Comments on: Sacrifices On The Environmental Altar

By: Rich Horton

Rich Horton — Mon, 24 Dec 2007 23:09:53 +0000

I have a couple CFL for things like hallway lighting. Cant say I’ve seen any reduction in my electric bills. They take awhile to reach full brightness, and it certainly isn’t as nice a light. Yeah, I guess I can spend a couple hundred dollars on enough incandescents so I can at least read in the evenings without eyestrain.

All I can say is thank God our inconvenieneces are helping Algore live his McMansion lifestyle.

By: NortonPete

NortonPete — Mon, 24 Dec 2007 16:25:24 +0000

I have recessed lights on dimmers throughout my house. I would love to save money and the world. I went and purchased CFLs of comparable lumens. They did not work properly on a dimmer. So I put them in my basement where they take minutes to light up because it’s cool. I then saw a CFL sold at Home Depot for nearly $20 that specifically advertised “works off a dimmer”. I bought nearly $100 worth and got the ladder and installed them. They did not work and buzzed loudly. I have high quality dimmer switches, so I went back to Home Depot to return them as I didn’t want $100 worth of bulbs in my basement.
Home Depot initially didn’t want to take them back, but I told them that they were guilty of false advertising. Now the bulbs are sitting in a landfill somewhere polluting the Earth.
Incandescent lightbulbs have a great shelf life so stock up.

By: feeblemind

feeblemind — Mon, 24 Dec 2007 16:25:21 +0000

CFLs: I have one that has been running 24/7 om my porch for the last 4 or 5 yrs. It does seem dimmer than it used to be and if you shut it off, it is most definitely dimmer on the restart. The newer CFLs I have in the rest of the house are considerably brighter than the incandescent bulbs they replaced, and they are not dim when you turn them on. I have a total of nine CFLs running at present, but I had two burn out almost as soon as they were installed. Nearly a 20% failure rate. Whether that is par for the course or a statistical anomally, I know not. The others have all lasted and that is what I like best. Seems like light bulbs only last 3 or 4 weeks for me. Having said all that, I agree that the customer should be allowed to choose his lighting source. The government shouldn’t be doing the choosing for him.

By: Gaius

Gaius — Mon, 24 Dec 2007 15:59:00 +0000

Nah, I screwed that up, Uncle Pinky. Thanks for pointing that out.

As for CFLs, we installed them in our kitchen in the recessed spot fixtures. They take quite a while to get up to full light output and are simply not as bright as the old incandescent bulbs. Some CFLs are better than others, but we are definitely finding many downsides to them. Add to that the fact that the energy consumption of lighting is a minuscule fraction of the average home’s energy bill and you get a “solution” that solves nothing whatsoever.

By: Uncle Pinky

Uncle Pinky — Mon, 24 Dec 2007 15:51:35 +0000

CFLs give me massive headaches. Can I send my aspirin bills to Al c/o the U.N.?

Did I miss the post where you switched from “altar” to “alter”? It is either some wacky spell-check thingy or an incredibly subtle play on the shifting religiousity of the Church of Global Something or Other (cooling, warming, chloro-flourocabons etc.)

Oh well, just dropped by to see what was new and wish a merry Christmas to you and yours.

By: LYNNDH

LYNNDH — Mon, 24 Dec 2007 15:41:17 +0000

“Dim and Dull”? I have a number for CFL’s and do not find them so. They work fine for me.