Outlawed Lightbulbs?

[Jinx]

Was there a law passed to phase out conventional (incandescent) lightbulbs by say 2010? I heard something in passing on the radio via a DJ, not a news source. Is there such a movement afoot? - Jinx

[C3]

In Australia: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6378161.stm

[Joey_P]

My understanding is that it’s not that incandescent bulbs will be illegal, but rather that all bulbs will have to be a certain efficiency. There are still places where you have to use an incandescnet, for example, you can’t put a CFL in your stove.
Has anyone seen the relevent law on the subject, I’d like to read it.

[Squink]

the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 passed by Congress and signed by President Bush on Dec. 19. One portion of this bill requires that all light bulbs use 25 percent to 30 percent less energy by 2014 – a worthy goal. The expectation is that compact fluorescent light bulbs and light emitting diode bulbs will replace the traditional but inefficient incandescent bulb, which wastes 90 percent of its input energy as heat rather than in the form of emitted light.

http://www.journalgazette.net/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080107/FEAT0113/801070321

[Joey_P]

That makes sense. My father in law just got back from a trade show that GE was putting on. And he mentioned that GE is working on producing higher efficiency incandescent bulbs to comply with the law for places where CFLs won’t work (live ovens).

[Colophon]

@C3

In Australia: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6378161.stm

And in Ireland by 2009, apparently. There has been talk of a ban in the UK, but I think it’s just going to be a voluntary thing.

[asterion]

@Joey P

That makes sense. My father in law just got back from a trade show that GE was putting on. And he mentioned that GE is working on producing higher efficiency incandescent bulbs to comply with the law for places where CFLs won’t work (live ovens).

I now have this idea of trying to use a CFL in an Easy-Bake Oven. I’m sure that’s not what you mean. The little light in the oven when you open the door?

[Joey_P]

Yeah. When FIL was at the light expo thing, they all got a good laugh at some guy who said he tried putting a CFL in his oven and it broke. Well yeah, if nothing else it has a plastic base.

[Northern_Piper]

what about outdoor lights? the CFL bulbs I’ve bought say not to use them in low temperatures (can’t remember if that’s below freezing, or lower). will incandescent bulbs still be available for outdoors? or can LEDs be made that fit in a standard socket?

[danceswithcats]

Operating temperature range varies with the manufacturer. I’ve replaced all of the exterior incandescent lamps at my fire station with Sylvania CFLs and they work fine below freezing. The less expensive store brand CFLs tend to be very dim at low temperatures.

[Canadjun]

@Joey P

Yeah. When FIL was at the light expo thing, they all got a good laugh at some guy who said he tried putting a CFL in his oven and it broke. Well yeah, if nothing else it has a plastic base.

There could very well be other reasons for them not working in ovens, but I have difficulties believing that a plastic base would be a big manufacturing problem to overcome; I don’t believe that CFLs inherently require plastic bases, and I seem to recall that some of the CFLs that I’ve bought had what felt like ceramic bases.

[Rodd_Hill]

@danceswithcats

Operating temperature range varies with the manufacturer. I’ve replaced all of the exterior incandescent lamps at my fire station with Sylvania CFLs and they work fine below freezing. The less expensive store brand CFLs tend to be very dim at low temperatures.

I just got the following link yesterday from one of my department’s chief Engineering people. Looks like some of the cheaper brand CFLs are having some overheating problems:

http://www.execulink.com/~impact/pur-lite_pro-9000X.htm

Quite by chance, I’ve been putting in the more expensive brand (Philips, if you want to know) CFLs in our offices in an historic building as the incandescents burn out. (I’ll still be using incandescents in the public areas of the historic zone for period authenticity).

[Joey_P]

@Canadjun

There could very well be other reasons for them not working in ovens, but I have difficulties believing that a plastic base would be a big manufacturing problem to overcome; I don’t believe that CFLs inherently require plastic bases, and I seem to recall that some of the CFLs that I’ve bought had what felt like ceramic bases.

I think I got two things mixed up. I think there ARE other reasons that CFL’s don’t work in high temp areas. They were laughing at this guy becuase he thought it would be a good idea to try it out. What I was saying is that regardless of any other issues, why would you put something with a plastic base in an oven.

[gazpacho]

CFLs have silicon electronics in them. Incandescent bulbs just have the wire and they work by getting really hot. Most ruggedize silicon electronics have operating temperature range or -55C to 125C. So the top range is around 250F. Most consumer electronics have operating ranges only up to 80C or less. There are problems for CFLs in ovens beyond packaging. But so what the oven light is not on often and in that particular case the waste heat is not really wasted.

[Balthisar]

In Squink’s link, anyone know the wording of the federal legislation? Seems like the easiest thing in the word to reduce energy usage for incandescent bulbs. “Look! Our previous 100 watt bulbs only use 60 watts!” No mention on the lumen output.

[Squink]

@gazpacho

CFLs have silicon electronics in them. … So the top range is around 250F.

If the Russians can make electonics work on the surface of Venus, surely the Americans can figure out how to make a cfl function in an oven.

[gazpacho]

@Squink

If the Russians can make electonics work on the surface of Venus, surely the Americans can figure out how to make a cfl function in an oven.

Well it only worked on Venus for 50 minutes. Perhaps it failed when the electronics got to hot?
From your link

A refrigeration system attached to the bus was used to pre-chill the descent capsule’s interior prior to atmospheric entry in order to prolong its life on the surface.

They really did not solve the electronics working at high temperature problem.

[iamthewalrus_3]

I’d just like to point out the typical unintended consequences of such a law: wasting research dollars to improve the efficiency of lights to be used in ovens so they don’t output too much heat.

[gazpacho]

@iamthewalrus(:3=

I’d just like to point out the typical unintended consequences of such a law: wasting research dollars to improve the efficiency of lights to be used in ovens so they don’t output too much heat.

It would be great we could solve it like the Russians did by enclosing the light in a refrigerator in the oven.

[Squink]

@gazpacho

It would be great we could solve it like the Russians did by enclosing the light in a refrigerator in the oven.

Elegant, no?
This being America, we’ll probably go with devices made from diamonds or some similar exotic material:

On the high end, “laboratory” operation of discrete semiconductor devices has been reported at temperatures as high as about +700°C (for a diamond Schottky diode) and 650°C (for a SiC MOSFET). Integrated circuits based on Si and GaAs have operated to +400−500°C. Si ICs have been reported to operate at +300°C for 1000 hours or longer.