CFL Bulbs

[pp05]

Do you think CFL bulbs should be banned due to health hazard they pose if broken and cost to recycle?

Should there be a rethink on the policy to rid us of incandescent bulbs?

Your thoughts...

[peterb]

It would be interesting to see how energy efficient cfls are when the manufacturing energy costs are taken into account.

However, by health risk, I assume you mean the miniscule amount of mercury that a lamp contains and is released if a lamp is broken.

Mercury gas been used in fluoroscent lamps since they were invented, which is the greater risk, the pollution generated by the increased energy required for incandescent lighting or mercury from a cfl?

The amount of mervury is about 4mg, much less than that used in (say) an amalgam filling.

I found this article

http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/...d-bad-science/ interesting.

[kalniel]

Should there be a rethink on the policy to rid us of incandescent bulbs?

No, they should just mandate LED bulbs from now on

[peterb]

No, they should just mandate LED bulbs from now on

Until someone comes up with the theory that the manufacturing process is dangerous

Joking apart, I have just replaced some Halogen spots with EDs (I posted it in another thread) I am impressed so far, but I wonder what the long term business model will be? If these lamps have the claimed lifespan, I can't see the aftermarket being very buoyant. Maybe that explains the relatively high price now.

[scaryjim]

... I wonder what the long term business model will be? If these lamps have the claimed lifespan, I can't see the aftermarket being very buoyant. Maybe that explains the relatively high price now.

The long term business model will be: supply the market with high quality, high cost LED lamps in the short term, developing a buzz about LED lighting, how energy efficient it is and how long the bulbs last. It's the second coming and will massively slow climate change! The government mandates that all new builds must use exclusively LED lighting, and offers incentives for people to convert their homes to LED. With mass market penetration guaranteed, manufacturing quality nosedives, as do prices. Within a few years, we're all replacing LED bulbs as often as we ever replaced incandescents. On the plus side, they use a lot less energy during operation, so we all feel somewhat smug about how environmentally friendly we are...

tbh, I think a bigger gain would be generated from converting all domestic lighting circuits to 12v DC, which would do as much as anything to bring the cost of the bulbs down (low voltage DC LED bulbs already being significantly cheaper). If I could afford my own house right now, that'd be the first thing I'd do...

[Phage]

Saw this on the BBc the other night.
https://www.sheffield.gov.uk/roads/works/lighting.html

[mepooooo]

I don't tink they should be banned. They save a lot of energy and the mercury used in them is a bit. It can not cause health problems in my oppinion.

[kalniel]

tbh, I think a bigger gain would be generated from converting all domestic lighting circuits to 12v DC, which would do as much as anything to bring the cost of the bulbs down (low voltage DC LED bulbs already being significantly cheaper). If I could afford my own house right now, that'd be the first thing I'd do...

Sadly that just adds another component that needs upgrading when you switch bulb technologies.

We've got one room with a 12V transformed circuit currently on halogens.. and guess what? If we want to put LED replacement bulbs we've got to get a new 12V transformer as well. It's actually preventing us from moving to more energy efficient technology, not helping us.

[pp05]

Have you read the guidance on how to clean up should they ever break?

[pp05]

The profit issue is a valid one.

Unless there is profit incentive the LED bulb will get cheaper and cheaper in terms of construction and not last the quoted lifespan.

These ecoShower heads are the same. But with this the trade-off is your health.

[kalniel]

Have you read the guidance on how to clean up should they ever break?

For normal failure there's no special guidance other than to return them to any store/dump just like you do for other electrical goods.

I've never seen one smash though. Expect it's similar to the old thermostats, though modern bulbs a lot more rugged so you'd have to be doing something pretty severe to break the glass on one.

What's the issue with ecoShowers? They only save water, not run at lower temps or anything as far as I can see.

[pp05]

For normal failure there's no special guidance other than to return them to any store/dump just like you do for other electrical goods.

I've never seen one smash though. Expect it's similar to the old thermostats, though modern bulbs a lot more rugged so you'd have to be doing something pretty severe to break the glass on one.

What's the issue with ecoShowers? They only save water, not run at lower temps or anything as far as I can see.

ecoshowers imo offer less than satisfactory performance with dubious savings claims. That is for another time.

I have probably smashed two in my life. One from accidental dropping and another which when replacing an existing bulb, as I was turning it I had to rely on the tip and the the glass broke (This was sold under Tesco brand). What amazed me was the instructions regarding the cleanup after. The old bulbs, I would put them in box of the new one and out in the trash.

Is the cost savings associated with CFL worth the risk to our health and at expense of banning something that was most probably just fine. I am not a proponent of LED but am starting to see pros in this regard?