Compact fluorescent lightbulbs

[doctorjazz]

I was just thinking about this today. Since incandescent bulbs are being phased out in the US sometime in the next few years - and in the UK, so this applies to you limeys too - I was wondering what everyone's take on CFL's is, since within a few years they'll be pretty much all anyone's able to buy.

All the ones I've tried have given off light that's absolutely hideous and depressing, I greatly prefer incandescent lighting but sadly that's going to be impossible to come by before long. Anybody got a recommendation for CFL's that don't suck?

[DudeistMonk]

Last time I was in home depot they offered a bunch of different options (not just wattage) for compact florescents and had a chart on which rooms to use each in.

I have some compact florescent in my room inside paper ikea lamps and they are pleasing...until the cat clawed apart the big floor lamp...I don't turn that one on anymore.

[a1bassguy]

The CFLs all seem to give off a sickening glow that can't match incandescent bulbs' warm and natural light. Everyone seems to be on the bandwagon for CFLs because they save energy, however, there is another way to save energy and that is to turn off lights when not needed. Another bad side to CFLs are the disposal aspect. While they can save energy, they will also pollute the earth worse than incandescents do.

It is too bad that our government needs to regulate something like this, clearly there are pros/cons to each choice of lighting and it should be our free choice to choose which suits us best. I am not looking forward to feeling like a lab rat under the eerily white-green glow of the CFLs once this mandate takes effect.

Now, back to my bass playin'

[Dirk Diggler]

Yes the larger power ones are certainly better looking. Also there is still some warm up time to get to full power. I have found that a good color reflective lampshade makes a big difference.

Also on the disposal aspect, the problem is that apparently they use Mercury in the building process, that's why they're on the way out.

The future will bring led lighting as the most efficient and least bad when disposed. But at $20 a bulb they have a long way to go. Also I find them to be a bit glaring with just white leds.
Dirk

[JimB52]

As I understand it, CFLs can't be used in a fixture on a dimmer or outside in cold weather.
Those are two pretty big applications not to have a lighting option for..

[Papazita]

Ever have a cfl bulb break at its base while you're screwing it in/out?
Mmm...nothing like a cloud of toxic mercury dust in your face!

[doctorjazz]

Originally Posted by JimB52

As I understand it, CFLs can't be used in a fixture on a dimmer or outside in cold weather.
Those are two pretty big applications not to have a lighting option for..

Originally Posted by Papazita

Ever have a cfl bulb break at its base while you're screwing it in/out?
Mmm...nothing like a cloud of toxic mercury dust in your face!

That's the government for you. Sometimes the solution is worse than the problem.

[fdeck]

No incandescent lighting in my house. There are cold weather rated CFL's. But it's a temporary solution, as I suspect that we will all be using LED's soon.

[doctorjazz]

Originally Posted by fdeck

No incandescent lighting in my house. There are cold weather rated CFL's.

So, how do you get it to look comfortable and home-y and not like you live in an office building?

[fdeck]

Originally Posted by doctorjazz

So, how do you get it to look comfortable and home-y and not like you live in an office building?

You can find CFL's with phosphors that give off a warmer color. Nothing is perfect, but things are improving in response to consumer demand. The LED's will eventually give you even more options, including the possibility of adjusting the color to suit your tastes.

In my case, I like the colder color of conventional "cool white" fluorescent lights. I also happen to like modern architecture and furnishings.

[iamlowsound]

I am waiting for the LEDs. Even less energy and much better light.

lowsound

[jkritchey]

I've got them all over the house. Ceiling lights, lamps, 3-ways, bathroom vanity, and several outdoors all year round. Still no dimmers.

There's different colors for different uses. Buy them at Costco and you barely notice the price diff. I got over the light difference in 10-15 minutes. I hardly ever change bulbs anymore except the remaining incandescent s.

My store still carries tons of incandescent bulbs.

What's the gov have to do with any of this?

[tasty sweeps]

i open my windows when i want sun. if it's night time, well... i still barely turn the lights on. i have LEDs where i need them, and other than that i tough it out. it's hard. downright painful at times.

"sarcasm, that's original!"

[LongHairFreak]

IMO, lights are over rated. I never use them myself.

[Papazita]

Originally Posted by jkritchey

What's the gov have to do with any of this?

This:
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/ar...TICLE_ID=59298

"...an energy bill passed by Congress yesterday [December 18, 2007] bans the incandescent light bulb by 2014.
...The phase-out of incandescent light is to begin with the 100-watt bulb in 2012 and end in 2014 with the 40-watt.

All light bulbs must use 25 percent to 30 percent less 2014. By 2020, bulbs must be 70 percent more efficient than they are today."

More from wikipedia ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banning...ent_lightbulbs )
"...the federal Clean Energy Act of 2007 was signed into law on December 19, 2007. This legislation effectively banned (by January 2014) incandescent bulbs that produce 310 - 2600 lumens of light.[11] Bulbs outside this range (roughly, light bulbs currently less than 40 Watts or more than 150 Watts) are exempt from the ban. Also exempt are several classes of speciality lights, including appliance lamps, "rough service" bulbs, 3-way, colored lamps, and plant lights."

[Papazita]

According the U.S. EPA the Reference Concentration (RfC) for elemental mercury is 0.0003 milligrams per cubic meter. Exposures greater than the RfC, increase the potential for adverse health risks.

The average household use compact flourescent light contains 5 milligrams of mercury. That is enough mercury to contaminate 16,667 cubic meters of soil. That is enough soil to fill a football field from end zone to end zone and sideline to sideline 167 meters high with soil. Another way of looking at it a single line of dirt that is one meter wide and one meter tall that is just over one mile long,

http://www.bancfls.com/mercurydanger.cfm

[WalterBush]

A) I think they're one of the biggest scams on the planet. Unreliable, cheap (as in crappy, not inexpensive), the light's at the wrong frequency even if it's the right color; I could go on.

B) They have levels of mercury enough to poison my kids if I bust one around my toddler. Yeah, sign me up What a load. I hate them with a passion for that reason alone.

C) They are killing people. Literally. Mostly, they're made in China, and there's no such thing as Chinese OSHA. There's a mortality rate amongst those workers akin to the mortality rate of quarry workers in the late 19th century because they're handling mercury completely unprotected; the factory that made them in Kentucky was forced to shut down due to environmental concerns; toxic mercury levels!

I despise these devices with a passion, and I despise the people and entities forcing them on us based on a lie and the desire for a quick buck.

As an alternative to the incandescent, I would highly recommend halogen (hot, but they're the right color, they're bright, and they're made well), High Pressure Sodium for outdoor use, and as they become cheaper, LEDs. Until then, I'm starting a stockpile of incandescents.

[Papazita]

I love how they've started lowering the wattage on incandescents now, too, to frustrate enough people into switching to cfl's.


My landlord showed up about a month ago with a few boxes of cfl's and made me change every single bulb to these stupid things. Since he pays the electric bill, I can't really object.

[popinfresh]

Originally Posted by Papazita

According the U.S. EPA the Reference Concentration (RfC) for elemental mercury is 0.0003 milligrams per cubic meter. Exposures greater than the RfC, increase the potential for adverse health risks.

The average household use compact flourescent light contains 5 milligrams of mercury. That is enough mercury to contaminate 16,667 cubic meters of soil. That is enough soil to fill a football field from end zone to end zone and sideline to sideline 167 meters high with soil. Another way of looking at it a single line of dirt that is one meter wide and one meter tall that is just over one mile long,

http://www.bancfls.com/mercurydanger.cfm

It's an interesting topic.

From what i've read, the use of incandescents via coal energy produces more mercury though. Is it better to have it in the air (what effects does it have on nearby areas etc) or in landfill? Honest question there.

PS. I'm not for CFL's at all.

[fdeck]

A bigger problem for most people is that typical enclosed housings will let the CFL's get too hot, and their lifetime will be greatly shortened. You may have to change the entire fixture to avoid constantly replacing CFL's. Make sure the landlord provides the replacements.