess we'll see what comes of this next round. I can see 'exceptions' getting made for the manufacturers who can't get up to the mandated specifications in time...
J.
Posted by JLawson | December 24, 2007 8:18 AM
Posted on December 24, 2007 08:18
Agreed - allow the electric companies to raise prices for power above certain usages per square foot, or some such, and then if people want to pay for it, it's their option.
Posted by suek | December 24, 2007 10:55 AM
Posted on December 24, 2007 10:55
Another thought on this...I suspect lawmakers make a number of laws that they then are able to work around themselves. This one isn't going to work that way. If manufacturing stops, those bulbs just simply are not going to be available.
Do they have _any_ idea how many bulbs there are? for how many different applications? We stock about 2500...and every week have to special order for people, or turn people away because we can't find a particular bulb, or their bulb has been discontinued. I bought some last week...a 6 volt, 6s6, single contact base. Within the next six months or so, I expect to be the only one in the state that has any. We found one for a lady...a 12 volt, single contact 24 watt par 14 lamp. She blew it out testing it. Can't get another one - anywhere! They just don't exist anymore. Her options are: new fixture, new socket or no light. New fixture or new socket involve an electrician. Electricians in our area run $65 per hour or more. She doesn't like her options.
Posted by suek | December 24, 2007 11:07 AM
Posted on December 24, 2007 11:07