Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Sure, that's what they do when products are close to their expiration date... they drop the price to move them out.
LOL...expiration date? Incandescents have always been the best deal out there (including if you consider the phantom "energy savings" that the CFL pushers claim) and our utility bills have always been less than average.
A 6" incandescent bulb that was lit more than any other in my house burned out last month. It lit my way for the 10 years I've owned this house, and I have no idea how old it actually was; it was here when I bought the place.
I found another at a local lighting store, but it was frosted, and other was clear. I ordered a clear bulb because I liked the light the old one gave off better.
Sure- I could have replaced the old bulb with a fluorescent, but I loved the way that big bulb looked, and really loved how long it lasted. I know there are millions of fixtures designed for big bulbs like that, and I hope I'll be able to buy another when the 2 I have now burn out. The incandescent bulb is great for saving money, but it has it's limits.
I'm all for free choice.
You know I ask the simple question..
Why do you have to ban a product? When the government has to ban something and I am not seeing any actual real reasons if you want these other lights fine enjoy them. Let the consumer pick what he wants end of story.
Should we BAN CD players and CD's because we have mp3 players.
Think about it?
Obviously I was using that term in a humorous way to refer to the last day they are legal to be sold in the US. What's left after that date will have to be shipped out of the country or destroyed. So of course many merchants who had stock remaining marked it down to clear it out.
Quote:
Incandescents have always been the best deal out there (including if you consider the phantom "energy savings" that the CFL pushers claim) and our utility bills have always been less than average.
There is no "phantom" savings, no phony claims. CFLs are proven to use 1/3 the energy of incandescents for the same amount of light. That's what this whole change is all about... saving that other 2/3 of the energy that incandescents waste.
Quote:
Originally Posted by banjomike
A 6" incandescent bulb that was lit more than any other in my house burned out last month. It lit my way for the 10 years I've owned this house, and I have no idea how old it actually was;
You got lucky, because that isn't typical. It's certainly nothing you can count on from the replacement. There's a firehouse in California that has a lightbulb which has been burning continuously for over 100 years, but it's a freak of some kind, not the run of the mill in any regard.
Quote:
it was here when I bought the place.I found another at a local lighting store, but it was frosted, and other was clear. I ordered a clear bulb because I liked the light the old one gave off better.
Sure- I could have replaced the old bulb with a fluorescent, but I loved the way that big bulb looked, and really loved how long it lasted.
I wish you luck, but I seriously doubt the second will last as long.
Quote:
I know there are millions of fixtures designed for big bulbs like that, and I hope I'll be able to buy another when the 2 I have now burn out. The incandescent bulb is great for saving money, but it has it's limits.
I'm guessing you actually meant to say that CFLs are great for saving money, because they do. Over the typical life of a typical bulb they save the original cost many times over by using so much less electricity.
Quote:
Originally Posted by LibertyandJusticeforAll
You know I ask the simple question..
Why do you have to ban a product? When the government has to ban something and I am not seeing any actual real reasons...
Where have you been for the last seven years? This has been discussed over and over. The real reason is simple... saving 2/3 of the energy that incandescents use.
Quote:
Should we BAN CD players and CD's because we have mp3 players.
Think about it?
these CCFL bulbs are meant to be run for hours and can burn out fast if you turn them on and off frequently. Incandescents can last forever especially when used with dimmer switches. Also in the winter the added heat generated doesn't really do much but heat the house.
Now I've began to buy 3M LED bulbs for certain lights. We shall see how long they last. LEDs will eventually take over and completely push the CCFL back off the market in all applications except those big long overhead bulbs used in schools and businesses. Within a few years they'll be able to put out significantly more lumens per watt than CCFL as well.
They still have a ways to go to make christmas lights good too.. the new LED stuff either burns out fast, or rusts because of aluminum wiring in the bulbs contacting the copper in the cord... so my tree is using 250 watts and that was just for the tree...
these CCFL bulbs are a scam and burn out really fast. Incandescents can last forever especially when used with dimmer switches. Most of the shock to those bulbs comes from the sudden going from off to on. I've had CCFL bulbs burn out fast. If you don't use them for hours at a time and just turn them off 30 minutes later they burn right out in a few hundred hours. Not very environmentally friendly. Also in cold climates the heat generated from a bulb in the house will just go towards heating the home as though a person was using baseboard heat.
Now I've began to buy 3M LED bulbs for certain lights. We shall see how long they last. LEDs will eventually take over and completely push the CCFL back off the market in all applications except those big long overhead bulbs used in schools and businesses. Within a few years they'll be able to put out significantly more lumens per watt than CCFL as well.
They still have a ways to go to make christmas lights good too.. the new LED stuff either burns out fast, or rusts because of aluminum wiring in the bulbs contacting the copper in the cord... so my tree is using 250 watts and that was just for the tree...
I have about twenty CFLs. 8 are tricked up ones with the soft white color in two torchieres in our two offices. These 8 have been in daily usage for two and a half years and have had no failures. Others are in cans and enclosed fixtures in the shower and over the bath tub for three years. So far we have had one failure a few weeks after install. So 20 bulbs times a couple of years suggests we are getting about 40 bulb years with one failure.
I am also replacing the P type spots and floods with LEDs only one so far and only a couple of months. I will note though it does not cycle on an off as the prior halogens had done. Color of the light is about the same as the next halogen.
So if you buy reasonable quality CFLs you will get reasonable life. Note that very low cost CFLs are somewhat suspect. The problem is the cost of the driving circuitry. If you drive that down too low you end up with reliability or life problems. The light source is still good but its driver dies.
For those who have problems with flickers there certainly are solutions. I designed flicker free drivers for fluorescent 40 years ago. I am sure someone makes them though they may be a specialty item and expensive. I would use LEDs in regular fixtures though if I wanted T8 or bigger tubes I expect there are flicker free ballasts.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
