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Today I finished changing out 33 lightbulbs for CFLs.

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my issue with CFLs is that there are no lights in my house i leave on for hours and hours. all the lights are off and only get turned on when needed and then turned back off
 
Anubis said:
my issue with CFLs is that there are no lights in my house i leave on for hours and hours. all the lights are off and only get turned on when needed and then turned back off
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You never stay in one room for 30-60 minutes?
 
Jeff7 said:
You never stay in one room for 30-60 minutes?
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should rephrase that, there are very few... as in like 4, and yes i have CFLs in them, however ive tried them in the other lights in the house and they last less then a year. which is going to start to suck when i can no longer but normal light bulbs in a few years
 
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bobdole369 said:
Enjoy the poor quality light, frequent burnouts, fire risk, and newly toxic lighting system in your home SunnyD.
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Mine light just as well as any other type light, but I also choose the ones that fit best.
Only had a small handfull of burn outs and that was because I got paint on them or before I fixed my electrical issues. So no burnouts since.
No fires here or at my in-laws, familys, or anybody else I know.
I don't eat light bulbs; but I do recycle them if they go bad.

Sorry to bust your FUD post.
 
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Triumph said:
You didn't follow the conversation correctly.
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No actually, he got it right the first time. You didn't follow the conversation correctly. Cynicism at its finest.

bobdole369 said:
Enjoy the poor quality light, frequent burnouts, fire risk, and newly toxic lighting system in your home SunnyD.
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Actually, other than the 2 "bright whites" I put in the kitchen, I have to say each and every one of the soft whites I put elsewhere in the house are pretty much indistinguishable from incandescent bulbs. I can't attest to burnouts, since these are all new bulbs, but the few I've had for 3 years are still kicking just fine. As far as fire risk, there's just as much risk with incandescent bulbs, and as far as my "toxic" lighting system, I don't think an accidental breakage of a few micrograms of mercury is going to make much difference compared to all the other shit that's been spewed into the environment over the last 100 years.
 
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The only problem I have with CFLs are my outside ones in cold weather. They are noticeably dim for about 5 minutes after turning them on (until warm up, I guess).
 
There is nothing wrong with bulbs made in Germany I can tell you that!
We literally have thousands of compact fluorescent lamps everywhere and they definitely last 10K hours+. When bulbs are bad they will start flickering or strobing on and off. Of course these are not self ballasted retrofits that are screwed into a medium base. The fixtures have ballasts and the bulbs plug into a socket.

These super cheap CFL bulbs have all sorts of issues from dirtying up the power feeds, overheating and cracking, ballast/driver catastrophic failure, weird colors, the list goes on and on.

Oh and if you eat one you probably don't want to have sushi as part of your diet for at least a few weeks. 😀
 
Triumph said:
I followed it correctly as was written, not as you intended to say.
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We can discuss the semantics of grammar's implied meanings all day long if you must, but simply put, you are wrong. Meanings of written and spoken word can get twisted to people's wills nearly all the time - that's the entire basis of politics.

Now I'm not certain if you simply don't have anything better to do, but you really should find a more constructive hobby.
 
Folks that use bad grammar and light bulbs have some things in common!

Not too bright
Get turned down a lot
Burn out easily...
 
so what lights are we supposed to be using in the bathroom... CFLs specifically say do not use in a wet environment.
 
Actually, other than the 2 "bright whites" I put in the kitchen, I have to say each and every one of the soft whites I put elsewhere in the house are pretty much indistinguishable from incandescent bulbs.
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I'm fairly picky about light. With an artist wife and part of my own job is to design lighting systems - the color temperature and quality of light in a space is something I notice immediately. Color temp and brightness seem to vary mfr to mfr - I don't like ANY of them. YMMV - if you like it, great!

I can't attest to burnouts, since these are all new bulbs, but the few I've had for 3 years are still kicking just fine.
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Every Cotton Picking One of them that I installed starting about 4 years back, lasted less than an incandescent. I'm probably doing it wrong, but I don't know how. I think its because they exist in sealed fixtures along with incandescants. Probably wrong - but again think that I'm the least-informed consumer, how does that look to them?

As far as fire risk, there's just as much risk with incandescent bulbs
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Well this is a mixed bag. Incandescent bulbs get hot and stay that way. The fixtures in use today expect incandescent levels of heat so things are often designed with that in mind. The fire risk I speak of is that of a defective ballast. ***It happened to me***

While I cannot link to any real credible sources, I can tell you that it happened to me. Granted it was a *very* cheap walmart CFL that I had in the bathroom - this was when I was not schooled about them. (shouldn't put them in a bathroom, or outside unless rated for that duty - but I submit that a typical user would similarly be unaware. Very much like an anecdote I've heard, that the lifespan rating is only good if the CFL is installed - curlycue up, as the ballast takes in too much heat when installed curlycue down. ) The ballast smoked when I turned the bathroom light on, visible flame appeared, melting part of the ballast, dropping burning hot boiling and flame sputtering plastic and components onto the vanity.

and as far as my "toxic" lighting system, I don't think an accidental breakage of a few micrograms of mercury is going to make much difference compared to all the other shit that's been spewed into the environment over the last 100 years.
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http://www.wattworks.com/CFL%20Hazards.htm

A bit tinfoil hat - but there are some serious concerns here. Have you read what the EPA says you have to do when you break one? Ruby is right. When you break one, you may as well not eat fish for the rest of your life.

http://www.epa.gov/hg/spills/

http://www.epa.gov/cfl/cflcleanup.html
 
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sao123 said:
so what lights are we supposed to be using in the bathroom... CFLs specifically say do not use in a wet environment.
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*shrug*
The CFL that's in the ceiling in my bathroom has been doing fine for.....oh, maybe close to 2 years now.

If the bulb has had a chance to heat up, it might be able to resist accumulating any condensation.
 
Jeff7 said:
*shrug*
The CFL that's in the ceiling in my bathroom has been doing fine for.....oh, maybe close to 2 years now.
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Fixtures in bathrooms don't have the "suitable for wet locations" labeling either so it's OK. Well unless you have it mounted IN the shower where water runs over it. 😉
 
bobdole369 said:
*snip* (too long, just look up a few posts for the source)
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Yeah, I've read the EPA statement. It's much ado about nothing really. I'm well aware of proper handling of mercury and disposal of both broken as well as intact bulbs. As far as hazardous to humans, yeah, in a confined environment if you break a bulb and immediately stick your nose in and snort it, that's bad. But the amount of mercury contained in the bulb once it breaks, by the time you (properly) clean up the glass and assorted bits and pieces, would be negligible trace amounts. Unless you're the kind of person that goes around licking the floor where the bulb drops... but then you probably have other things to worry about.

Rubycon said:
Fixtures in bathrooms don't have the "suitable for wet locations" labeling either so it's OK. Well unless you have it mounted IN the shower where water runs over it. 😉
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Hmm, now that you two mention it, I need to verify whether or not these are rated for bathrooms. When my kids shower, the bathroom gets real steamy... that could be a bad thing. But I know they are outdoor rated, for enclosed fixtures.
 
Rubycon said:
Fixtures in bathrooms don't have the "suitable for wet locations" labeling either so it's OK. Well unless you have it mounted IN the shower where water runs over it. 😉
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If you have a pulsating shower head, does that count as alternating current?
 
Between environmental (burning coal), fish, and now CFL mercury, I can see CFL's being the new leaded gasoline of 2020. Have fun with that.

I really really intend to never break them but my hopes are not high considering how many incandescent bulbs I've broken over the years combined with the fact that CFLs are more fragile and heavier.

Ah, not only the increased manufacturing cost but also the increased disposal cost. I'm 100% sure CFLs will end up costing us more money and energy than they save. Everyone just seems to ignore the negatives and believes the marketing on the packaging. We all know its not true, we know they don't last as long as advertised if you actually go in and out of rooms. We know they release about 5mg of mercury when broken into your house. We know they take more energy to manufacture, recycle/dispose, which eats away at the advertised energy savings that CFL manufactures throw out there. So why do you still buy into it? The difference in overall energy savings is marginal at best, negative at worst, and the lighting is worse subjectively.
 
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OverVolt said:
Between environmental (burning coal), fish, and now CFL mercury, I can see CFL's being the new leaded gasoline of 2020. Have fun with that.
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LEDs will replace them.
Oh wait they're loaded with arsenic! 😱

Whatever happened to ROHS anyhow?
I'm noticing more common things with a new label warning the user that the product contains materials that can cause birth defects and cancer, etc. Wash hands after handling! D:
 
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