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Incandescent bulb vs Compact Fluorescent some basic questions
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Endaar:

--- Quote ---CFL have mercury, no?
--- End quote ---

Yes, they do. And the cleanup procedures are non trivial if you break one: http://www.energystar.gov/ia/products/lighting/cfls/downloads/CFL_Cleanup_and_Disposal.pdf

The logic here escapes me. But hey, the government does such a good job regulating our light bulbs, let's put them in charge of something less important, like healthcare.

Endaar
DJ_Izumi:
Because even if CFL's contain mercury, they don't contain a signifigant ammount.  50% of the global mercury output is produced by burning coal for power, you actually produce less mercury total by powering a CFL agianst powering an incandescent bulb in areas where the power is supplied primarily by burning coal.  CFLs make up for a fraction of the mercury production in the world, even if we entirely replace incandescent.  They're still better for the environment as a whole.

Standard fluorescents have been used in office buildings and schools for years due to their energy efficency.  They break, it happens, it's delt with, it's pretty trivial. 
shardian:
I cannot use CFL's in 2 of my ceiling fans - even the super expensive "ceiling fan rated" CFL's. They flicker and/or buzz badly.

CFL's barely even fit in some of my enlosed lights - and I'm warned to not even use them in those!

I am also not paying $13 per bulb for dimmable CFL spots in my recessed basement lighting.

In general I have noticed the CFL's fail at a far higher rate than my good ol' cheap incandescents did.


I have a problem with the half-assed and hurried legislation on CFL's, but overall I think CFL's and LED could and should replace Incandescents. Incandescents should not be banned or anthing though.
DJ_Izumi:

--- Quote from: shardian on July 19, 2009, 04:21:34 am ---In general I have noticed the CFL's fail at a far higher rate than my good ol' cheap incandescents did.
--- End quote ---

I think you're doing something seriously wrong with your CFLs.  They typically last like 8 times longer than in incandescent.
SavannahLion:

--- Quote from: DJ_Izumi on July 19, 2009, 04:32:14 am ---
--- Quote from: shardian on July 19, 2009, 04:21:34 am ---In general I have noticed the CFL's fail at a far higher rate than my good ol' cheap incandescents did.
--- End quote ---
I think you're doing something seriously wrong with your CFLs.  They typically last like 8 times longer than in incandescent.

--- End quote ---

9 according to the packaging I have. But yes, I agree with shardian, they do fail at a higher than normal rate. I think a large part of it is that in a typical incandescent application, they are placed into a position that CFL manufactures specifically tell you not to put CFLs in. Namely in a base up, bulb down position. Out of every light fixture in my house, a mere five do not have the bulb "upside down." Of those five, two are excluded by design due to their sealed glass enclosures (another thing CFL manufacturers recommend against), that leaves three fixtures out of an entire house that fall within the recommended usage guidelines of your typical CFL.
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