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Energy Saving Lightbulbs


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  • 4 weeks later...

The only bulbs that will and have been stopped are the 100w bulbs as the manufacturers have stopped them.

That was about 18 months ago this happened and although they claim the rest will follow, it will never happen in our lifetime. Think of all the exsisting fittings are being used that use the incandescent bulbs, it would be utter chaos and huge public outroar.

The only places that are totally using the energy efficient stuff is that of commercial buildings which are high comsumption outlets. New extentions and new builds in the residential are legally required to have 25% of their lighting as energy effiicient to tick the boxes. If you are really unlucky with your electrician, they will install PLU type fittings, meaning you can only use those energy saving bulbs in them. However most will fit them with the "traditional fitting" - the screw or pin fiting, which means once you had the building inspector in to sign it all off, out comes the Energy bulbs and in with the proper ones.

Now you may be asking why I am being negative about the energy effiicent bulbs. I worked in lighting for two years and got to know a fair bit about the way these bulbs differed, and speaking from that experience I would rather use incandescent than energy saving any day!

The only time, and I stress ONLY time that these bulbs will be best to use is if you have a light on constantly for at least 5 hours. The way that these bulbs work means the longer they are on, the better and more efficient they work. So if you are only switching the light on for a little bit, the energy bulb will only last as good as a conventional bulb. And when you think how expensive these things cost that is really not efficient as all.

Another thing that makes these things a real con in thier name is how they are made, with a conventional bulb, its a bit of metal, glass and gas. The energy bulbs are made of glass, ceramic, metal, and other bits of material that make it that bit bulkier (and in most cases make it unusable in normal fittings as it doesnt fit in the casing or sticks out too much), all these raw materials cost more and in itself creates a bigger carbon imprint.

And here's the clincher that really gets my goat. THEY HAVE MURCURY IN THEM! :blink: Yep thats right, a poisonous substance is in those precious energy saving bulbs. If you break one of these bulbs, you are meant to completely air out the room, totally clear up the glass, and wash your wands thoroughly. The thing is they dont put this on the label, the phrase to insert here is OMFG.

When you think about how you dispose of a bulb, most will throw them into the normal household bin. Not with energy bulbs. Due to the murcury in them, you have to dispose of them "in a safe way". They cant go into landfill, yet most of them will, poisoning the very land we are meant to be saving. Now disposing them properly normally means a trip to the tip (or if you are very very lucky you will have a local disposal unit, but those are seemingly very slim), can you realistically imagine someone going to the tip to get rid of a few bulbs? With the queues round this way for the tip, my guess would be a no. So in goes what is essentially toxic waste that cannot be currently widely recycled, going into landfill.

Lovely(!) <_<

A better alternative to energy saving are the halogen bulbs. They I would consider the true energy saving bulb. Compare the 60w bulb to a 60w halogen and you see a real difference and they do last quite a long time. As long as you dont touch the bulb itself and get grease on the bulb, they last yonks. It's the same thing as your car bulbs, if you touch the bulb directly, the grease from your hands affects the lifespan of the bulb and ultimately brings it to an early end. And although they are more costly then a normal bulb, they are much more affordable than the "energy saving" bulbs.

.........I'll shut up now...... :P

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