The Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday kicked off a campaign to get U.S. consumers to switch to energy-efficient light bulbs as a way of reducing energy spending and greenhouse gas emissions.
Yup. Real leadership.
The agency wants every U.S. household to change at least one traditional bulb to an Energy Star bulb, collectively saving $600 million a year in energy costs and preventing enough greenhouse gas emissions to equal what is spewed from the tailpipes of 800,000 cars.
At the end of the article, a White House flunky babbles a bit more about leadership – and new building codes. The new building codes will “evolve” in the United States the same way they have for years. We’ll eventually get around to copying and adopting European building codes.
Meanwhile:
Wal-Mart Stores announced it has surpassed its goal to sell 100 million compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) by the end of 2007. Over the lifetime of the CFLs, Wal-Mart estimates that these energy-saving bulbs will have the effect of taking 700,000 cars off the road, or conserving the energy needed to power 450,000 single-family homes.
Looks like Green Power is making things green faster than anything done by Congress or the White House. Or the EPA.
#32, they are called mini CFL’s and they have all but replaced the older larger type over the past 2 years.
#24 iglobalwarmer, like incandescent bulbs, CFL’s are rated based on not switching them on and off. A typical cheap incandescent rated at 1000 hrs lasts only 500 hrs of regular use in the many tests I’ve done. Similarly a CFL rated at 7000 hrs lasts only 4000 or so. I date the bulbs when I change them because I was curious.
Even at those reduced life spans, CFL’s save a minimum of $30 (@.10 / kwh) over their life, compared to incandescent. The payback time of initial cost is 5.5 months.
#27 – I’ve never broken a bulb however I’m talking about previous occupants of the room. You don’t know what’s gone on in the room in the past. We’ve all seen the specials about shining a black light around a hotel room and then going “Eewww”.
There are plenty of events that might end up with rooms full of partying college age kids and things do get broken. Plenty of other things happen in hotel rooms as well.
True story: I was involved with a hotel when it installed a LodgeNet system. Housekeeping of all groups loved the new TV system. Why? Because the new remotes were larger and didn’t fit around the bend at the bottom of the toilet.
“Has a CFL ever been broken in this room?” is just another thing to worry about now.
#30 – better yet start construction on 100 new nuke plants before dinner time today.
I will wait for practical, affordable LED based lamps.
These CFL lamps are expensive, contain poison, and flicker at the line frequency.
Incandescent may use more energy, but they’ll do for me for now. I have reduce the wattage in most of my fixtures though.
I’ve not had good luck with CFLs in the past. They tended to:
1. Burn out quickly
2. Take forever to come up to full light.
3. Not be available in outputs equal to the what they were replacing. Until recently, there wasn’t much better than a 60 watt equivalent. My eyes are bad enough already!
4. Don’t fit in some fixtures
5. Light color is either too blue or too red.
6. Interfere with radio reception which is already poor in my place.
For #1, it seems that they last long enough as long as the fixture doesn’t move. That means ceiling or wall mounted lights, but not table or floor lamps. Outside the kitchen and bathroom, most of my lights are either table or floor mounted and get nudged in normal use and get moved for housecleaning.
For #2, the most recent round seems to have improved, according to reports. In many cases, I flick on a light for only a few moments to see something in a particular room and then switch it off. CFLs of the past were very poor performers in this regards.
For #3, it appears that there are more choices available.
For #4, stuck with it.
For #5, I guess I will try some newer ones in different color ranges.
For #6, this can be a deal breaker in some rooms and times of day.
Overall, I guess I had a lot of problems with the early ones. I’m willing to give them a try again as other bulbs burn out. But I reserve my right to use incandescents where needed.
DAve
The entire mercury issue — as with virtually every toxin . . . DDT, dioxin, PCBs, arsenic, perchlorate, etc. — is overblown by environmental activists. (Yes, they may be a heath concern, but only at concentrations that are orders of magnitude higher than that under discussion.) They use toxin-scare tactics as a means of enraging the public against a targeted industry. How ironic that these same eco nuts that attack coal plants for mercury emissions have to now dismiss the health threat from broken CFLs in the home. Misanthropic Scott’s response in #8 is a classic example — minimizing the health issue from sleeping in this shit for the greater benefit of eliminating that dreadful coal plant despoiling our pristine wilderness. Ah, it is so refreshing to have the true motives of an eco nut revealed for all to see.
The lady with the $3,000 bill for cleaning up her mercury “spill” was a fool. First, she bought into the eco propaganda hook, line, and sinker. Then she was stupid enough to call a government environmental agency for advice. Enviro agencies are geared to giving industry orders: “This is the law and you WILL comply.” Most of these laws have evolved into regulations that have long since ceased being beneficial to the environment and are merely financial burdens forced upon industry by bureaucrats — the absurdity of which becomes frightfully apparent when these regulations are applied to ordinary citizens.
Well I wont attempt to answer all the anti-environment whackos above, but I replaced all my bulbs with these things and I love them.
Same amount of light at about a third of the electricity, and my summer electric bills were lower an average of $10 a month.
The only weird thing is that the light does not immediately come on when you flip the switch, but once you get used to it, you do not notice it.
#8, Scott,
I was wondering how much coal based mercury would be saved vs CFL mercury. Do you have any basis for your claim? It also makes sense that contained mercury is a lot less dangerous (if at all) than that which comes out the smoke stack.
#37 – Smith,
No Smith. You completely misunderstand me. I’m minimizing the output of mercury into the environment where it will get into the bodies of fish and animals that you eat. It stays contained in the bulb instead. There’s also less of it in the bulb.
#40 — MS
So why didn’t the eco nuts attack mercury emissions from coal plants thirty years ago when they were busy shutting down paper mills? Is it because mercury emissions from paper mills were so much worse, or is it because coal plants didn’t use trees? So for thirty years we never had an issue with mercury emissions from coal plants, but now we do?
Pure bullshit. Coal plants have made great strides in reducing emissions. But it is never enough. Eco nuts won’t be satisfied until they are shut down. And when they win that battle they will attack some other industry.
Mercury emissions . . . yeah, right.
Everyone’s missing one of the greatest benefits of CFs… they put out very little heat compared to an incandescent bulb. I live in a warm climate and reading near an incandescent light in the summer is very uncomfortable.
I bought an eight-pak of CFs from Sam’s and they work great. They start quickly, don’t put out much heat, are rated to match a 100W bulb and don’t flicker at all. And the color temp is perfect.
#41 – Smith,
Sorry, I have to say that your so full of shit your eyes are turning brown. People that know anything about the environment have been attacking coal plants for 30 years. It’s why our skies appear clear but China’s do not. The toxin first noticed was Sulfur Dioxide.
Environmentalists want coal plants shut down because even the cleanest coal plant is still disgustingly dirty and destructive of the environment. All fossil fuel plants are bad. Coal is the worst environmentally. Oil second. Natural gas third.
In case you hadn’t noticed, mountains are disappearing to get to that coal. As the mountains disappear, nutrients and top soil erode into the rivers and get washed into the sea causing huge algal blooms followed by hypoxic dead zones many square miles around. And, coal creates 4 times the GHGs of natural gas. In short, coal is the worst possible power source.
Oil is almost as bad for its spills, also higher GHGs than gas, and support of terrorism. Even gas is still not carbon neutral though. And, to live sustainably in this world, we must reduce our environmental footprint tremendously through a wide variety of mechanisms.
If you have kids I would recommend not using CFLs is anything but a ceiling fixture they can’t reach and break. They are a hazard – From the EnergyStar Website:
Because CFLs contain a small amount of mercury , EPA recommends the following clean-up and disposal guidelines:
1. Open a window and leave the room for 15 minutes or more.
2. Carefully scoop up the fragments and powder with stiff paper or cardboard and place them in a sealed plastic bag.
* Use disposable rubber gloves, if available (i.e., do not use bare hands). Wipe the area clean with damp paper towels or disposable wet wipes and place them in the plastic bag.
* Do not use a vacuum or broom to clean up the broken bulb on hard surfaces.
3. Place all cleanup materials in a second sealed plastic bag.
* Place the first bag in a second sealed plastic bag and put it in the outdoor trash container or in another outdoor protected area for the next normal trash disposal.
* Note: some states prohibit such trash disposal and require that broken and unbroken lamps be taken to a local recycling center.
* Wash your hands after disposing of the bag.
4. If a fluorescent bulb breaks on a rug or carpet:
* First, remove all materials you can without using a vacuum cleaner, following the steps above. Sticky tape (such as duct tape) can be used to pick up small pieces and powder.
* If vacuuming is needed after all visible materials are removed, vacuum the area where the bulb was broken, remove the vacuum bag (or empty and wipe the canister) and put the bag or vacuum debris in two sealed plastic bags in the outdoor trash or protected outdoor location for normal disposal.
Frankly, the reason to get rid of coal should have less to do with the enviroment and more to do with the fact that mining coal is hazardous and results is deaths every year. There are far cleaner (but not necessarily clean) solutions that the environmentalist don’t want to consider like nuclear. I’ll take dirty over dirty and killing people any day.
> we must reduce our environmental footprint
> tremendously through a wide variety of mechanisms.
If we can reduce environmental footprint without any reductions in energy consumption then everyone would be all for it. Until we have cars with 300 horsepower that can run purely off solar energy, that is probably not going to happen.
#14…John…..and they attract annoying pests.
I keep saying that there are people who post here that never have a good thing to say or are never happy…..this post proves that point….again.
At this time there isn’t any bulb better than the CFL’s. They save money, power and by doing so cut pollution. When the next better thing comes along….hooray….but until then, these bulbs are a vast improvement over what was here before.
As to cost….my Safeway store just had them 10 for 10.00 and so have all the other grocery’s around here. I have them all over my home and so do all my family. I assume that some of the claims are embellished for the amount of power saved, but for the most part they are true. And they ARE cooler to use.
Mustard…..while we all know your hatred of all things not you….the EPA has made progress, and the long haul trucks issue is one of them. There have been others. Bush may not have actually done anything, but since he gets the blame everytime a Federal employee farts in public, then he should get the credit when the goverment does something right. I had to laugh at your Whitman comment……since she is the epitomy of the kind of politician you normally eviserate, but in this instance she is some kind of canary in the mine to you. Chill out dude…..your going to get your wish, there will be a Democrat in the WH in 2009…named Hillary….I can’t wait to hear your rants and spittle infused ravings when she dosen’t do anything any different than our present fearless leader. 🙂
#45 – Thomas,
I don’t need 300HP. 100HP is enough. I haven’t test driven the prius yet. I’m waiting for my ’92 camry to die. I expect that even the prius is overpowered. In Belize, I needed an SUV and rented a Daihatsu Terios with an automatic and either a 1.3 or 1.5 liter engine, never got around to checking which. It did not feel underpowered to me at all, even on highways, and got through 50 yards of knee deep mud without even having the capability to lock the differentials. I just switched from 2 to 4 wheel drive and drove through the mud. No problem.
#46 – joshua,
A president that does literally nothing would be such a huge improvement over what we’ve got. Unfortunately, you’re probably correct in your prediction. She’s my last choice from the Dem camp. However, I’d still vote for her long before any from the Rep camp. And, no, I don’t just vote party lines. I do pay attention to the issues. I’m still planning to vote Kucinich in the primary. He really has the best platform by far.
#24 – I would also be worried about staying in a hotel where the rooms have CFLs in the lamps – doesn’t sound safe to me.
If I worried about that level of minutia, I’d be too scared to ever leave my apartment.
#49
*You* may settle for 100hp but a large number of consumers will not. I live in LA where the average speed in the fast lane (when traffic is moving ;->) is 80+. 100hp relegates you to the slow lane. I don’t use that much muscle all the time of course, but there are times when it is very useful like getting on the freeway from a short on-ramp.
#49 – Anyone who lives in a city should be scared to leave their apartment. Cities are full of people who would just as soon kill you and eat you as look at you (under CFL illumination of course). 😉
This should have happened years ago.
In New Zealand since 2001 the government provides us free power saving light bulbs and water heating insulation, plus heavily subsidized home insulation to reduce power consumption. all New Zealand’s power is generated by Solar, Wind and Hydro.
>>Bush may not have actually done anything, but since he gets
>>the blame everytime a Federal employee farts in public,
I’m not blaming Bush for Whitman quitting (other than him being his usual ignorant, useless self). It was President Cheney’s insistance that air pollution standards be lowered (surprise, surprise) that caused her to throw in the towel.
And sure the EPA has done some good things. Very few though, since Presidents Cheney and Rove eviscerated it, and any progress has been made in spite of Little King Georgie’s temper tantrums.
Keep believing your stereotypes. Don’t let the facts interfere.
hhopper, #42, incandescent bulbs are only 5-7% efficient. 90% of the energy consumed ends up as heat.
GE is developing a high efficiency incandescent bulb that may replace CFL’s by 2010.
Check it, mercury spill (broken CFL) in house.
http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/financialpost/story.html?id=aa7796aa-e4a5-4c06-be84-b62dee548fda
I dropped off some CFLs at our small communities annual “Household Hazardous Waste Cleanup” day. The usual, cans of paint, etc…everything was normal until they asked if I had anything else…I went, “Oh yeah, I got some mercury too. It was like hitting a hornets nest, all the environmetal “experts” started scrambling around prepping for a toxic clean up, then I hand them a couple of CFLs in a jar. I actually had to explain to the greens that CFLs contain levels of merucry that make them toxic. I told them I would rather have loads of CO2 in the atmosphere, than mercury in my house.
/.Chris
#50 – Thomas,
In my young and stupid days, I drove 110MPH with just 115HP. I also have no trouble these days with my 1992 4cyl camry getting on the highway with short ramps. I rarely stomp the pedal all the way to the floor and do just fine thanks. It’s actually a tad overpowered. I’d rather get better gas mileage and have to floor it more often.
All who are concerned about mercury:
I assume none of you ever eat tuna, correct? Halibut? Swordfish? Any other high level predatory fish? (I’m not sure halibut actually qualifies as a high level predator, but it is high in mercury like the rest.)
I have found these bulbs to last less long than ordinary bulbs in areas were the lights are turned on and off frequently (Kitchen, bathroom etc).
After reading an article in Wired a while back I replaced nearly every bulb in my home with CFL’s. I have not seen any significant decrease in my electric bill and I miss my G.E. “Soft Whites” for reading.
*shrug*
i’ve bought a bunch of CFL’s -14w to 27w from the 99cent store (for 99cents each) a few years back and they all are still running.
ofc, their all made in china.. but hey, they still work.
$7 for a incandescent bulb replacement is nothing but a scam.
personally, i like that they run cooler more than the powers savings.
and about the “1million CFL’s save 700k’s worth of tailpipe emissions”
i’d like to see just HOW all these greenhouse scam artists
compute how much co2 the average schmuck emits per year.. or any “you just saved xxx tons of co2 emissions” this year hype for that matter..
i’d bet a wooden nickel most of the co2 tonnage estimates off by 25%-45%.. its all just to buy into your guilt…
yada yada..
-s
#59 – the amount of CO2 the average schmuck emits is very tightly coupled to what he eats.
It surprises me how much environmentalists are on board with CFLs. Normally their policies involve consumers spending more money to protect the environment, but in this case the consumers save money, and maybe the environment gets worse or there is a big risk to consumers. Perhaps hydrogen cars will be the same way with the potential for dangerous explosions.
#60 – iGW,
I don’t emit CO2 from my schmuck. I emit it from my mouth and nose.. I emit methane from my ass. No gases come from my schmuck.