OUR CONGRESS AT WORK, THE NEW CFL LIGHT BULBS

[Diane Amberg]

So what will become of regular long fluorescent tubes. Anything? They have some drawbacks too.

[mtcookson]

So what will become of regular long fluorescent tubes. Anything? They have some drawbacks too.

Since they are mostly used in businesses I wouldn't worry about it quite as much as the entire population having to use CFL's but I'm sure we could come up with better alternatives.

The more research I do on LED bulbs, the more I like them... except for the cost (though from my reading businesses seem to love going the LED route due to their longevity, efficiency, and in turn cost effectiveness). Aside from the cost, I believe if the people want an efficient alternative that isn't potentially harmful like CFL's, LED bulbs will be the only way to go. Instead of embracing CFL, we need to completely scrap that idea and work toward making LED bulbs cheaper if we want safe, efficient, lighting.

Not only that but they can be even more efficient than CFL's to operate and you don't have to worry about disposal issues. There isn't anything inside them that is harmful like CFL's so they can be tossed like normal incandescent bulbs... however... LED lifespan is typically as high as 50,000 hours. If you were to install one right now and run it for 8 hours a day every day you theoretically shouldn't have to change it for nearly 17 years... or year 2028 (give or take a few months and whether or not the world is even still around by then ). Some of the LED bulbs from Sylvania are rated at 25,000 hours, which is still 3 times longer than most standard CFL's and over 2 times longer than the longest lasting CFL I can find on GE's site, which is 12,000 hours.

For the wattage consumed they produce slightly less light output than incandescent bulbs but more than CFL. An 8 watt LED bulb from Sylvania is about the equivalent of a 40 watt incandescent, producing 430 lumen of light output (a Sylvania 40w incandescent ranges from 390 to 470 lumen). GE's best 10 watt CFL initially produces 550 lumen but drops down to a mean lumen of 430 to 450 (they don't list mean lumen for this particular bulb so I had to do a very rough calculation based on other bulbs, the mean being in the 80% range of initial).

What it comes down to in the case above:
Sylvania 8w LED - 53.75 lumen/watt (lm/W)
Sylvania 40w Incandescent - 9.75 to 11.75 lm/W
GE T3 10w CFL - 43 to 45 lm/W

According to the Wiki (I know, I know) incandescent bulbs having a high of about 35 lm/W. CFL up to 75 lm/w while other fluorescent bulbs listed getting as high as 124.3 lm/W. Of the LED bulbs listed the highest of the standard screw base bulbs is 101.9 lm/W and LED bulbs in general have a "theoretical limit" of between 260 to 300 lm/W.

LED has the clear advantage over CFL and if anyone has any sense left in them should clearly see this is the alternative to pursue instead of these horrible CFL bulbs. Whatever the case may be... the government should NEVER tell us which ones we can or cannot use by banning them. Though... I honestly wouldn't mind CFL's being banned due to their major, and downright unhealthy, downfalls (though I would let the states decide that as it shouldn't be the Fed making those decisions).

Forgot to add, LED bulbs are UV free and Sylvania even claims IR free. I believe they would still put off EM radiation but not sure how much compared to CFL.

Touching on your objections:

1.They contain mercury, correct they do as it is well established 0.69mg.

Didn't realize you said this the first time around. Quit spitting out your liberal lies and lets get some actual facts here.

From all of my looking around it is nowhere close to being "well established" that they are at 0.69 mg. Not sure where you got that from but from what I've been able to find most say they in the 3 to 5 mg range with some brands as low as 1 mg. GE even says they average at 5 mg.

Edit: I think I might have found where you got that .69 from. Only thing I could find was a Danish study from 1991 where they assumed the CFL bulb tested contained only .69 mg of mercury. From what I can find the pro-CFL groups and the manufacturers seem to agree on 5 mg being around the average. NEMA lamp companies even committed to capping total mercury in CFL's to 5 mg for under 25 watts and 6 mg for 25 to 40 watt bulbs. If they were truly able to make a CFL with around .69 mg of mercury they would be advertising that everywhere they could since everyone else averages out to 5 mg.

Give me a break!


Haven't got all of the way through yet but this seems to be a pretty interesting read: http://donjunior.com/images/The_CFL_Myth_article.pdf

[frawin]

Along with all of the dangers of these bulbs, they will all be made in China which will just increas our trade imbalances even more.


"Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs:
What To Do If A Bulb Breaks "

http://www.ct.gov/dph/lib/dph/cfl_fact_sheet_final.pdf

[Patriot]

Methinks there is a bigger point being missed here.  This is really more about government making unvetted social engineering choices and political power over the lives of every citizen in America than it is about CFLs & their mercury content.  People like Jerry should expect to be told how to fold/wad their toilet paper as they live outside the US where milquetoast 'follow all the rules' is the norm.  But here we have an legal expectation of liberty.  The Congress was wrong to even consider this extra-constitutional law, and Bush was a dipstick for signing it.  What does it say (about our citizenry and elected officials) when our leadership is busy dictating our light bulb choices?  To me it says our citizenry is asleep at the switch and our leadership is blinded by ideology and too cozy with multinational businesses who have a lot to gain from such laws as this (GE = big political doner, GE= maker of CFLs in China, CFLs from China= much bigger profit margins, pols/GE win = taxpayers pay).

[jerry wagner]

Methinks there is a bigger point being missed here.  This is really more about government making unvetted social engineering choices and political power over the lives of every citizen in America than it is about CFLs & their mercury content.  People like Jerry should expect to be told how to fold/wad their toilet paper as they live outside the US where milquetoast 'follow all the rules' is the norm.  But here we have an legal expectation of liberty.  The Congress was wrong to even consider this extra-constitutional law, and Bush was a dipstick for signing it.  What does it say (about our citizenry and elected officials) when our leadership is busy dictating our light bulb choices?  To me it says our citizenry is asleep at the switch and our leadership is blinded by ideology and too cozy with multinational businesses who have a lot to gain from such laws as this (GE = big political doner, GE= maker of CFLs in China, CFLs from China= much bigger profit margins, pols/GE win = taxpayers pay).

For lack of anything better, Patriot, shove it.  We have legal expectation of liberty as much as you possess in the US if not more on many fronts.

[Patriot]

For lack of anything better, Patriot, shove it.  We have legal expectation of liberty as much as you possess in the US if not more on many fronts.

You believe you're guaranteed free speech too..... go check the Canadian Constitution.... it ain't there.  So much for what you 'think' friend.

[jerry wagner]

You believe you're guaranteed free speech too..... go check the Canadian Constitution.... it ain't there.  So much for what you 'think' friend.

I know what's in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.