# How many folks are stocking up on Light Bulbs before the government takes them away? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 3, 2010, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-folks-are-stocking-up-on-light-bulbs-before-the-government-takes-them-away/523534 "2010-01-03T20:16:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Duke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e8c25b/32.png) [@Duke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2010, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-folks-are-stocking-up-on-light-bulbs-before-the-government-takes-them-away/523534/81 "2010-01-05T02:30:03Z")
> [@Renee](#): > > Well, now you’ve met a liberal who’s had problems with them burning out quickly. Two. I bought a package of 6 CFL’s about six months ago, and half are dead. One was dead right out of the package. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2010, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-folks-are-stocking-up-on-light-bulbs-before-the-government-takes-them-away/523534/82 "2010-01-05T02:39:17Z")
> [@cjepson](#): > > There are a lot of exceptions in the US, including your Christmas bubble lights… the rules will not apply to any bulb dimmer than 40 watts, or any colored lights (so the OP’s yellow bug lights, for example, will still be available). Floodlights, three-way bulbs, and candelabra bulbs will also be exempt. > > [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phase-out\_of\_incandescent\_light\_bulbs](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phase-out_of_incandescent_light_bulbs) > > I guess Easy-Bake ovens will simply be made with multiple low-wattage bulbs. > > I’m gonna have to check and see what the wattage in my Lava Lamp is… Good – because my family would have to buy an entirely new Christmas tree (we have one of those with the lights already on it) (And before anyone asks, I’m a liberal) ---
**Author:** ![Waenara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/50afbb/32.png) [@Waenara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Waenara)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2010, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-folks-are-stocking-up-on-light-bulbs-before-the-government-takes-them-away/523534/83 "2010-01-05T05:46:17Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > Good – because my family would have to buy an entirely new Christmas tree (we have one of those with the lights already on it) > (And before anyone asks, I’m a liberal) Even if the new regulations applied to Christmas lights, why would you have to buy a new Christmas tree? The regulation applies to the manufacture of _new_ bulbs - they aren’t going to go around confiscating your old incandescents or forcing you to throw out bulbs that still work. You’d just need to buy more efficient bulbs when your current ones burn out. ---
**Author:** ![sharding](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/90db22/32.png) [@sharding](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sharding)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2010, 6:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-folks-are-stocking-up-on-light-bulbs-before-the-government-takes-them-away/523534/84 "2010-01-05T06:53:50Z")
Would the people who are claiming their CFLs last for years, come on to full brightness instantly and are indistinguishable from incandescents please post the exact brand and model you are using? Over the past couple of years, I’ve looked at a number of types for which these claims have been made, and I’ve always been able to easily see a difference in light color/quality. I’m open to switching if there are some that really are as good as incandescents, so tell me what to look for. Last time I tried to calculate it, it seemed that the cost of replacement bulbs and energy for using all incandescents (as I do now) is a truly miniscule portion of the household budget. So even if the bulbs were completely indistinguishable, I’m not sure I’d be all that motivated to switch. But I continue to keep an open mind. If I find a CFL bulb I like, I’d probably change just for the “it’s the right thing to do” factor… ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2010, 7:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-folks-are-stocking-up-on-light-bulbs-before-the-government-takes-them-away/523534/85 "2010-01-05T07:06:37Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > . > > I’ve tried the new bulbs and despise them. They put out an ugly depressing color of light. I removed mine after a month and threw them out. No, they have them in all normal spectrums. The really cheap ones sometimes burn out early, or if you have a bad socket. The cheaper ones can also have a small but noticeable delay. If you don;t like CFLs, then try LED. Expensive, but they last forever. I can find them on eBay for under $10. The 60LED bulb is about “60watts” in brightness. Right now I can recommend LEDs for closets, hallways or anywhere you want to leave it on all the time or it’s very hard to change. ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2010, 8:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-folks-are-stocking-up-on-light-bulbs-before-the-government-takes-them-away/523534/86 "2010-01-05T08:48:54Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Exactly. why not let the free market work? Get the price down on CFL’s. Fix the color issues and the size. At some point they’ll begin to out sell incandescent. Eventually incandescent will go away like the 8 track and reel to reel tape players. > > The free market works when it’s not interfered with. The supermarkets here suddently stopped selling incandescent bulbs about a year ago, which annoyed me no end as CFLs are still bloody expensive ($3-$5 each). And frankly, I don’t want to pay a fiver for a lightbulb that will last 10 years- I was quite happy paying 60c for a lightbulb that would last a year or two at least. Especially when it was something like the light in the toilet which had blown and you just need a cheap 40w replacement so you’re not trying to use your primitive sonar abilities to aim in the dark. So far, I can’t say I’ve noticed much difference one way or the other between CFLs and Incandescents with regards to lighting quality or anything like that, though. ---
**Author:** ![Leiko](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Leiko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leiko)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2010, 10:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-folks-are-stocking-up-on-light-bulbs-before-the-government-takes-them-away/523534/87 "2010-01-05T10:21:51Z")
Not to sound like a shill or anything, but the CFLs at Ikea have always worked nicely for my family, if you’re looking for vaguely cheap and certainly long-lasting. My house has not-the-greatest wiring- lights go dim when other things on the same circuit are turned on or take more power than normal, some of the circuits trip pretty easily- but the CFL bulbs last a good long time. My mom and I are both bugged by the flicker on traditional long-tube fluorescents, but CFLs are okay for us. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2010, 11:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-folks-are-stocking-up-on-light-bulbs-before-the-government-takes-them-away/523534/88 "2010-01-05T11:08:13Z")
> [@Drain\_Bead](#): > > LED Christmas lights are better and safer. They are not bubble lights so they are not comparable aesthetically. In fact led Christmas lights make me extremely nauseous. We use some outside where I don’t have to see them. I could never use them inside and turn them on. What we need to save power is restrictions on outside lighting mostly for commercial buildings and it will reduce the light pollution too. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2010, 11:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-folks-are-stocking-up-on-light-bulbs-before-the-government-takes-them-away/523534/89 "2010-01-05T11:12:46Z")
> [@cjepson](#): > > There are a lot of exceptions in the US, including your Christmas bubble lights… the rules will not apply to any bulb dimmer than 40 watts, or any colored lights (so the OP’s yellow bug lights, for example, will still be available). Floodlights, three-way bulbs, and candelabra bulbs will also be exempt. > > [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phase-out\_of\_incandescent\_light\_bulbs](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phase-out_of_incandescent_light_bulbs) > > I guess Easy-Bake ovens will simply be made with multiple low-wattage bulbs. > > I’m gonna have to check and see what the wattage in my Lava Lamp is… Lava lamps use a 40 watt bulb with the C9 sized base unless you have an odd one. ---
**Author:** ![BwanaBob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bwanabob/32/2985_2.png) [@BwanaBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BwanaBob)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2010, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-folks-are-stocking-up-on-light-bulbs-before-the-government-takes-them-away/523534/90 "2010-01-06T22:33:10Z")
You whiners were the types that screamed about removing “ethyl” from their beloved leaded gasoline. Maybe some of you live in Las Vegas where electricity is cheap, but to those of us that live in high-rate utility zones (Northeast), these bulbs were a god-send. Do not buy cheap-ass no-name brand bulbs. You’ll get what you paid for. I’ve had one bulb die since I went CF and that was 9 years ago. Read labels. If you need a bulb for the outside, then for pete’s sake get an outdoor rated bulb. You didn’t put regular bulbs inside your stove or refrigerator did you? The n use the correct bulb for the job. Have dimmer switches? Buy dimmable CFs. Only time I ever had an issue was with my programmable timer switch which couldn’t support fluorescent bulbs. I had to upgrade that unit. ---
**Author:** ![NoiseBomb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/49beb7/32.png) [@NoiseBomb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NoiseBomb)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2010, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-folks-are-stocking-up-on-light-bulbs-before-the-government-takes-them-away/523534/91 "2010-01-09T06:23:40Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > Home Depot sells inexpensive CFLs in three different color temperatures. The Warm Whites are indistinguishable from incandescent. I like the Bright White better, and I think the Daylight lamps appear even brighter, but are a bit too blue for my taste (although they do make a room sparkle). The first time I tried CFLs, I got the warm white ones for the living room. I can learn to deal with them. They’ve been in there 2 years, maybe a bit more and still going. The daylight ones do seem brighter, but I hate the bluish tint. HATE HATE HATE. I bought them for the bedroom thinking “hey daylight, I like sunlight. Sunlight is nice.” Turns out they feel more like the horrible soul-sucking florescent tubes in the bathroom at work. The only benefit the CFLs have is that in my one-bulb ceiling fan in the bedroom, I can get more light output from a CFL without going over whatever the socket is rated for in terms of wattage. ---
**Author:** ![GameHat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ed655f/32.png) [@GameHat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GameHat)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2010, 7:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-folks-are-stocking-up-on-light-bulbs-before-the-government-takes-them-away/523534/92 "2010-01-09T07:01:36Z")
//delete ---
**Author:** ![EvilTOJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee59a6/32.png) [@EvilTOJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EvilTOJ)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2010, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-folks-are-stocking-up-on-light-bulbs-before-the-government-takes-them-away/523534/93 "2010-01-09T13:40:28Z")
I’ve been a proponent of CFLs since they first came out. They did indeed suck at first. They were slow to turn on, some made an audible hum, and were expensive. A few years went by and they became tolerable, and I’ve paid the premium for them ever since. Nowadays I never get the slow ramp up to full brightness except for the porch lights. They’ve never interfered with any other electronic device I own. I loved them the most after I’d replaced all my bulbs to the CFL kind and saw my electric bill go from $110 a month (this was in winter) to around $40. I’m not worried about the mercury content in CFLs. While they do contain it, most of the mercury in the environment that has been spread by human activity comes from burning coal in coal-fired power plants. The US still gets most of it’s power from coal-fired plants, so the less electricty they use the better. I buy the cheap packs of four in the green package at Home Depot. Sorry I don’t have the brand name, but I’m going to the store anyway since I’m out of lightbulbs and I need more. I’ve had them burn out after a few weeks, but it was a bad socket that just ate lightbulbs for some reason. I was renting at the time, and it wasn’t worth it to me to fix. FWIW as much as I love CFLs I loathe the ‘daylight’ spectrum. I’ve tried several different brands and they all look blue and dim. They’re worse than regular fluorescent bulbs. ---
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2010, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-folks-are-stocking-up-on-light-bulbs-before-the-government-takes-them-away/523534/94 "2010-01-09T18:33:04Z")
> [@Renee](#): > > Before we left the States in 2006, we bought a few CLFs and put them in fixtures. They all burned out within a few weeks of regular usage. Apparently that’s not typical, but it did happen to us. You bought lights in the states for use in Japan? Did you specifically purchase 220 volt CFLs? It sounds like you plugged 110volt American bulbs into your 220 volt system. No wonder they blew out. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2010, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-folks-are-stocking-up-on-light-bulbs-before-the-government-takes-them-away/523534/95 "2010-01-09T18:46:08Z")
The government is actually going to take away existing incandescent bulbs? I find that hard to believe. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2010, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-folks-are-stocking-up-on-light-bulbs-before-the-government-takes-them-away/523534/96 "2010-01-09T19:44:08Z")
> [@Sunspace](#): > > The government is actually going to take away existing incandescent bulbs? I find that hard to believe. And if the OP actually believed that, he wouldn’t have talked about stocking up. :dubious: Stopping production and hence eventually removing availability is close enough that “taking them away” is not inaccurate, if somewhat alarmist. ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2010, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-folks-are-stocking-up-on-light-bulbs-before-the-government-takes-them-away/523534/97 "2010-01-09T19:49:56Z")
Anecdote: You know where they’ve already make incandescents illegal? Tajikistan. In a a country where the average income is $70/month, everyone has to buy CFLs. That’s some good policy, there. /anecdote ---
**Author:** ![Taomist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/53a042/32.png) [@Taomist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taomist)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2010, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-folks-are-stocking-up-on-light-bulbs-before-the-government-takes-them-away/523534/98 "2010-01-09T19:52:12Z")
> [@Bear\_Nenno](#): > > You bought lights in the states for use in Japan? Did you specifically purchase 220 volt CFLs? It sounds like you plugged 110volt American bulbs into your 220 volt system. No wonder they blew out. Of all the things to take on an intercontinental trip, lightbulbs of any type seem…unlikely. I’m guessing that’s a ‘No, we used them in the US’. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2010, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-folks-are-stocking-up-on-light-bulbs-before-the-government-takes-them-away/523534/99 "2010-01-09T20:10:21Z")
Nope, we will just buy them from China and India-and they will just cost more and be of lower quality. The ban will creat a black market, and hand huge profits to Chinese and Indian entrepreneurs. What a stupid regulation! ---
**Author:** ![jasonh300](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/46a35a/32.png) [@jasonh300](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasonh300)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2010, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-folks-are-stocking-up-on-light-bulbs-before-the-government-takes-them-away/523534/100 "2010-01-09T20:19:29Z")
> [@Renee](#): > > Well, now you’ve met a liberal who’s had problems with them burning out quickly. I’m a die-hard conservative who bought a dozen CFL’s back in 2001, for the purpose of lowering my electricity bill. At the time, they were about $5.00 each and they were equivalent to a 40 watt bulb (too dim, but there wasn’t a wide range of options at the time and place…I’ve since bought a few more of the brighter ones). I dated the ceramic base of each bulb with a pencil and installed them all over the house. They were no good in certain places because they were too dim, so I spend a month or so moving them around to multiple-bulb fixtures and places where bright light wasn’t needed. At this point, I still have 10 of these originals in operation. I had one go out last week and noted the date marked on the base. There are a few places where I’ve found them to be useless. Next time I got to Home Depot, I might check out the selection and buy the brightest ones they have to try out. I have one in my front porch fixture that is extremely dim during the winter. You can turn it on on a cold day and barely notice that it’s come on. It takes 30 minutes to come to full brightness. I’m going to have to look for one that’s specifically for outdoor use. As a conservative, I have no opposition to something that’s going to save me money in the long run, as long as it serves it’s purpose. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-folks-are-stocking-up-on-light-bulbs-before-the-government-takes-them-away/523534.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-folks-are-stocking-up-on-light-bulbs-before-the-government-takes-them-away/523534.md?page=6)