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

[nobody@xxxxxxxxxxxx (Dave Houston)]

On a related topic, I saw an AP story yesterday that claimed lighting
accounts for 22% of USA electricity use. Having earlier found (and cited)
DOE data saying lighting was 9% of residential use and 6% of industrial use,
I contacted the EIA (Energy Information Administration) for help in finding
statistics for the commercial sector. You'll have to do the math yourself
but, in 1999, lighting accounted for about 23% of total commercial sector
electricity use. (716 / 3098)

     http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/aer/pdf/pages/sec2_29.pdf

Using figures I cited earlier, each sector accounts for about 1/3 of the
total so that means lighting takes about 12-13% of total USA electricity
use, much less than the figures given by the NYT & AP. The energy figures
tossed about by the tree-huggers would appear to be just as inflated as the
life expectancy figures tossed about by the CFL manufacturers.

Furthermore, since many industrial and commercial uses already are using
high efficiency lamps there's not a lot to gain by forcing them to use CFLs.


So, CFLs aren't going to save the planet but may light it so poorly that we
won't notice as it ebbs away. :(

"BruceR" <razrbruce@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

>The warranties on the packages all seem to tout 5 to 7 years but in
>reality, my experience has been 4 years tops running them 7 hours a day
>in mild temperatures (never below 65F).  On top of that the DOA rate is
>a very high 3%.  It's a PITA to mail bulbs back and even more of PITA to
>keep track of receipts so the warranty goes unclaimed.
>
> Dave Houston wrote:
>> ericjhwilson@xxxxxxxxx wrote:
>>
>>> On Apr 30, 4:35 pm, "Robert Green" <ROBERT_GREEN1...@xxxxxxxxx>
>>> wrote:
>>>> "Dave Houston" <nob...@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
>>>>
>>>> news:463652fe.1689880921@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> "Robert Green"
>>>> <ROBERT_GREEN1...@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>>> 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.
>>>>
>>>>> Take care when you remove it lest you drop and break it. ;)
>>>>
>>>> http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/financialpost/story.html?id=aa7796...
>>>> -4c06-be84-b62dee548fda
>>>>
>>>> I'm beginning to think CFL's are the gypsy moths of the '00's.
>>>> Instead of
>>>> catching mercury spewing out of smokestacks like we should (along
>>>> with
>>>> carbon) we're distributing toxic mercury all throughout the
>>>> environment,
>>>> hoping it's all going to be properly recycled even thought we know
>>>> Americans
>>>> aren't the best recyclers in the world.  It is pretty bizarre, when
>>>> you stop
>>>> and think about it.  Perhaps the best we can hope for from CFL's is
>>>> that
>>>> they will spur development of better alternatives that don't require
>>>> creating mercury vapor in fragile glass tubes in our homes.
>>>>
>>>> --
>>>> Bobby G.
>>>
>>> http://dafnwebpd.sylvania.com/idmweb/doccontent.dll?LibraryName=ecomcspd^dafnctpd&SystemType=2&LogonId=f7eecb462aecb681dcfbdc3351d22153&DocId=003694126&Page=1
>>>
>>> The mercury emitted by coal power plants to run an incandescent is 26
>>> mg over 5 years.  For a CFL this is 6 mg.  Add to that the max 5 mg
>>> of CFL in the bulb itself and you get 11 mg compared with 26 for the
>>> incandescent.  A mercury thermometer has between 500 and 1,000 mg.
>>> And the 5 mg of mercury in a CFL is contained, as opposed to the
>>> mercury emitted by coal power plants, which is breathed in or
>>> consumed when eating fish.   See the above link for what to do if a
>>> CFL breaks.
>>>
>>> So, as long as 80% of our electricity comes from coal, it's still
>>> better to use CFLs!
>>
>> Many people have reported premature failures after a year or so. If
>> you have to replace the CFL annually, the 5 year score becomes CFL
>> 31mg, Incandescent 26mg.
>