Compact flourescent bulbs, great for energy savings, environment

[eplebnista]

I just buy CFL's due to the fact they last longer(less chair climbing to change out bad bulbs).

 

[Throckmorton]

Originally posted by: Zenmervolt

Originally posted by: Ernie99

Originally posted by: dullard
Exactly. I believe it was you in another CFL thread that did the math and showed that a CFL bulb (if it all went into the atmosphere in a typical room) would still be under the safe maximums of mercury in the air.

The OSHA limit for mercury exposure in the workplace is 0.1 milligram of mercury per cubic meter of airspace.

And a normal smallish room is about 2 x 3 x 2.5 meters. That gives us a normal room volume of around 15 cubic meters. Divide the 1 mg of mercury in modern CFL bulbs by 15 and your number is 0.066mg/m^3. Under the OSHA limit.

It should also be noted that OSHA limits assume continuous exposure and are in general lower than they need to be. OSHA regulations require you to wear shin guards, goggles, and earmuffs to use a weed whacker for pete's sake. 9 times out of 10 OSHA regulations are ridiculous bullshit designed to make lawmakers feel warm and fuzzy. The other 1 time out of 10, OSHA requirements are things that should never need to be explained, like "don't try to stop a chainsaw with your hands".

ZV

Warm and fuzzy? Well a weed wacker CAN throw a pebble into your eye, completely destroying it. And the noise does cause permanent hearing damage incrementally. Haven't you ever seen the guys who go around the neighborhood doing yards for $50? They wear hearing protectors for a reason.

 

[Throckmorton]

Originally posted by: Modelworks

Originally posted by: Raduque
Man, by the headless chickens' logic, I, my dog, my cat, my fish and anybody who comes in my apartment should be dead by now from mercury poisoning. I've broken at least 15-20 CFL bulbs (they're all I use) doing various things, and both me and my small animals are all still alive.

That being said, I'll replace them all with LEDs once I can get 4 40w LED bulbs made for standard incandescent fixtures for $10 at walmart.

I think some people got the wrong idea.
Mercury poisoning isn't something where you ingest/inhale mercury and you die.
Unless you ingest huge amounts you will live.

Its something that affects development in children similar to the way lead does.
So if your child has development problems later you might never know that it was mercury that caused it. Its just better to be a little cautious rather than ignore it.

It causes brain damage too. 15-22 is a huge number. Did Raduque just not realize that CFLs contain mercury?? Hmm

 

[DrPizza]

Originally posted by: BigJ

Originally posted by: DrPizza

Originally posted by: Marlin1975
More on Mercury, Coal and CFLs - Updated

Summary
Mercury from the CFLs and their use = 2,259 pounds
Mercury from incandescent bulb usage = 2,425 pounds [/b]

Every study I've ever seen completely ignores that heat energy from incandescent bulbs isn't always "wasted." For those of us in more Northern climates (NY)- who heat their homes 6 or more months of the year, and who only occasionally use air conditioning, the heat from incandescent bulbs is NOT wasted during the months when the heat is on. I'll bow down to the argument that if it's a ceiling light, on the top floor of a poorly insulated house, that the heat is wasted as it is lost through the ceiling. But, that's not the majority of the light bulbs. 500 watts of incandescent bulbs operating uses the same amount of energy as 100 watts of CFL's and a 400 watt space heater. In those two cases, if they give off the same amount of light, then they give off the same amount of heat. In fact, we actually use special 250 watt lightbulbs to provide heat in certain applications.

If you take that into account, don't forget to also take into account how much harder your HVAC system or air conditioners will have to work in the summer.

I know you mentioned it, but on Long Island at least, 2-3 months in the summer is definitely AC time.

Don't forget, your lights aren't on for as many hours a day during the summer as they are in the winter

 

[sandorski]

I can't remember the last time I broke a lightbulb. Some of you guys must be very careless.

 

[IGBT]

..the color balance is much better then earlier rev's but the crappy little inverter/balasts are still a prob and will fizzle and smoke like hell when they fail. LED's are the long term answer.

 

[Colt45]

Give me a break. Quicksilver isn't good for you, but a few mg won't kill anyone.

Ever had a sword fight with 4' fluorescent tubes as a kid? I know I did.
Hell, they used to let kids in school play with it in science class. A few broken bulbs isn't going to turn you into a hatter.

 

[Modelworks]

Originally posted by: Colt45
Give me a break. Quicksilver isn't good for you, but a few mg won't kill anyone.

Ever had a sword fight with 4' fluorescent tubes as a kid? I know I did.
Hell, they used to let kids in school play with it in science class. A few broken bulbs isn't going to turn you into a hatter.

Different form of mercury.
This is vaporized mercury.

 

[PottedMeat]

Originally posted by: Colt45
Give me a break. Quicksilver isn't good for you, but a few mg won't kill anyone.

Ever had a sword fight with 4' fluorescent tubes as a kid? I know I did.
Hell, they used to let kids in school play with it in science class. A few broken bulbs isn't going to turn you into a hatter.

Oh yeah those were great. ...even better in a high strength RF field.

 

[eflat]

Originally posted by: eplebnista
I just buy CFL's due to the fact they last longer(less chair climbing to change out bad bulbs).

Really? I swear they do not last as long. The 8x the lifespan on the boxes is such BS.


Anyway, I think CF's are just a phase. I imagine LED technology will eclipse it or something similar in a few years.

Not to mention the CF bulbs only come in standard sizes. Our house uses a ton of special lighting that require halogen bulbs and other specialty ones that you cannot fit a CF into.

 

[Throckmorton]

Originally posted by: eflat

Originally posted by: eplebnista
I just buy CFL's due to the fact they last longer(less chair climbing to change out bad bulbs).

Really? I swear they do not last as long. The 8x the lifespan on the boxes is such BS.


Anyway, I think CF's are just a phase. I imagine LED technology will eclipse it or something similar in a few years.

Not to mention the CF bulbs only come in standard sizes. Our house uses a ton of special lighting that require halogen bulbs and other specialty ones that you cannot fit a CF into.

Why do houses have that halogen crap? There is so much that makes no sense in cheap suburban tract housing, from the black roofs, to the nonexistent insulation, to the cutting down of trees and then growing spindly looking saplings.

 

[PottedMeat]

Originally posted by: Throckmorton

Originally posted by: eflat

Originally posted by: eplebnista
I just buy CFL's due to the fact they last longer(less chair climbing to change out bad bulbs).

Really? I swear they do not last as long. The 8x the lifespan on the boxes is such BS.


Anyway, I think CF's are just a phase. I imagine LED technology will eclipse it or something similar in a few years.

Not to mention the CF bulbs only come in standard sizes. Our house uses a ton of special lighting that require halogen bulbs and other specialty ones that you cannot fit a CF into.

Why do houses have that halogen crap? There is so much that makes no sense in cheap suburban tract housing, from the black roofs, to the nonexistent insulation, to the cutting down of trees and then growing spindly looking saplings.

People like the spectrum output better and a little more efficiency - so says wikipedia.

 

[eplebnista]

Originally posted by: eflat

Originally posted by: eplebnista
I just buy CFL's due to the fact they last longer(less chair climbing to change out bad bulbs).

Really? I swear they do not last as long. The 8x the lifespan on the boxes is such BS.


Anyway, I think CF's are just a phase. I imagine LED technology will eclipse it or something similar in a few years.

Not to mention the CF bulbs only come in standard sizes. Our house uses a ton of special lighting that require halogen bulbs and other specialty ones that you cannot fit a CF into.

I have had CFL's last up to 3 years running 18/7, whereas the standard incandecents would last just a few months. I use them in ceiling fans with light fixtures that use open-ended glass shades in rooms with high ceilings. There is also the energy savings, although that is not a primary reason for my using CFL's.

 

[sdifox]

you mean there is people who don't know CFL stands for COMPACT Fluorescent Light? Same as thos big ass long tube lights you find in commercial establishments, except compact.

Just don't break them and take them in to your local toxic waste management people, same place you drop off used motor oil, paint, CRT minitors, etc.

 

[Throckmorton]

I was trying to find CFL bulbs with a plastic casing, and found this.... Talk about insane.

http://plasticfree.blogspot.co...cfl-light-bulbs-2.html

Well, I said it once, I?ll say it again?.life is full of ironies. And this is another one of them.

And we?re not talking an itsy-bitsy-paramecium-sized irony. We?re talking a big, honkin? Godzilla- Meets-Tyrannosaurus-Rex-sized irony ? the Sequel.

Yup, get ready for it?.you know what?s coming?.CFL light bulbs contain plastic.

Yup, even the one?s that come packaged in cardboard.


Sad but true, there?s a big, bad wad of plastic at the base of each bulb. Disguised to look like porcelain?but evil plastic to the core.