60% of Americans Unaware of Looming Incandescent Bulb Phase Out 944
Lucas123 writes "Even though production of 75W and 100W incandescent lamps were phased out earlier this year, many U.S. consumers remain blissfully unaware of The Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA) of 2007, an energy efficiency standard that requires an initial 30% reduction in energy use for screw-in bulbs. By 2020, the federal standard requires bulbs to use 65% less energy. According to a new survey, only 40% of Americans are aware that incandescent bulbs are being phased out. However, the federal regulations are about to impact the most popular bulbs of all — 40W and 60W lamps. As of Jan. 1, 2014, the bulbs will no longer be produced. A significant portion of those who are aware of the phase out have been hoarding the bulbs in anticipation of the ban."
Get rid of those things (Score:3, Insightful)
If you have a brain, you got rid of those fucking things more than 5 years ago.
If it bother you that much (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Get rid of those things (Score:1, Insightful)
Indeed. US-Americans are however famous for their combination of ignorance and stupidity. I recently upgraded all my CFLs to LED bulbs and are very happy with them. And no, LED bulbs are not more expensive, but you need to be able to do basic math to see that.
Conservative freak-out. (Score:2, Insightful)
It is fun to watch.
Re:What is the best way to buy some in bulk? (Score:5, Insightful)
LEDs are cheaper. But some basic understanding of math and economics is required to see that. People that fail at that may get to conclusions such as yours.
Re:Get rid of those things (Score:5, Insightful)
Nope.
1) Large initial outlay on the energy saving bulbs;
2) When I factor in the cost of even one or two out of two dozen bulbs which go wrong early in their life, I'm not saving money;
3) All but the most expensive do not light up nearly as quickly as traditional;
4) Colour profile of almost all of them is not as nice as incandescent;
5) Disposal of a complex electronic device is more difficult.
So what? (Score:5, Insightful)
"Even though production of 75W and 100W incandescent lamps were phased out earlier this year, many U.S. consumers remain blissfully unaware of The Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA) of 2007
They will happily swap the burned out bulbs with whatever is available in the store and most of them wouldn't notice much difference. Couple will find that some of the stuff they bought does not work with dimmer switches or some bulbs tend to be a bit bulky and don't fit in certain very tight enclosures. All of those will be swapped for free back in the store with suitable replacements. So what's the point of preparing in advance for the switch or knowing about it?
Now, the people hoarding incandescent bulbs are a bit more puzzling. Some of them probably have a get-rich-quick plan kicking into action and all I can say is good for them. The ones that are actively trying to avoid switching away from incandescent bulbs are completely different story. WTF people? What's the point of massively inconveniencing yourself with the storage of fragile items only to pay higher electric bills.
60% of Americans are (Score:5, Insightful)
How is this surprising?
60% of Americans not keeping up with nation politics? Heck didn't 60% not even bother voting at some point? Don't 60% still think the world was made by an omnipotent being in 7 days?
Re:What is the best way to buy some in bulk? (Score:3, Insightful)
Hmm. 1000bulbs.com
A 60W equivalent LED bulb. $36 each.
A 60W equivalent CFL enclosed bulb. $12 each.
Hmm. Menards.com
A 60W Incandescent: $4 for a 4-pack.
Yeah. Sure. Cheap.
Re:Get rid of those things (Score:5, Insightful)
If you have a brain, you got rid of those fucking things more than 5 years ago.
It would be a pretty stupid thing to buy and expensive LED or other bulb to put in a crawlspace, or attic, or even a closet. Payback will never happen. Not enough energy used to make a difference either.
faint praise (Score:5, Insightful)
> LEDs also have better color rendition capability than CFLs.
It would be hard not to.
To some people having a nice warm spectrum from a bulb doesn't matter to them. But to others, inhabiting in a space lit by these new bulbs is like living in a morgue. Where I live it is dark 16 hours a day this time of year and usually overcast during the daytime. To me, the increased energy cost is worth it to live in a space that doesn't make me want to jump out the nearest window in despair. I am glad halogen bulbs will still be available because they are the only acceptable option right now.
Re:Congratulations! (Score:5, Insightful)
Good grief. Turn off some lights when you're not using them man! Your drop in price for changing bulbs more than doubles my total monthly electric bill.
Of course, the fact that people who do not pay so much for electricity will not make the money back so quickly might suggest why some do not upgrade so quickly. Different circumstances result in different calculations. (I note this even though I myself moved away from incandescents years ago.)
Re:cheaper only for rich people (Score:4, Insightful)
So if you're paying below market rates, you might as well use less efficient light bulbs? Sounds like a classic market failure. CFLs suck—don't waste your money. If you are poor, get halogen or cheap LEDs. If you can afford it, get more expensive LEDs. Volume will bring the price down.
Re:What is the best way to buy some in bulk? (Score:2, Insightful)
But visible light is an inefficient way to produce heat because light is lost through windows, etc.
Re:Get rid of those things (Score:5, Insightful)
You're better off heating with a heat pump—it's about three times more efficient than resistive heat, which is what you get out of a light bulb. Of course, if all you have is resistive heat, you're right that it makes no difference, but people who live in cold climates typically don't use resistive heat because it's so bloody expensive. We use oil, or gas, or heat pump, or wood, or some combination of these.
Re:What is the best way to buy some in bulk? (Score:5, Insightful)
But if I have my lights on for 5 hours a day in the evening, that 50k hours becomes nearly 30 years.
Yes, LED's are cheaper in the long run, both in capital and running costs. But the payoff periods are pretty long. You may get better value for money buying incandescent bulbs and investing the money saved in power companies.
Re:What is the best way to buy some in bulk? (Score:3, Insightful)
Stupidity always has unpleasant consequences. The problem is not the individual manifestation of stupidity, but the stupidity itself. Your examples are pretty stupid. there are LED-based replacements even for the bulbs in an Easy Bake oven. Heating engines up with incandescent bulbs is extremely dangerous, don't do it. There are safer alternatives for that.
yeah, it's a conspiracy against you (Score:4, Insightful)
Rich idiots in privileged settings come up with this crap and force it down the throats of the rest of us,
Nothing like a bit of ad hominem in the morning. Yeah, I'm sure it has nothing to do with the 1:4 efficiency difference and is a conspiracy by rich people to cram "crap" down the throats of us "common", good, hard-workin' innocent folk.
The whole reason this has been legislated is that people refuse to buy compact fluorescent bulbs because they're stubborn and hate change. So they say "they give me headaches" and "they're not as bright" and so on. Even "they cost too much", after you've gone blue in the face showing them the VERY basic math that a 3rd grader could do, showing they pay themselves back within a year or two, AND practically give them away with rebates.
Re:Why hoard? (Score:4, Insightful)
Because CFLs suck donkey balls for light quality*, they come on excessively slowly in cold temperatures, and they only emit 20-50% light during their warmup period (say, less than the time it takes to retrieve an item from your closet). And while the majority of the lamp will work fine for 10,000 hours, the electronics have a bad case of going toes up in less than 2000. I've replaced all 15 of the CFLs in my home office in the past 24 months. Some of them twice.
*Find me a 2700, 2800, or 3000K CFL with a CRI higher than 95 for less than 5x the cost of an incandescent and I'll take that back.
CFLs A Costly Mistake For This Condo (Score:5, Insightful)
I was president of a condo association for 5 years. I made the costly mistake of replacing all outside incandescent lights with CFLs:
- all CFLs, regardless of brand, failed within two years. Outdoors CFLs don't last as long as the cheapest incandescents, despite all caterwauling to the contrary. Please don't tell me about your special brand: I've tried it and it failed prematurely.Please don't tell me to return them to the store under the 3-year guarantee: if I did that all my time/gas would be spent driving to/from Home Depot/Lowe's/Light Store and changing bulbs.
- CFLs were frequently stolen. This was an unanticipated cost.
LEDs are even worse: thieves can spot an LED from 100 yards away and will stop at nothing to steal them (since they're so damn expensive). Great to spend $300 replacing a weatherproof floodlight receptacle and the electrical tubing because a thief tore it off an outside wall to get a $50 LED floodlight.
After 3 years I gave up and went back to incandescents, which we will use forever. Savings due to CFLs low electrical usage are not recovered when you include failure and theft in the equation. In fact, incandescents are cheaper even when you include the cost of the rugged models.
There are good reasons why incandescents have been used for so long. And, as others note, you can heat the chicken coop, keep pipes warm, and do other useful tasks with incandescents. CFLs were a political solution to a non-problem.
Re:Get rid of those things (Score:4, Insightful)
If you have a brain, you got rid of those fucking things more than 5 years ago.
It would be a pretty stupid thing to buy and expensive LED or other bulb to put in a crawlspace, or attic, or even a closet. Payback will never happen. Not enough energy used to make a difference either.
I am not an Electrician, but I'm pretty sure that you aren't supposed to use incandescent lights in a closet because of the fire risk involved. An attic or crawlspace, which will have exposed insulation and other combustibles that aren't behind a firewall (Drywall) like the other parts of your home, probably shouldn't have those in there either. It produces a very real and tangible safety issue. House fires started in concealed places are the worst as you can be in your home and not notice until it's too late.
While you use these for a short amount of time, it is easy to leave one on. Just spend the $5-$25 for the remote possibility of saving a $100,000 - $1,000,000 structure.
Re:Motion detector fixtures (Score:2, Insightful)
Or you could simply buy halogens.
Re:What is the best way to buy some in bulk? (Score:4, Insightful)
Nice try at being a smartass, but you fail it. It's not cheaper. The lightbulb costs much more, and once you replace a lightbulb that gives off 1000 lm of light and 100W of heating with a lightbulb that gives 1000 lm of light and 5W of heating you'll have to turn up heating by 95W. Or do liberals think that this energy comes from unicorns?
No, but a lot of liberals know the laws of thermodynamics, which essentially say that chemical and thermal energy go into one bin, and electrical and mechanical energy go into another. These two bins can not be compared directly the way you did in your conservative rant.
Re:What is the best way to buy some in bulk? (Score:4, Insightful)
On average, to deliver that 95W of thermal energy to your house, about 175W of thermal energy is wasted up the cooling towers and smokestacks of the power station. This is due to the thermodynamic losses involved in converting heat energy to mechanical energy. (A few high-tech power stations are somewhat more efficient, but electricity is a fungible commodity that is freely traded, so it doesn't really help if you happen to live near one. And hydroelectric dams, which don't have these thermodynamic conversion losses, are nevertheless environmental disasters in their own right.)
In contrast, a modern gas furnace can waste as little as 5W out the vent to deliver that same 95W of thermal energy into your house.
Re:Get rid of those things (Score:3, Insightful)
We have power and lots of it here. I'm not going to pay 20 bucks a bulb for the next big thing so some tree hugger can feel good about themselves. I've changed less than 10 bulbs in a decade here. That's 7.80 at current prices. Don't give a shit about changing to some other bullshit new light. I tried the last "craze" to cfl bulbs and was really pissed off when I found out about the mercury. I like the light the incandescents give off and that they're instant on without any environmental hazards in my house.
Don't give a shit about power prices anyway. How much do you really think it costs to run a 60 watt bulb at .08 a kwh?
Re: What is the best way to buy some in bulk? (Score:2, Insightful)
If freedom to you is about the kind of crap you can buy in a store then the chains that keep you bound are between your ears.
Re:What is the best way to buy some in bulk? (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:100Watt Bulb Heat is Useful on Farm (Score:4, Insightful)
No, I don't run the lights in the warm months. No need for the light or the heat. An electric heater actually uses more electricity than a light bulb and is more dangerous. The chickens do better with the extra light that the bulb provides. Since you don't farm you don't understand the problems. Why do you feel the need to outlaw things that you don't understand. Just let other people make their own economic choices.