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Journal Timex's Journal: SOMEONE gets it... 11

Journal by Timex

I mentioned before in a JE (on Technocrat and on my own blog, briefly- the comment is at the bottom of the post) a few of the dangers inherent in the forced march to use only fluorescent light bulbs. Someone else gets it, so I know it's not just me.

I think it's worth stating here that Chez Timex has been stocking-up on conventional light bulbs, and we're also planning to buy one or two LED bulb replacements per year (those beasties are expensive!) until all the lamps that need them have them.

Why LED? Wife and I watched a Mythbusters episode where they tested various types of light bulbs for durability and electricity consumption. They set out to find out if it was true that one saves energy by shutting lights off when one leaves a room. They found that you should, if you're going to be out of the room for more than a few seconds. They also found that LED bulbs used the least amount of electricity of all the types tested. The LED bulb also lasted longer than any of them. Yes, the LED bulbs are expensive, but they're worth it. They save money, through lower use of electricity and longer life of the bulb.

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SOMEONE gets it... More

SOMEONE gets it...

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  • When we built we put in all CF lightbulbs. It ran us several hundred dollars at that point as they were just starting to get popular because the quality had finally reached a point where people didn't mind them. Personally I find the warm up time really nice with the CF bulbs though, as when I turn on the lights in the bathroom in the morning I really do not like to be blinded.

    I have not tried any LED bulbs yet, but that might be when the CF bulbs start going on us. We probably have a couple years before

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by Timex ( 11710 ) *
      Great... How are you planning to dispose of the CF bulbs as they need replacing? You can't just toss them with the rest of your trash, because once they break, they release any mercury vapor they may contain.
      • As has been pointed out elsewhere, if the power source for lighting is primarily burning coal, the power saved by using a CF lamp will be a net gain in mercury emissions over the life of the lamp even if it is not properly disposed. (For much of the US, power is generated primarily by burning coal.) That said, it'd be a much larger net gain if the lamp is [handwaving] properly recycled.

        And all that said, I had no idea mass-market LED lamps were available. That's cool! They're clearly superior to both incand

        • Re: (Score:1)

          by Timex ( 11710 ) *

          ...I had no idea mass-market LED lamps were available. That's cool! They're clearly superior to both incandescent and CF in everything I care about except price, and relegate CF to an interim hack of a solution. I'll be all over that as soon as I can find 'em.

          All you needed to do was ask, my friend. :D

          http://www.thinkgeek.com/gadgets/lights/9ceb/ [thinkgeek.com]

      • Re: (Score:1)

        by FroMan ( 111520 )
        It really depends on how things go when doing the replacements.

        One of our design choices when we built was to do large rooms and have most of the lighting in the ceiling. With such lighting when you replace one, you likely will want to replace all if you are switching lighting types. We actually only have perhaps two or three lamps in the whole house.

        For example, the living/dining room has 2 sets of 3 cans for lighting either half of the room, which would be 6 bulbs total at $12-15 each. Optionally we ha
  • LED lighting is cold and ugly and completely unlike sunlight.

    JMO.

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