Ottawa to ban inefficient light bulbs

[Flame On]

Originally Posted by SpitFire40

I'll start once they're banned in china..

No you'll start when you can no longer buy them in canada. Unless you stock pile them but that would make you a creepy shutin type.

[V]

Originally Posted by Bring_Back_Shantz

It doesn't work that way.
It's not a matte of the dimmers not working with the bulbs, it's a matter of how the bulb works.
You can't just dim a flourescent bulb, no matter how much you write to the dimmer companies.

Wha???

Sure you can.

[Bill Bumface]

Originally Posted by SpitFire40

I'll start once they're banned in china..

Then it's settled. I'll stop shooting up when Courtney Love does.

This ban is nothing but good. I'm sure technology will overcome the dimming issue. Tri-light CFL's with three different tubes on them with different intensity?

The new CFL's have way better startup time. Just a second or two to full brightness.

Really, it doesn't matter as CFL's are just an intermediate step until they get LED's figured out for household lighting. CFL's have enough positives to make them a suitable alternative for incadescents in the meantime. If people think they suck, and everyone is stuck with them because the government says so, all it does is drive alternative technologies. The first person to come out with a CFL or LED solution that makes everyone happy again will be rich.

[kevman]

I'm thinking about starting a light bulb smuggling business...I could just see it now...

Question though... we all know standard light bulbs are extremely inefficient but where does that energy go? Heat... Now, when do you most commonly use your lights? When it's dark out side and no natural light is available... When does this occur most often? In the winter months... My point... I wonder if a change like this is even going to make that big of a difference. That wasted "heat" energy is only going to be wasted 10% of the time when you're lights are on and your furnace is not running. The other 90% of the time it is just helping to heat your home. In the summer you may be running air conditioning but I don't know about you but in the summer I spend most of my time outside and never have lights on except for at night when it's cool outside and my furnace is running...

I'm relatively indifferent on the deicison it's just something to think about. Further more what about those old antique chandelears and light fixtures that may not work with CFL's? CFL's dont' look bad when they're behind a lamp shade but they're quite hideous when they're in the open...

[Ironhorse]

Originally Posted by kevman

I'm relatively indifferent on the deicison it's just something to think about. Further more what about those old antique chandelears and light fixtures that may not work with CFL's? CFL's dont' look bad when they're behind a lamp shade but they're quite hideous when they're in the open...

And for that matter, they tend to not work all that well when it is -20 outside. I guess you're shovelling your driveway in the dark when you come home from work.

[Bill Bumface]

Originally Posted by kevman

I'm thinking about starting a light bulb smuggling business...I could just see it now...

Question though... we all know standard light bulbs are extremely inefficient but where does that energy go? Heat... Now, when do you most commonly use your lights? When it's dark out side and no natural light is available... When does this occur most often? In the winter months... My point... I wonder if a change like this is even going to make that big of a difference. That wasted "heat" energy is only going to be wasted 10% of the time when you're lights are on and your furnace is not running. The other 90% of the time it is just helping to heat your home. In the summer you may be running air conditioning but I don't know about you but in the summer I spend most of my time outside and never have lights on except for at night when it's cool outside and my furnace is running...

I'm relatively indifferent on the deicison it's just something to think about. Further more what about those old antique chandelears and light fixtures that may not work with CFL's? CFL's dont' look bad when they're behind a lamp shade but they're quite hideous when they're in the open...

Canada is about the worst example of this because it's, well... cold. Even here though you have about 4 months a year when your heat is rarely going to be on in your house, and that's 4 months of complete waste heat. Plus there is a lot of inefficiency in burning coal to make electricity to make heat. Your furnace does a much better job heating your house than a light bulb in the winter and uses less energy doing it.

[Flames09]

I'm thinking of switching all my lightbulbs to CFL, I've done it on one and it's not a big difference at all there is a slight flicker for a second and it gives me the same light as the light bulb I had before. I live in Evergreen "Green Community" and when we moved into our house all appliances were energy star products, including washer, dryer, dishwasher, and low flow shower heads. I've only lived here for a few weeks so I'm waiting too see the difference it makes in my monthly bill (according to my neightbours for them it's been quite a bit and since my old house had the worst of everything I should probably see a difference).

[Daradon]

I agree, a lot of people complaining about the technology have old ones I think, or haven't even used them personally.

And it can only get better as we go forward.

Will there be some kinks? Yes. Will it be worth it? Yes.

If people used half the energy they did complaining on this board about stuff like light bulbs and actually put it into constructive solutions...



Well then...



They'd have a damn good light bulb! (Among other things )