buldogg
Senior Member
- Location
- Green Bay, Wisc.
I have read that the biggest cause of CFL failures was due to the lamps switching on and off a lot. So in applications where the lamps don't get switched often they should last longer.
POCO's Rock the Bulb
- Thread starter tom baker
- Start date
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I have read that the biggest cause of CFL failures was due to the lamps switching on and off a lot. So in applications where the lamps don't get switched often they should last longer.
e57
Senior Member
- Location
- San Francisco, CA
FYI - I have edited wikipedia content before - Yes a nut bag like ME, all you need is an account - free....
I'm sure the CFL industry and the converted keep it up to the 'standard message' on a daily basis....
buldogg
Senior Member
- Location
- Green Bay, Wisc.
Very good question
buldogg
Senior Member
- Location
- Green Bay, Wisc.
LED lights work great for Christmas lighting
big john
Senior Member
- Location
- Portland, ME
I think part of it is that it's easier for a business to recycle their lamp 4-footers than it is right now for most home owners to recycle CFLs.
Part of it is people being pressured to change and looking for something to complain about.
-John
Both valid points.
In UK we have the WEEE directive. (Waste electrical and electronic equipment).
One of the requirements of this directive is that retailers must offer a take back system free of charge to customers.
But, although required to do so under the directive, I haven't seen much evidence of retailers providing information about this.
e57
Senior Member
- Location
- San Francisco, CA
The debate has much to do with the eventual Congressional mandated banning of incandescent lighting.
Your average table lamp doesn't take a T-12...
The medium based lamp is historically more dominant - and with the ban mentioned above, all of a sudden - in the near future, every A-19 soft white would need to go to a screw-in CFL. So since the lobbying for that started the debated topics have always been - cost, poor light quality, sickening color rendering, flicker, bad miniaturized ballast design, dimmable vs. non-dimmable, and chiefly the increased use of mercury and disposal. As the average A-19 had all of those qualities down pat, or were not an issue - but was not energy efficient enough....Anyway - I feel we could have better effect on the climate by banning street lights, banning the recessed can designs common to poor architecture, building better cars and trucks, reinvesting in the trains again, and retooling a few oil rigs to drill for geothermal instead.
Here is a good article. It explains that the mercury in our atmosphere mainly comes from coal plants. Therefore, if you use a CFL you use less coal, less mercury produced. This reduction in mercury is much greater than the amount in the CFL.
http://www.energystar.gov/ia/partners/promotions/change_light/downloads/Fact_Sheet_Mercury.pdf
http://www.energystar.gov/ia/partners/promotions/change_light/downloads/Fact_Sheet_Mercury.pdf
e57
Senior Member
- Location
- San Francisco, CA
I would say that is so highly debatable.... Again blanket statements like that would assume that those coal fired plants only serve lighting alone, and only of the types being banned that CFL's would replace. The reality is that only a portion of that would be true - so I see the reduction of mercury output to be minimal at best in the broader picture. The report also takes the data for one year - but does not accumulate or extend that data over decades or centuries.... That mercury does not leave the landfill next year unless it ends up in the water supply..... And next year there will be more.... And after that more.... Over the course of several years you have the mercury output to the environment buried in one place. (Not including accidental breakage...) Then over the course of a century you have quite a lot of mercury buried all over the place in forgotten landfills.... This also on top of the mercury still being output in the air from the same source of power serving much more than the CFL in your house...
So does this assume all consumers of power are getting that power from coal? Those getting their power from other sources would then be contributing to mercury in the environment - would they not? This would still further lessen the supposed reductions already minimized above....
If say in the near future we went all NUKE - or everything but coal... We would then be contributing to the mercury output.
If you're gonna go green - go all the way. Make your own candles out of beeswax and hemp.
- Location
- Simi Valley, CA
I have a bunch in my house and have no concerns with them except for the four that I put in my ceiling fan, they're the ones that look like regular light bulbs, they start of very very dim and two have burned out in about six months, but I have the other type in a couple of lamps and they have been working for years and they are lamps that get a lot of use. I don't know how much money I'm saving, but every little bit helps. Here the POCO was off setting the cost and you could get a four pack for $1.99.
davedottcom
Senior Member
Broken cfl, no problem, Simply follow these steps!
Broken cfl, no problem, Simply follow these steps!
According to the EPA, this is how you clean up a broken cfl lamp.
Before Clean-up: Air Out the Room
Have people and pets leave the room, and don't let anyone walk through the breakage area on their way out.
Open a window and leave the room for 15 minutes or more.
Shut off the central forced-air heating/air conditioning system, if you have one.
Clean-Up Steps for Hard Surfaces
Carefully scoop up glass pieces and powder using stiff paper or cardboard and place them in a glass jar with metal lid (such as a canning jar) or in a sealed plastic bag.
Use sticky tape, such as duct tape, to pick up any remaining small glass fragments and powder.
Wipe the area clean with damp paper towels or disposable wet wipes. Place towels in the glass jar or plastic bag.
Do not use a vacuum or broom to clean up the broken bulb on hard surfaces.
Clean-up Steps for Carpeting or Rug
Carefully pick up glass fragments and place them in a glass jar with metal lid (such as a canning jar) or in a sealed plastic bag.
Use sticky tape, such as duct tape, to pick up any remaining small glass fragments 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 a sealed plastic bag.
Clean-up Steps for Clothing, Bedding and Other Soft Materials
If clothing or bedding materials come in direct contact with broken glass or mercury-containing powder from inside the bulb that may stick to the fabric, the clothing or bedding should be thrown away. Do not wash such clothing or bedding because mercury fragments in the clothing may contaminate the machine and/or pollute sewage.
You can, however, wash clothing or other materials that have been exposed to the mercury vapor from a broken CFL, such as the clothing you are wearing when you cleaned up the broken CFL, as long as that clothing has not come into direct contact with the materials from the broken bulb.
If shoes come into direct contact with broken glass or mercury-containing powder from the bulb, wipe them off with damp paper towels or disposable wet wipes. Place the towels or wipes in a glass jar or plastic bag for disposal.
Disposal of Clean-up Materials
Immediately place all clean-up materials outdoors in a trash container or protected area for the next normal trash pickup.
Wash your hands after disposing of the jars or plastic bags containing clean-up materials.
Check with your local or state government about disposal requirements in your specific area. Some states do not allow such trash disposal. Instead, they require that broken and unbroken mercury-containing bulbs be taken to a local recycling center.
Future Cleaning of Carpeting or Rug: Air Out the Room During and After Vacuuming
The next several times you vacuum, shut off the central forced-air heating/air conditioning system and open a window before vacuuming.
Keep the central heating/air conditioning system shut off and the window open for at least 15 minutes after vacuuming is completed.
Broken cfl, no problem, Simply follow these steps!
According to the EPA, this is how you clean up a broken cfl lamp.
Before Clean-up: Air Out the Room
Have people and pets leave the room, and don't let anyone walk through the breakage area on their way out.
Open a window and leave the room for 15 minutes or more.
Shut off the central forced-air heating/air conditioning system, if you have one.
Clean-Up Steps for Hard Surfaces
Carefully scoop up glass pieces and powder using stiff paper or cardboard and place them in a glass jar with metal lid (such as a canning jar) or in a sealed plastic bag.
Use sticky tape, such as duct tape, to pick up any remaining small glass fragments and powder.
Wipe the area clean with damp paper towels or disposable wet wipes. Place towels in the glass jar or plastic bag.
Do not use a vacuum or broom to clean up the broken bulb on hard surfaces.
Clean-up Steps for Carpeting or Rug
Carefully pick up glass fragments and place them in a glass jar with metal lid (such as a canning jar) or in a sealed plastic bag.
Use sticky tape, such as duct tape, to pick up any remaining small glass fragments 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 a sealed plastic bag.
Clean-up Steps for Clothing, Bedding and Other Soft Materials
If clothing or bedding materials come in direct contact with broken glass or mercury-containing powder from inside the bulb that may stick to the fabric, the clothing or bedding should be thrown away. Do not wash such clothing or bedding because mercury fragments in the clothing may contaminate the machine and/or pollute sewage.
You can, however, wash clothing or other materials that have been exposed to the mercury vapor from a broken CFL, such as the clothing you are wearing when you cleaned up the broken CFL, as long as that clothing has not come into direct contact with the materials from the broken bulb.
If shoes come into direct contact with broken glass or mercury-containing powder from the bulb, wipe them off with damp paper towels or disposable wet wipes. Place the towels or wipes in a glass jar or plastic bag for disposal.
Disposal of Clean-up Materials
Immediately place all clean-up materials outdoors in a trash container or protected area for the next normal trash pickup.
Wash your hands after disposing of the jars or plastic bags containing clean-up materials.
Check with your local or state government about disposal requirements in your specific area. Some states do not allow such trash disposal. Instead, they require that broken and unbroken mercury-containing bulbs be taken to a local recycling center.
Future Cleaning of Carpeting or Rug: Air Out the Room During and After Vacuuming
The next several times you vacuum, shut off the central forced-air heating/air conditioning system and open a window before vacuuming.
Keep the central heating/air conditioning system shut off and the window open for at least 15 minutes after vacuuming is completed.
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