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Thread ID: 90836 2008-06-17 21:38:00 Eco Bulbs - Greens Incandescant Ban Sucks Digby (677) PC World Chat
Post ID Timestamp Content User
679561 2008-06-19 01:02:00 Hi Guys

The Greens are bringing in a bill to ban the sale of incandescnat bulbs.

This sucks

My name is Green, but...

I do not think Compact Fluros are the sole answer.

I have fitted a few in my house and am very pleased with them, they do seem to last longer than incandescants.

But in some situations they are not very good.

Eg their light quality for reading is not so good.

I use 200W bulbs in my workshop and the only 200w CF's I could buy were terrible, they were very bluish, and gave out a low light level.

I do not like Nanny State dictating to us. Why not look at other ways to encourage CF's usage.

What do you think ?

I assume that you will still be able to buy incandescent bulbs for some situations. eg. For security outside spot lights, which must be a special type of high poweed bulb. We also have small mirrored 40w spot lights inside, that rely on the bulb reflecting the light backwards onto a reflector, where you can't get CFL alternatves. We have been using CFLs since 2000, when they cost over $20 each to buy, although most of those lights are still working today. As long has you have got a 'warm' colour bulb, you won't notice a mjor difference with colour, from a normal incandescent bulb..
robbyp (2751)
679562 2008-06-19 01:03:00 Are halogen bulbs classed as incandescents, and will they be banned as well? We have two desklamps and five bedside lamps that use halogen bulbs - if those bulbs are banned, I assume the lamps will all be useless when the bulbs cark it? Perhaps I had better stock up a few spares if that is the case.

And as someone else said above, the rangehood and oven have lamps for which I have seen no CF replacements... This could get expensive, and I am not prepared to throw out a perfectly good rangehood and oven just to be green.

No they will not be banned, as they are classed as environmentally friendly
robbyp (2751)
679563 2008-06-19 01:05:00 Thanks robbyp. They do create a lot of heat, so I thought they may have been for the chop as well. John H (8)
679564 2008-06-19 02:12:00 As well as The Press this am saying that there was much less mercury in the current generation of bulbs, it said that the mercury was now inert, as though that was somehow better.

Is there someone here who can express an informed opinion on the respective merits of inert mercury and whatever kind of mercury existed in the previous generation of bulbs? Is it safer for the environment, as the paper seemed to imply?

Inert mercury is mercury bonded with another element to make a compound - amalgam fillings are a common example of inert mercury. The two metals are chemically bonded and thus the mercury isn't free to wander off around the environment.

Yes I know someone will say that amalgam fillings leach mercury but that is argued about by metal scientists and the point is, most of the mercury remains trapped.
Winston001 (3612)
679565 2008-06-19 02:16:00 Inert mercury is mercury bonded with another element to make a compound - amalgam fillings are a common example of inert mercury . The two metals are chemically bonded and thus the mercury isn't free to wander off around the environment .

Yes I know someone will say that amalgam fillings leach mercury but that is argued about by metal scientists and the point is, most of the mercury remains trapped .

Hmmm, so you could say the mercury is married to the other element . . . :rolleyes:
Biggles (121)
679566 2008-06-19 02:23:00 It's odd if halogen lamps are classified as "good". The bulbs are reasonably efficient, but the common transformers are not efficient. They are point sources, so terrible for room lighting (unless you use lots of them). They still keep the ceiling space warm, just like ordinary incandescents. ;)

Stadium lighting is not with incandescent lighting. They use high pressure discharge lamps, which are very efficient. Of course the stadiums could be done away with. Since the games are just broadcast to fill in the time between commercials on TV, the whole lot could be done with computer simulations. Huge savings could be made like this. :D

CFLs are good. They are not for every situations.
Graham L (2)
679567 2008-06-19 03:05:00 Thanks for the explanation Winston. It sort of fits with what I think is meant by inert gases in scuba diving. John H (8)
679568 2008-06-19 03:22:00 Fluorescent tube lights have a flicker with them, which give some people a headache, don't know whether CFLs do.
:)
Trev (427)
679569 2008-06-19 03:29:00 CFLs do flicker. Standard fluorescents flicker at 100Hz, CFLs flicker at 25-30kHz or so. I don't think that would bother anyone. :thumbs: Graham L (2)
679570 2008-06-19 03:33:00 we've tried the new bulbs around the house but they don't work with dimmers, aren't as bright, and in the case of our stairwell lighting they're just plain dangerous/impractical as it takes so long for them to warm up and in the meantime you can only half-see where you're going

they shouldn't be banning incandescent bulbs - they should make the new ones and LED ones cheaper to buy

once it's cheaper to buy and run the new bulbs people will naturally switch over and we can still use incandescent where neccessary



I say seize Great Barrier Island, Built a humongous nuclear plant on one end, and a humongous prison on the other end and have a big cable connecting it to the national Grid and a 5 mile exclusion zone that way if prisoners escape they can't go anywhere and if anything goes wrong with the plant we'll be able to pay for the cleanup with the money wasted on feeding the prisoners and pandering to their whims

BEST IDEA EVER
motorbyclist (188)
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