Has anyone else heard this???

[wetguymd]

This was from the local newspaper.... I hate the new bulbs... I need to buy a couple cases and stock pile too... .anyone else heard about this?

FREDERICK, MD - You've heard of the Boston Tea Party but how about the Frederick Light Bulb Revolt?

A company has found a creative way to help customers stock up on a type of light bulb before it's outlawed.

One of those customers is Linda Ranney. She took a trip to Dixie Electric to buy not one, not two, but 120 incandescent light bulbs.

That's because starting in January 2012 the 100 watt bulbs will be pulled off the shelves.

"I'm very sad that they're being outlawed," Ranney said. "I prefer these over the new ones. I don't like the light quality of the new ones."

The federal government will ban 75 and 60 watt incandescent bulbs in 2014.

The president of Dixie Electric thinks he found a way to get people stocked up before the bulbs are history.

"We decided to sell cases of light bulbs, 120 per case, because we've had so many customers over the last two years complain about the CFL twisty light bulbs," said Rick Stumpf, who started the sale on June 1.

Stumpf worries the mercury in compact florescent bulbs in our trash could end up in the groundwater at landfills and ultimately in our drinking water.

He also says CFL bulbs emit ultraviolet rays and can hurt the eyesight of people who are farsighted.

"We have a dimming system in our house for incandescent lighting, and unfortunately, CFL bulbs don't work on the dimming system," said Dustin Stumpf, who bought 480 bulbs.

The idea has taken off. Customers have bought more than 36,000 incandescent light bulbs in three weeks.

"They don't like the government telling them this lamp we've had around since Thomas Edison is outlawed and cannot be bought in this country," Stumpf said, but they can be bought at Dixie Electric for 50 dollars a case, or 42 cents a bulb, something Stumpf thinks is a really bright idea.

You can brighten up the lives of the less fortunate with your purchase. Dixie electric will donate 10 dollars to charity for every case sold.

 

[yogitunes]

worth considering......I had the twisty ones, and one caught fire, more like a burst of sparks and quick flash fire, minimal damage, but enough to think about going back to the regular ones....

like her, I also have many lights that have dimmers, and the twisties don't work in them.....

 

[arbilab]

I'm hoping LED lights come into stride before incand's are contraband. Same reasons, my 2 primary lights are on dimmers (kitch is fluor) and the mercury from a fleet of CFLs the size of the incand fleet. The only CFL I bought lasted about 4 months and the ballast quit. I went back to incand.

 

[tomturbomatic]

I have very few incandescent bulbs left in fixtures. When the CFL bulbs first came out, our power company sent out very generous coupons and we used them. From time to time Costco has specials on the bulbs also so I buy them then. Just the heat savings during the almost 7 months of our cooling season is a huge factor in their favor, especially when added to their much lower power draw because I don't like a dark house.

I think it is a shame that some right wingers are trying to make an issue out of this light bulb situation. We are a nation with energy problems and need to be exploring ways to save energy and make more efficient use of the electricity we use. Incandescent bulbs are much more efficient at heating than they are at producing light. We learned that in high school science. CFLs are only the first generation of replacements for incandescent bulbs and they have improved a lot since they first became available. Newer things will come along that are even better and a lot of stockpiled incandescent bulbs are going to finally be thrown out after sitting for years unused except maybe when young children find them in a grandparent's house and take one to school for show and tell.

 

[supersuds]

Yes, you can buy them by the case from Amazon, too.

 

My objection to the CFLs is not so much the quality of the light (much improved recently) or even their slowness to start (ditto) as it is the fact that they're just not as bright as the incandescent equivalent. A 26 watt GE soft white is supposed to replace a 100 watt incandescent, but it is barely as bright as a 75, and so on down the scale. I use CFLs where they provide enough light for the purpose, but I'm not going to strain my eyes to save an undetectable amount on my electric bill. That's the purpose of lighting after all, to see! 

 

The green apologists are constantly losing credibility by claiming their pet technology -- low-water use toilets, low flow showerheads, non-phosphate detergents, etc. -- are just as good or better than what they replace. Then people use them and are disappointed. I do hope the bugs get worked out since under the present regime it seems we won't be given any say in the matter.

 

 

 

[bugsyjones]

I'm probably the least green-living person and I think banning incandescents is an awful idea.

There is not a single CFL in my house. All incandescents. The only solitary flourescent is a tube fixture over the telephone desk and that gets used very rarely.

I hate the light output of CFL's. No matter what diffuser is used, flourescent light is cold and harsh like a doctor's office. If I wanted that, I'd live in a doctor's office.

I buy incandescents up at estate sales when I see them to add to the stash. I'm finding that 60 watt floods are getting harder to find. That's the only type of lamp I can use in the recessed fixtures in the kitchen.

If incandescents get banned, that won't stop me from buying them. I'll get them imported and whatever I have to do to retain my preferences. Just the same with phosphated detergents. I found a way around that.

I think pushing a ban on incandescent lightbulbs is the government getting too invasive on matters that are really not important. There's bigger problems than what type of lightbulb I use.

~Tim J.

 

[cfz2882]

i have noticed that the local restaurants i go to that switched to CFLs have
now switched back to incandescent bulbs LOL. Myself,i use about all the common
household lighting methods;incandescent,CFL,LED,fluorescent tube...
i have had good luck with my (hungarian made,early 2000s era)GE CFLs-i have never
tried the cheap chinese CFLs...
I have used LEDs for certain household lighting and really like them for those
purposes though a local city has tried LED streetlights and recieved lots of
complaints:dim and a purpleish glow that is not as effective as the colors of
sodium or metal halide.

 

[mattl]

The truth is they are only banning the standard 100 watt bulb at the moment, later the lower wattages come. 

 

I've seen no reports of flood, spot or other forms of incandescent bulbs gong away.   There are too may applications where CFLs will not work.  My dining room crystal chandler has 15 candelabra base bulbs, on a dimmer, CFLs will not work there.  Foyer has 16, again CFLs are not an option.  My recessed cans will never see a CFL in them, hate, hate, hate the flat light the fake floods put out.

 

That said I have replaced a number of standard base bulbs with CFLs and am  quite happy with the results.  I have a good number of house plants, actually large trees and palms and used halogen spots on them for years, some had 2 or 3 90w floods on them.  Last fall replaced almost all of them with CFLs and while the light was not as pleasant to me, the plants did not notice the difference.  It did cut the electric bill a bit though.  going from 3x90wx12 hrs a day to 3x20wx12hrs a day does make a difference.

 

[sudsmaster]

My understanding is the lightbulbs of 40 watts or less will NOT be banned. This leaves such specialty incandescent bulbs like candelabra, appliance, ceiling fan, etc on the shelves and available indefinitely.

Personally I love CFL's, but only certain brands. I select the daylight variety for use in the kitchen and bath and some other locations, such as for desk lights or other reading/working areas. I select higher light output "soft white" ones for other locations, like the living room.

Oh, and there are dimmable CFL's, you just have to look for them. As I recall, OSH has a selection. And the key to dimmable CFL's is that you have to run them at full power for a bit to break them in, before you try running them on reduced settings. They will work much better that way.

I don't think I have any incandescent bulbs over 40 watts installed in my home or garage/workshops. And I get by just fine. I just wish there were some reasonably priced LED utility bulbs I could install in my fridges and freezers. CFL definitely do not work well in those environments so I've kept the incandescents there.

 

[tolivac]

Again what I have been saying on these matters all along--DAMMIT!!!!Let the consumer have the CHOICE of what lightbulbs,washer,potty,dishwasher,and showerhead he wants to use.the CUSTOMER is paying the utility bill not anyone else.I feel the govt agencies that are regulating these matters should be CLOSED!!-save on the budget!I have a "lo flow" showerhead-but not now-drilled it out with a drill press-when I want a showerbath I want WATER being sprayed on me--not being dribbled on me like a plant watered from a watering can.And I want to keep my TL washer,thank you and my shorter cycle water ussing dishwasher.Yes,I do have CFLs-it was MY choice to buy them(Sylvania)those work pretty well.I just feel the incandscent bulbs should still be available for those who want them.Relax-the UV-LW produced by a CFL or any other gen lighting flourscent lamp is not a problem.The boro glass bulb and phospors absorb any harmful SW rays.The phosphors in any flourrescent bulb convert the SW UV to useful light.Its the formulation of the phosphors that determine the bulbs color quality.Its ENOUGH of this "Green" nonsense being forced onto people.

 

[cfz2882]

LED bulbs suitable for fridges

walmart does have some LED bulbs that are cheap and work really good for certain
lighting tasks;lights of america"power led"-there is a model about the size of
a 40watt fridge bulb that uses 2 watts to deliver 110 lumens,it has 27 SMT
LED diodes arranged on a central heat-sink post.Only $5.78,reliable,effective
for what it is,and"assembled in usa".Later i will start a thread on the other LED
bulbs i use.

 

[laundromat]

I haven't used incandescent light bulbs in over 6 years now.In Texas, I replaced all of them with 40 watt (rated as 100 watt equivalent flourrescent)bulbs and am pleased with them.I also like the LED bulbs now available.

 

[arbilab]

going from 3x90wx12 hrs a day to 3x20wx12hrs a day does make a difference.
=========================================================================

Without knowing in advance, let's see just how much savings at an average of 12c per kWh.

Difference is 70W, other numbers staying the same. X 12hr = 0.84 kWh. X 30 days = 25.2 kWh per billing cycle. X $0.12 = $3.02/month. Or roughly 1/2 a cigarette a day, 3 dollar-menu cheeseburgers a month, before sales tax.

Neither 'freemarket' nor 'green' politics are in anyone's favor but their own special interests. Here's why:

From the green perspective, CFL saves 22% of generation emissions but only on lighting which is the smallest percentage of household consumption next to digital clocks and cellphone chargers. Volume lighting users like office, retail, street are already fluourescent or discharge. So multiply household lighting by its small percentage (0.xx) of combined lighting. And generation emissions only count against combustion, so multiply that small number again by the percentage (0.xx) of coal + gas US utility uses. Mercury in landfills sure the hell ain't green. So the green side is lying. Inconvenient truth.

From the freemarket perspective, I believe the market should decide what they want to buy, as long as the presented choices are safe. Mercury in landfills sure the hell ain't safe. So CFLs lose on the issue of safety alone. But how 'free while safe' is the market anyway? Nuke is safe until proven otherwise, might check with the Japanese on that one. Regulated-emission (scrubbed) coal is safe, but the worst of the plants dumping mercury and sulfurs into the air are grandfathered, only new construction is regulated. Double not safe. And forcing you to buy certain things (CFL, HFCS, ethanol) isn't freemarket, but freemarketers have consistently signed on to such measures, or at least not effectively resisted them. So the freemarket side is lying.

More politics already than belongs on an appliance board, but let's just say that representation is an illusion. Did you or anyone you know vote for the economy to collapse? But it did, under a mix of political labels, where you can't even blame anyone. Not objectively anyway. Another inconvenient truth. Mr. DeMille, I'm ready for my Oscar now.

 

[mattl]

arbilab, true, but that is only 1 of 3 or 4 setups I have.  That is the biggest, but the other were using 2 50W bulbs per so I guess I save $10-$12/mo which is fine since my bill runs $150-$200 without gas.

 

I get tired of hearing "free market" crap.  There is no free market anywhere in this country and hasn't been for a very long time.  Anytime any industry get a tax break for any reason it is no longer  a free market.  A free market also requires competition and choice, on electric rates i have none.  There is one provider and I have to pay what they dictate.  They have also bankrolled many in the state legislator that govern the board that approves rate increases so again I have no say.  The free market is a dream and a ploy to defend what is basically undefendable.

 

[arbilab]

I've got 3 incands. The two that run most are bedroom and livingroom. LR is 150W reading lamp, dimmed to around 30W when not reading. BR is 60W, dimmed to around 15W. Bathroom is 4 x 60W but never left on, runs maybe half hour a day.

You see? I'm already conservative as I can possibly be, with the option for more light from the same fixtures when needed and NO mercury in landfills. CFL would take those options away from me. LED works with dimmers but they are scantly available at this time. Also, the LED production process is highly toxic but is offshored to toxicity central, China. Relocating toxins isn't green, except for the country doing the relocating.

 

[mysteryclock]

Not a ban...

To be completely clear, the government isn't banning ANY kind of bulb, period. What they are doing is mandating efficiency standards that, as of today, simply can't be met by current high-wattage incandescent bulbs.. but COULD BE at some point in the future. And as usual, exceptions abound.

We've gone all CFL in the house with the exception of table lamps in the boy's rooms which have been prone to getting knocked over. And as soon as I can get a reasonably priced 2700k LED bulb, I'll replace even those, and the rest when they wear out. I recycle CFLs so mercury release is a non issue.

Personally, I don't really care what kind of bulb technology it is as long as it does the job I expect it to.

Here's the icky details, from Wikipedia:

In December 2007 [...] the federal government enacted the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, which requires all general-purpose light bulbs that produce 310–2600 lumens of light be 30% more energy efficient (similar to current halogen lamps) than current incandescent bulbs by 2012 to 2014. The efficiency standards will start with 100-watt bulbs in January 2012 and end with 40-watt bulbs in January 2014.

Light bulbs outside of this range are exempt from the restrictions. Also exempt are several classes of specialty lights, including appliance lamps, rough service bulbs, 3-way, colored lamps, and plant lights.

By 2020, a second tier of restrictions would become effective, which requires all general-purpose bulbs to produce at least 45 lumens per watt (similar to current CFLs). Exemptions from the Act include reflector flood, 3-way, candelabra, colored, and other specialty bulbs.

Phase-out of incandescent light bulbs - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[arbilab]

Beg pardon, but "mandating standards" is the same thing as banning. Not that you couldn't still order 100W incands from Russia and not get arrested, but that you can't buy them at Walmart or any other conventional retail outlet for a conventional price.

You can still buy partially-leaded gas without ethanol for your car if you're willing to drive to a community airport and pay $6/gallon. Oh, and the nozzle definitely doesn't fit, but that can be circumvented too.

 

[philr]

I'm wondering if there will be replacements for the 40W appliance lamps if incandescent lights are banned completely? And what about all other applications that require odd-shaped light bulbs like those in my refrigerators/freezers or microwave ovens?
 
I only use CFL bulbs in a few places because they don't produce much heat. I have dimmers on most of my other light switches that aren't connected to fluorescent tubes or outlets so I'm not very interested in replacing incandescent light bulbs with CFL that can't dim (some do, but not too well...) or expensive dimmable LED lights that still don't provide warm lighting like incandescent light bulbs do.
 

 

[mattl]

The color temp of CFLs now approach that of incandescent, you just need to look for 2600-2700K rating.  I don't have too many issues with that aspect of CFLs anymore.  In the past they were awful, and the awful daylight and worse 5000k bulbs are still on the shelf next to the 2700k units.  My neighbor but those ugly 5000k bulbs in his exterior light that he leaves on all night and his house has a terrible blue glow, yuck.

 

After initially hating CFLs and railing against them the improvements have made me a partial convert.  I use them in all my closets, my garage, my lampposts, standard ceiling fixtures, on my plants and such with no issues.  However, I will never use them in my recessed cans, there I only use halogen spots, not floods.  I much prefer a sharp controlled light field from the cans, I like highlights and shadows, not a dull flat even light.