Fluorescent Bulbs Are Known to Zap Domestic Tranquillity; Energy-Savers a Turnoff for Wives

["Robert Green" <ROBERT_GREEN1963@xxxxxxxxx>]

By Blaine Harden
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, April 30, 2007; Page A01

NESKOWIN, Ore. -- Alex and Sara Sifford, who live here on the Oregon coast,
want to do the right thing to save a warming world.

To that end, Alex Sifford, 51, has been buying compact fluorescent light
bulbs . . . He sneaks them into sockets all over the house. This has been
driving his wife nuts.  . . . the bulbs, with their initial flicker, slow
warm-up and slightly weird color, bug her. . . . Experts on energy
consumption call it the "wife test." And one of the dimly lighted truths of
the global-warming era is that fluorescent bulbs still seem to be flunking
out in most American homes. . . .  A key to the abiding grass-roots
resistance to CFLs, Reed and other experts said, is indelible consumer
memories of the hideous looks and poor quality of earlier generations of
fluorescent lights. . . . "People remember them from 20 years ago and they
are not going to forgive," said Dave Shiller, vice president of new business
development for MaxLite, a Fairfield, N.J., company that manufactures CFL
bulbs.

(That's about all I can post and feel comfortable that I am staying within
the "fair use" copyright exception - I'll post the URL to the much longer
and complete article below although I believe that registration is still
required )-: even though it's still free (-:)

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/29/AR2007042901
500.html

FWIW, my N-vision CFL floodlight has begun to take a very long time to warm
up and appears never able to reach its initial brightness level.  Too bad,
because it looked like a real winner at first.  My wife wants it gone from
the kitchen!  I concur.  Slow warmup is really, really annoying when you
want to look at something right away.

--
Bobby G.