OT - Light Bulbs | Arthritis Information

I didn't know this - and if they have mercury in them, then I'm against them. Period.

Pip

Yep, they last longer, save energy but need to be disposed of properly. [QUOTE=Pip!]I didn't know this - and if they have mercury in them, then I'm against them. Period. It's a Republican railing about the new lightbulbs. It's from CSpan. And I got to admit, he's raising some concerns in my mind. The mercury being the biggest. Supposedly, in the EPA handout, if it breaks, you have to do all these things to not contaminate your house. Or when you're disposing of them you're supposed to put them in plastic bags and throw in the trash. Reminds me of our Injector disposal. Now, that can't be safe.

Pip

Yes, CFL's have mercury in them and that's never been a secret. However they only have a fraction of the mercury currently used in tubular fluorescents that many people have in their kitchens, basements and garages...and for some reason no one is up in arms about them. Edited to add that tubular fluorescents are also a lot more likely to break than a CFL just because of the size and shape.InnerGlow2008-06-17 09:27:14Good point, Suzanne, and I wondered about that. I guess I was just thinking of all these flourescent bulbs in landfills under a ton of garbage and being protected by 2 ziplock bags. I'm thinking when they break, and they will, they's cut thru the baggie and leak into the ground water and eventually wash out to sea where the mercury will poison the fish we eat.

I seem to be gloomy today.

Pip

Pip, don't get me wrong...mercury is a horrible thing (I even had myself tested to make sure that wasn't causing my symptoms). And the point of the video was that government was mandating the use of these bulbs over incandescents, as opposed to tubular fluorescents which are optional. I don't disagree with the speaker, but I know the point is to try to reduce energy consumption. Even with the tubulars, manufacturers are trying to lower the amount of mercury needed. I don't think there's any easy answer. Having worked in the lighting industry, I know they are trying to do both...reduce energy consumption and mercury. I believe GE (not the company I worked for) is trying to make a more efficient incandescent. If they succeed, perhaps the government will swing back the other way.

PS - Edison didn't invent the incandescent bulb, he just perfected it and made in marketable by using a tungsten filament. Joseph Swan in England invented it. Pet peeve of mine!

Pip, the fish that we eat now has mercury in it, especially the oily fish. Here in the northeast the lakes are so full of mercury that they are recommending that pregnant women not eat fish at all. For Regular folks maybe twice a month is okay. Factories are still releasing mercury into the atmosphere and it blows right into my back yard. Yuk! The compact fluorescent light bulbs will burn out much quicker if they're only turned on for a few minutes at a time (like in a bathroom or closet, for instance); this can reduce their lifetime by about 90% - even shorter than the incandescent bulbs they're replacing. It is recommended that you leave a CFL bulb on for at least 15 minutes in order to prevent this. I found this out first-hand when I switched to the CFL lights in our bathroom. They burnt out in a matter of months, and they were about 4x as expensive as the regular incandescents.

In almost all the light fixtures in our house, we have 40-watt incandescent bulbs. For some of the ceiling lights, I've put 13-watt CFL's so that I don't have to replace them as often. The husband and kids are well-trained to only have a light on if they need it. Their nightlights are LED-based wind-up flashlights (they have a high-light and night-light function). If they want a nightlight, they have to start cranking! Our electricity bill is lower than most of our friends' bills.

Good point Jas. Another possibility, besides using a lower-wattage incandescent, is to use one with a "cooler" (read bluer) light. They can make us feel that the room is brighter than using a soft white "warmer" (read yellower) light. Some of the newer bulbs even have a special coating, like a "natural light". When I moved into my last apartment, I had a nice walk-in closet. I replaced the 100W soft white incandescent in there with a 60W natural light. My father started lecturing me on using lower wattage bulbs until I explained to him that it was a lower wattage bulb...but it actually appeared brighter to the eye.