Sunday, June 29, 2008

CFL's ~ Compact Fluorescent Lamps Whats Your Take!

Representative Ted Poe of Texas speaks about CFL’s and their impact on our lives! He cracks me up, and watch the Representative behind him in the video below! Just love this guy, seems we do have Representatives with some common sense after all! How he kept a straight face while stating the facts through his whole speech is beyond me!! Video below!!




CFL’s or Compact Fluorescent Lamps will be replacing Incandescent Bulbs, and all Americans will be required to use them by 2014. CFL’s use less energy, and can reduce your electric bill by around 12%. CFL’s have a lifespan of 6,000 -15,000 hours or 5-7 years, as Incandescent bulbs have only 750 - 1000 hours. CFL’s however cannot be used for short periods of time, such as motion lighting. CFL’s need to be used for 15 minutes at a time, and usage will be reduced to Incandescent bulb lifespan if used for only short time periods. I’ve priced CFL’s at $3.00-$4.00 a piece to $8.00 - $10.00 per 3-4 Pack!

CFL’s contain mercury! The Environmental Protection Agency says the bulbs should be double bagged in plastic bags unbroken, to be recycled. The process of cleaning up CFL broken bulbs falls under the Hazardous Waste Clean Up, and reminds me of cleaning up Nuclear waste except in my own house! Everyone must leave the room for 15 minutes, and who knows if that’s enough time for the mercury to fully evaporate from the area. You can’t touch or breath in the toxins, or vacuum or use a broom! How scary is that? Here is the clean up instructions and disposal instructions on the EPA site: http://www.epa.gov/mercury/spills/index.htm

I've yet to use or purchase CFL bulbs, as I'm not so totally convinced of their safety, let alone paying more for lightbulbs. Also I noticed there are no three way lamp bulbs, and I’m not even sure if they have touch lamp bulbs. I’m not easily persuaded by change, contemplating pros and cons of everything!

2 comments:

ozymandiaz said...

indeed there are many issues with CFLs. They also cannot be used in dimmer circuits. there are flourescents that can be purchase without mercury but their lifespans are greatly reduced.

Jo A. T.B. said...

Hi Ozy,

I'm not convinced of CFL necessity.
Don't always believe newer is better! Too many other things to weigh on our minds, but an interesting topic to ponder! :)

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