"Germans Hoarding Light Bulbs?" Topic

Not that our networks deign to give us much international news, but a story about Germans hoarding incandescent light bulbs because of the EU-wide ban that begins on 1 Sept. was deemed worthy of being reported on the CBS national radio broadcast.

I can see that this might be Blue Fezish if the discussion degenerates into the merits of said ban, but this was bizarre enough that I just wanted to askwhether any Euro-zone TMPers have a stash of 100w bulbs hidden behind their lead pile.

For the record, the US has new standards going into effect in 2012 that'll essentially do away with those bulbs as well.

Wyatt

Started here (Netherlands) as well today, can't say I heard anything about it.

Besides, it's not a sales ban, it's a ban to restock stores with 100 Watt bulbs.

For the record, last month I installed the first of those newfangled energy saving ones, part of a free energy saving kit the city gave us.

There was the british version of this story a couple months ago. The report was in the Mail, so the slant was 'This shows how wrong our L****r Government have got it that they let us be ruled by Europe, with their straight Bananas and Kilos. I fought in the war for the likes of you, don't policemen look young nowadays?'

I sort of know what they mean – Incandescent bulbs are much nicer to read by.

Pat

My concern is recycling those nasty mercury-filled compact fluorescents
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Volstagg, we have a very good recycling network over here, so I'm not worried about that. Just about every store has a battery box, and many have one for these new bulbs as well.

The new generation, like the Ikea ones, have a teflon cover, so no mercury escapes, even in case of breakage.

I haven't used an incandescent lamp in over 20 years. I am gradually moving from florescence to LEDs which are more efficient but have to be bought complete units and do not plug into existing fittings. I can see no future for incandescents.

x42

I installed CFLs in my house late last year. When my June electric bill arrived for this year, it noted my electric usage for this year was about one-third lower than last June despite the fact I was gone for nearly 3 weeks while on vacation.

Been using the new bulbs over a decade. My concern is what happens to the appliance bulbs and smaller sizes that go in ovens, night lights, and chandeliers. There are no replacements for those.

Jana, I don't think your oven light will be banned. Our news made a point of saying there were exceptions.

I hate fluorescent light bulbs; they hurt my eyes. And I wonder about the "energy saving claims" and the "no mercury release" claims. I keep saying I'm gonna stock up on incandescent bulbs, but I haven't yet.

The energy savings claim is true, since I claim one of them.

As for your eyes, there are various kinds out there. The cheaper ones do cast a yellow hue that can be annoying. They do manufacture some that cast a blue-white hue and are more expensive, but the sure brighten up a room.

When you turn them off, they glow a faint eerie green for a while…

What does this mean for my 40w flourescent bulbs in the ceiling of my basement? (USA based)

Are those going away as well?

Nah, the florescent bulbs will stay – at least until they're bumped off by the LED bulbs. I like the LEDs but they're too expensive. I've had CFB (Compact Florescent Bulbs) in my house for the past decade.

In California, they're subsidized by the electric companies – which means my Dad stocks up anytime he's visiting from Nevada.

Wyatt

Hi

I have been using the squigglies for 5 or 6 years now. So far not one has paid for the price difference(25c versus 6 bucks). I use them because of the heat issue. Like a lot of you, I do a lot of close work and a hot bulb in my face is uncomfortable.

As a freedom loving american, I hold that the market should chose, not the government for our own good. If you see this as "the majority voted for these guys" it is "tyrrany of the masses". If you see this as "we elected our betters to make better decisions for us" then it is "government by the elete" the "Philosopher kings". I don't like either opinion.

Rocky

I have a few of the 60w and 100w CFLs in use (off brand, got them on sale for about a dollar each) they appear to be satisfactory.

What is amusing is that, apparently as a result of the ban, GE has gone back and put R&D into the incandescent bulb. Next year they plan to market an incandescent that will meet the energy efficiency standards. One presumes at a price somewhere between the old bulbs and the new CFLs. If they work well, you might see the mercury come back as an issue.

Here is a link to a related article -

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Back to the OP, I have heard of people in the US who are hitting the stores to stock up on incandescents.

The previous owners of my house made it "Energy Certified" and installed only fluorescent lights. Great! I now have wonderfully low electricity bills that are more than off-set by the number of times I have to replace these expensive bulbs. Who ever said they will last 10 times longer must not have turned theirs on. Mine last less than incandescent, but cost 4-5 times more. And I don't even want to think about the mercury contamination. I don't need amy more of this government "help."

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I use CFLs in the can lights that are over my wargame table. Contrary to the claims that the CFLs will last several years, I find that they burn out nearly as fast as the incandescent bulbs. Bah humbug.

I replaced all of the bulbs I could with CFLs a few years ago. Some of the first ones I got really took a while to warm up to full brightness but the ones I got a few months later started much closer to full brightness. Since then I have had to replace……not a single one due to burn out when I would have gone through more than a few incandecents.

I use CFLs where ever I can but I know people who can't stand them.

One great benefit is the low temp. I had a CFL on my table lamp blow and had to use a incandescent I had on hand. It was a hot couple of hours painting.

Cheap CFLs blow as fast as incandescents. Based on my limited experience, houses with older wiring seem to shorten CFL live as well.

We've used them for about as long as they've been out and most of out bulbs are the squiggly type. They last forever.

Where they most certainly do not outperform incandescents is in response. If you have a room where it's important to have instant light, such as the front porch when you first come into your house, or a windowless corridor (such as the one that leads to my wargame room), then use incandescents, or you end up with a slight delay which can be dangerous for tripping over things.
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Tim

I replaced all my bulbs with CFLs seven years ago and I have yet to have a single one burn out. Maybe they fail in the presence of tin-foil hats and paranoia?

Do you think Germans or rest of the EU will trade miniatures for 100W incandescent bulbs?

I see a great black market developing!

Wyatt – there are Brits hoarding them as well. There was a lady on Radio 4 the other day who has a skin condition that means the uv in the new bulbs (and daylight) causes her harm. She was hoping to stockpile incandescents or buy specialist fluorescent bulbs that were "double skinned" to block the uv.

I've only had one CFL blow since I installed 'em years ago. But I have killed several by smacking a ladder into them, which I somehow never managed to do to an incandescent!

Hmm. I wonder if they'll stop selling incandescent daylight mimicking bulbs too? It may be time to head to the art shop…

Jdpintex, I doubt 220 Volt bulbs are in ready supply where you are?

You never know! Bet I could find some if it was worth it for trading.

You'd be amazed at the useless/weird stuff you can find in a Home Depot/Lowes.

My OTT light uses a florescent bulb so the "real light" option is covered.

I have found that a combination of cheap bulbs and poor wiring will kill CFLs faster than incandescent bulbs. There are two fixtures that regularly eat the bulbs while the rest seem to do pretty well. Ceiling fans don't seem to be good for either type but the CFLs handle the vibration better.

Wyatt

"I just wanted to askwhether any Euro-zone TMPers have a stash of 100w bulbs hidden behind their lead pile."

I know someone who has been stockpiling incadescent bulbs for years, long before the current ban.

I've been busy replacing old bulbs with low energy ones were possible. It does make a measurable difference to electricity consumption , and they last a lot longer.

I got some flourescents for the basement about 7 years ago. I hated the light (the colour was different), the slow response, etc. As a result I avoided flourescents.

I recently bought some top end new flourescents and the difference is amazing. The light was BETTER than incandescent, the response fast, etc.

When it comes to mercury, the main source of mercury in the environment is emmissions from coal fired power stations. Not sure how it all balances out in the end though.

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Nick the differnce is a matter of concentration, not total bulk.

I mean, Carbon 14 is radioactive and the wildfires in California are releasing radioactive contaminants by the ton. But no one is going to be affected by radiation poisoning.

Rocky

Like a few others here, I am a fan of the LED's – far superior (lumen output ratio to energy used) to incandescent or CFL's (although LED's are still quirky in their own way also.)

It's like with cars. I despise the whole focus and effort on hybrid/electric and wish we'd just go hydrogen and get it over with.

Same, same – Wish we could bypass a lot of the CFL nonsense and bring the cost of the LED's down to a reasonable level, and the fixtures for them common enough so it would be a viable option.

Hi

The inventor of the LED stated in an NPR interview last year that converting to LEDs would solve the whole carbon footprint/global warming issue at once.

Mar, the problem with "just going to hydrogen" is its conflict with the 3 laws of thermodynamics and the issue with storing the molecule…you know a LITTLE molecule. The other solutions involve even more losses with hydrocarbon compounds extrcting the hydrogen and then burning it.

Until we have cheap and renewable electrictiy to economically "crack" water or hydocarbons, all we are doing is just pushing the carbon costs upstream

Rocky