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"Replacing just 1 light bulb in your home with a CFL prevents about 150 pounds of carbon dioxide from being emitted into the atmosphere each year." CFLs
And dumps lots of mercury into the environment. Let me think, do I prefer harmless CO2 in the air or mercury in my drinking water? Duh!
And oh by the way, they cost a lot more money and frequently burn out in a fraction of the time they advertise.
That is the most ridiculous thing I've read in quite a long time on CD. Then again I see you do not live in a place where it gets seriously cold so perhaps you don't get it in the same way as our Federal Governent can be slow. You mention "air conditioning" as if that were important. Up here we get 2-3 days where a few people say "gee it would be nice if we had an air conditioner." Then it cools off again.
Regarding the CFL light bulbs, what the dim bulbs who promulgated this idiocy fail to realize is that the damn things take forever to light up when it is really REALLY cold. The solution? Leave them on ALL the time instead of turning them on and off as needed.
Regarding the windows, which this latest example of federal stupidity reminded me of, in previous years tax credits were given for installing so-called "energy-efficient" [sic] windows. Only problem was, the criteria were based on warm zones and not cold zones. You could only get the tax credit for installing new windows if the SHGC (solar heat gain coefficient) was less than 0.3. That is fine if you live in a place where you routinely need air conditioning. It is not fine if you live in a place where you need to heat most of the year (and central a/c is virtually non-existent). This error has since been corrected and SHGC can now be > 0.40 in cold zones.
Maybe in a few years the dummies will bring back the incandescant bulbs when they figure out they made yet another technological blunder.
I made no comment about windows. And I am reasonably knowledgeable on the subject having once built a house in upstate NY with a massive two story glass wall. I would also point out the shortcomings of that house and of many others had nothing to do with the glass but much more to do with the areas surrounding the windows.
And I would certainly agree that CFLs, unless specifically designed for the service, would be pretty close to dumb for external use in a cold climate. LEDs however would likely be superior to incandescent which frequently break in very cold climates. I lived for many years in upstate NY and am quite familiar with a cold climate.
All of which of course makes no significant difference in internal usage. You apparently don't understand energy calculations or you would not make such incorrect statements. Incandescents lose for internal usage even in a very cold climate.
...This is like the stupidity of the one-size-fits-all windows that are deisgned for US climate zones that are defined by the need for air conditioning as opposed to heating.
Funny - I always thought a lot of window design was geared to people up north - not those of us down south. I see people from up north building/buying houses here with floor to ceiling window walls that face due west - with no shade. They're usually double pane "to save energy" - but that obviously doesn't help much if at all in August. Your basic point - that the best things for houses in different parts of the country with totally different climates may vary a lot - is well taken though.
I'm not sure how anyone can defend CFLs very vigorously. For any number of reasons. And it's too bad that LEDs (which IMO don't have any negatives except in some specialized lighting situations) still are a "high priced spread" in terms of a total retrofit. FWIW - I do recommend a total retrofit - at least in terms of a particular space/room in a house - when it comes to LEDs. Because one unfortunate thing about them - which I've mentioned before - is that - since the technology is new - the "styles" tend to change from year to year. This is also true of the old incandescent halogens (when we took them out of the cans this weekend - I counted at least 4 different "styles"). Robyn
Sometimes congress/government needs to pass laws to keep everyone safe. Like laws that stop businesses from putting dangerous chemicals into our water supply, or laws forbidding the use of medications that cause cancer and heart attacks, or even laws that stop people from speeding in school zones.
Global warming caused by human carbon release, could be a serious danger to future generations, so congress passed these light bulb laws to decrease that danger.
"Replacing just 1 light bulb in your home with a CFL prevents about 150 pounds of carbon dioxide from being emitted into the atmosphere each year." CFLs
There are a lot of things I like about LEDs. The quality of the light. How long the bulbs last (and not having to climb ladders to change bulbs). Etc.
But saving energy? It's like those flow restrictor things in plumbing fixtures. Is there anyone here who doesn't remove them when installing a new plumbing fixture? FWIW - my husband takes "Navy" showers - and he hates the flow restrictors because the water flow with them installed doesn't allow him to get into/out of the shower fast. What's better - a quick shower with an unrestricted flow - or a long shower with a restricted flow?
In terms of saving energy - the best way to induce consumers to save energy is rationing by price beyond certain basic "need limits". That's the way our water bill works now. The more you use above "basic use" - the more you pay. And I'm not going to tell the next guy how he should spend his "basic use". Whether he wants to water his lawn and garden - wash his car/boat - and/or take long hot showers - that's up to him.
FWIW - I have been and still am a "global warming skeptic". Especially after seeing my winter heating bills this year. Robyn
I'm not happy because the bulbs burn out too fast. I have recessed lighting almost everywhere. To replace the fixtures, I'd have to replace the ceiling in the kitchen, dining room and basement. CFL's burn out way too fast in recessed fixtures.
I've never used CFLs in cans. My oldest LEDs in cans are going on about 3 years now - with no problems. Try the LEDs if possible. Robyn
They are not that expensive, a buck a bulb and I have not replaced any in over three years. I went though a lot of bulbs when they were incandescent. I still have an opera light in a floor turtle I keep on for a night light. Its incandescent and it goes out about once a month or two even though its never touched. POS. When the LEDs come down they are going to be the best. I see that Harbor Freight has the square 45 LED bulb trouble or work lights, they are 15 bucks each. The old crap Halogen bulbs were such a POS, they got so hot it burnt you or what you were working on, you could not touch the bulb with bare hands when replacing it, and if you moved it too rough or it dropped it was screwed up and the cost for a 300w replacement was more than the GD light in the first place.
I made no comment about windows. And I am reasonably knowledgeable on the subject having once built a house in upstate NY with a massive two story glass wall. I would also point out the shortcomings of that house and of many others had nothing to do with the glass but much more to do with the areas surrounding the windows.
And I would certainly agree that CFLs, unless specifically designed for the service, would be pretty close to dumb for external use in a cold climate. LEDs however would likely be superior to incandescent which frequently break in very cold climates. I lived for many years in upstate NY and am quite familiar with a cold climate.
All of which of course makes no significant difference in internal usage. You apparently don't understand energy calculations or you would not make such incorrect statements. Incandescents lose for internal usage even in a very cold climate.
I've been using the same, ordinary CFL light bulb outside my front door for about 6 years now.
It's on a LOT, and it's much colder here.
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