Mom some of your standard bulbs have been secretly replaced by compact florescents.
During her vacation I’ve replaced some bulbs in fixtures, where the bulbs are not visible. She will never try them unless she doesn’t know she’s doing it. I think she will actually think to herself how the bathroom light is better and not yellow when applying the makeup. I’d change the ones in the other bathroom, but it would be visible, and clue her in too early. On average 120 watts per fixture are now 26 watts per fixture. They now use 22% of the previous power.
For the people that keep telling others like mom that the compacts have mercury which is hazardous waste, please don’t forget to mention as do the ones you have used for the last fifty years. This is why she hasn’t used them yet. The coal being burned by the power plant releases mercury and other bad compounds, so by using compact florescents, she is saving on the pollution of the power plant.
For the bathroom and the kitchen, they throw a way better light than any incandescent bulb.
My 1940s-style bathroom has a frosted glass enclosure over a single bulb. A 100w bulb in there throws a barely adequate light for shaving. A CFB with less than a third of the draw in there, and I can see to shave.
I had a more 70s-style ensuite with fixtures intended to take four bulbs. Again, 240 watts is about what you’d expect for that. I put four 20 watt CFBs in there and got a nice, even, white white light - brighter and better, with a third of the energy.
I keep incandescents in the living-room and bedroom, because they seem a better fit there - but if you need to see - CFBs for me, thanks.
(And I do agree that people tend to prefer them if they don’t know they are fluorescent. I had much a more positive initial response from swapping out the totally-enclosed single-bulb fixture. When people look up and see the CFBs, it’s easier for a knee-jerk.)
So what? It’s a defective bulb. I’ve had an incandescent explode over my bed while reading. The hot glass burned holes in my comforter and carpet. I’m glad I was facing down at the time instead of up. I could have had that in the eyes.
I sure don’t plan on replacing every bulb. The overhead light in my room works great, and I have problems seeing with some types of lighting. I find I can’t use these compact florescents in bare bulb fixtures or they hurt my eyes.
The thing I’ve noticed most is how long they seem to last. I replaced most every bulb in the house when these first came out and aside from one outdoor application that stays on all night I don’t remember having to replace a single one yet. If you’ve got vaulted ceilings or other hard-to-replace situations they’re a wonderful improvement. I’m sold on 'em.
The main problem is that they take quite a while to get up to full brightness. They’re better now than the early ones were, but it’s still noticeable. In our lounge we have two main ceiling lights, operated by the same switch. One is a regular bulb, one is an energy-saver, and you can really notice how long it takes to light up fully.
That’s been my main complaint about them. It’s not an issue in most places but there are still a few places where the bulb never gets up to full brightness:
Walk-in closet. Most time I just need to run in and grab a quick tie, shirt, belt, etc. but when the bulb is still warming up it’s hard to tell the difference between black/brown belts, socks, etc.
Garage/Basement. Again a couple of areas where I need to run into for 10-20 seconds to grab a wrench, bolt, nail, etc. and I can’t tell what size I’ve got cause the lights aren’t bright enough yet.
Back/front porch. Letting the dogs out to pee or signing for a package takes only a few seconds but the bulb never lights fully to see what you’re doing.
Believe it or not, I think I trust the power plants to properly deal with their hazardous waste more than I trust average Americans to properly dispose of their hazardous waste.
Is your mom going to take her bulbs to a hazardous waste facility when she’s done with them?
TV ad: (whispering) We’ve secretly replaced the elder Mrs. Discord’s incandescent bulbs with Acme’s new improved compact fluorescent bulbs. Let’s see if she notices.
“Why, my stars, it’s so bright in here! What happened?”
We’ve secretly replaced the elder Mrs. Discord’s fine coffee she normally drinks with Acme’s new improved compact flourescent bulbs. Let’s see if she can tell the difference.
The compact florescent bulbs will go to the proper place when dead, just like the florescent tubes she all ready uses in the kitchen. The fact she already uses florescent lights and has for most of her life is why the people that have her convinced the compact florescent are too hazardous for the house piss me off.
I’m glad she doesn’t use email for anything other than work, or I’d have even worse ideas to expunge. Right now I only have to deal with what she believes from a coworker that believes everything she gets forwarded by email.
That is fair, though - as of necessity there will be mercury emissions from coal burning power plants. Anything that significantly reduces our need for power significantly reduces those emissions, and inefficient lighting is one of our largest energy sinks.
I recall reading that the production of the energy wasted by using incandescent bulbs releases 300% more mercury directly into the air than the bulbs contain.
Clearly, the rational approach is across-the-board harm reduction: Stricter standards for power plant emissions, use of CFBs wherever possible, and encouragement of proper disposal at the consumer level.
As it stands, there would still be a net gain if everyone used compact fluorescent bulbs and aerosolized the mercury and released it into the atmosphere when they were done with them; only half as much mercury would go into the air. Of course, further gains are to be had from ensuring that consumers can conveniently dispose of bulbs when they are spent.
Coal can always get cleaner but it can never get clean. It also can’t get cleaner than nuclear, which is very important because nuclear is a viable option for this country if we can ever marginalize the anti-nuke fundamentalists far enough. I think there might be hope for that judging by what I’ve heard semi-recently from various green groups who realize that solar plus wind plus hydro still adds up to quite a lot less than we need, and that every other option is worse.
It’s especially a problem in colder places. I have one in the front entry/foyer/whatever of my house. In the summer, you don’t notice the warmup time at all, but in the winter, some cold air leaks in and it’s a real problem–the light is dim for several minutes. I put it in because those bulbs are so long lasting and I hate changing bulbs in that fixture, but it is frustrating. I use that light much more in the winter months, too, of course.
I’d like to replace the bulbs in my garage, but it’s unheated, so very, very cold in the winter. I can imagine that summer would be fine, but winter=dim city. Same with the exterior lights.
Other than that, I like them a lot, and have even used them in bare-bulb fixtures without a problem.
