It’s been at least a day since I’ve groused about the government, and at least a year since I’ve complained about its premature rulings against incandescent lightbulbs, so here I go again …
My kitchen is illuminated with five 65-watt floodlights. Two of them decided to croak this week. So of course new bulbs were on my shopping list when I went to the supermarket this morning. (I refuse to make a special trip to Lowe’s, Home Depot, or Ace for two light bulbs.) As it turned out, the first, second, and third bulbs I looked at were CFLs, those horrid compact fluorescent lights that the government, in its infinite stupidity, has decided we must use instead of incandescent bulbs. They were priced somewhere in the range of $12-$14. Each!
I’ve explained before why I dislike CFLs. And no, there were no comparable LEDs on the shelf. What’s more, neither of those would have matched the three remaining bulbs in my kitchen. And I was not about to buy five $14 light bulbs.
Fortunately, on a bottom shelf, I finally spied a box of six incandescent 65-watt floodlights. $17 for the box. Of course I bought those. Talk about a no-brainer.
Actually, there were two boxes. I should have bought both of them. But now I have a better idea. I could do what I did last summer for 100-watt incandescents. I’ll order a case of them from Amazon while they are still available. By the time I use them all, maybe someone will be selling nice looking, reasonably priced government-approved bulbs that fit all my different lamps and sockets, are dimmable, work in 3-way lamps and enclosed fixtures, won’t blow out the first time I turn them on or burn out within a week, don’t make buzzing noises, come on instantly, and put out a nice, warm white (not greenish or bluish) light of the desired wattage.
Me, too!
So much for “build a better mousetrap and the world will beat a path to your door” concept.
And not real excited about mercury emission – and special disposals for used bulbs.
WHyyyyyyyy????? Leave well enough alone
I’ve no doubt that when the better mousetrap … er, lightbulb … is built, it will be widely, willingly adopted. But until it is built, I resent the hell out of being forced to buy bulbs that don’t work as well, if at all. I appreciate the goal of saving energy, etc. But a bulb that costs a lot more, doesn’t work as well, and poisons people and landfills while it saves energy, is not something we should be forced to buy. LEDs look more promising, but they aren’t there yet.
The phasing out of incandescent bulbs should not have been mandated until there was an acceptable, equivalent replacement.
I tried doing an online search once to see if I could figure out what I should actually look for if I ever had the cash to make the switch to CFLs. That gave me such a headache that I finally just gave up. I didn’t even know about the mercury issue until I saw a Science Channel show hosted by Bill Nye. That pretty much made up my mind that, if and when I can afford it, I’ll be going the LED route. Hopefully I’ll get a salesman who knows how to translate the numbers I’m used to into purchases that actually work for me…
I just hope LEDs improve to what I need, at a price I can afford, before all the incandescents are gone. I cannot afford to replace a lot of my fixtures and I will not dispose of lamps that have been in my family for decades.
The WORLDWIDE marketplace isn’t understood by the US Federales – Bulbs For Sale Here
Thanks, that link could come in handy if Amazon ever fails me. As long as the law only prohibits the manufacture of non-compliant bulbs and not their sale or purchase (lawmakers screwed up), the world will provide. I hope.
Wow Ima, what a cool site. Thanks for the link! 😀
That’s a good link, Ima. I note that you can get free shipping if you order a couple dozen. I am hoping that the LED design works out as to the quality of the light because they are long-term energy efficient. Electricity isn’t going to get any cheaper. In a way, this is similar to the ACA that tries to sell people on the idea of investing for the future, but in this instance, at my age the things are going to last a lot longer than I am. 🙄
I couldn’t use LEDs. I had an LED nightlight for Jimmy and it gave him seizures. I’m going to hoard incandescent lights, too.
I ordered the case of 100-watts because I knew they’d been phased out and I read about someone else who’d done it. I’ve got enough garage space for a ten-year supply. I don’t know what the status of the other bulbs is. The 100 was one of the first because it’s so commonly used. I probably need to stock up on 40s, 60s, and some smaller 3-ways. And the floods for the kitchen. And the round ones above the bathroom mirrors. Geez, you know it’s going to be forever before there are nice looking LEDs for all those different places. But I guess if you can’t use LEDs, you’ll have to do something else. Incandescent hoarding will be our new hobby. I also tried some halogens in my torchieres. They were too big, stuck up above the top rim, made a very quiet buzzing sound if you were close to them, and put out a stark cold bluish light. Very unpleasant for the living room.
Stupid politicians. So much they didn’t consider when they wrote this law, up to and including bird seizures.
Stupid politicians. So much they didn’t consider when they wrote this law, up to and including bird seizures.
Unintended Consequences
Available elsewhere for much less.
Yep. And if they can’t even get a lightbulb bill right, can you imagine the unintended consequences of something as complex as, say, Obamacare? Frightening.
Kinda makes you wonder if LEDs cause seizures in humans with epilepsy, too.
Hmm … yes it does …
My biggest issue, besides the fact that they give off that yellowish/bluish color and take a while to come on (isn’t that a waste of time and money, too?), is that, if you have to handle them so carefully and dispose of them properly due to mercury content, then their not so environmentally friendly….I don’t find they last any longer than regular bulbs either.
My biggest issue, besides the fact that they give off that yellowish/bluish color and take a while to come on
I believe you’re thinking of CFL’s rather than LED’s.
Yep. I most definitely am. I meant to respond to PiedType’s post, not comment on your thread. My apologies for the confusion.
No appology necessary… just trying to make sure we’re on the same track.
I totally forgot to include that in my list of requirements for bulbs, and it’s one of the things that really annoyed me with the CFLs. An acceptable bulb must be “instant on.”
Yes! Agreed!
I’ve added it now. Too important to leave out.
It’s a time of transition, and it’s happening about 50 years too late… the technology has always been there, but the public acceptance has not been… the amount of $$ being save enormous, compared to incandescent… and the LED technology is even cheaper in the long run. I just paid 414 for replacements for my porch lights and they’re 3 times brighter….
I’m all for energy conservation, and everyone loves to save money. But I will not and cannot afford to change all my light fixtures and lamps to accommodate the currently available LEDs. When I can find LEDs comparable to my current bulbs, I’ll switch. I don’t think equivalence is too much to ask.
I hate the new bulbs. Some are okay, similar to incandescent bulbs. But I bought one once that threw off a horrible greenish-blue color and I immediately pulled it out and threw away a $12 bulb. Hated it. I just keep trying different ones to see what they’re about. Right now I have a thin yellow scarf draped around the globe on my floor lamp in my office. Give it a much warmer light. I like you’re idea of shopping for the oldies on Amazon.
Yes, I threw away the CFL I tried in my little living room lamp. The greenish light would have been great for ghouls at a Halloween party. The CFLs I put in my outdoor lights worked okay other than their inability to come on immediately (a potential safety problem except that I left them on all night), but their special enclosures that made them durable enough for the outdoors yellowed over time and I finally replaced them because they were so dingy looking. I tried some halogens in my living room torchieres, but they were too cold and bluish looking, too big (stuck up above the shades), and could be heard buzzing if I sat close enough.