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CF lightbulbs are garbage because they don't give off enough light.
They don't work with dimmers very well.
This is just stupid. Because of reduced heating requirements, Global warming is going to reduce Carbon emissions in Scotland by 10 times more than light bulb technology improvements ever could. Get a grip losers!!!!
Hey all, heres some good news :) http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jhtml?xml=/money/20...
Think of the huge amount of energy saving, if we just scrapped the EC.
Apart from that, our tax bill could probably be cut by about 20%.
Hi Guga mate, i think a lot of councils should also look at this to bring down bills :) http://www.popsci.com/popsci/science/873aae7bf86c0110vgnv...
Here is a direct link to the company.....what a solution for the enviroment :) http://www.startech.net/
There's no need to ban the old fashioned bulbs, instead the government should whack a tax levy on them and use the money to invest in renewable energy sources. (Although I would be inclined to put it into wave power rather than plasma beam rubbish energy generators as suggested by Scottweb.)
What the P.M. wants to happen, what the P.M. says will happen, and what actually will happen are three different things! The poor wee buggers not actually in charge over here,hes just a sort of "glorified janitor" that big business hires out as a mouth piece every now an then! P.M. standing for "Pure Muppet" We all still have the old style bulbs, good or bad!
Not the brightest of ideas ...- dimmers don't work- poor colour rendition- fittings don't match- no space for larger bulbs- don't light quickly enough- and above all, will have no discernible impact on the environment (and no-one has provided any proof to the contrary).Dimwits (or is that Dimwatts?)
"...product regulation is reserved to Westminster....."
OK, Did Westminster enact the smoking ban in Scotland? Is not Tobacco is a consumer product too?
Comment@9 Rabster.....i see....so I'm assuming you never read all of what it can do then. Like almost eliminate the need for land fills......once its running its self sustaining and actually produces energy......and its by-product can be used in roads etc.........and its clean :)
#9 Rabster. Why encourage these wasters to find yet another way to steal money from us? We pay more than enough tax already.
Anyway, why not just encourage people to switch unnecessary lights off?
Also, if I want to have 500 watt lightbulbs all over my house, what right have the numpties to tell me I can't? They have already started down the totalitarian, control freak road, let's not encourage them in that either.
#12 Bret. Good point. Maybe wee Joke McConnell's smoking ban is illegal.
Do any of you clever debating dicks know, what the pollution level was on planet earth in 1007yr. 7yr.1007yr.bc2007yr. bc3007yr. bc.
or what will it be in3007yr.5007yr.10,007yr.
Like I say debates are a colossal waste of time.
But here's an idea for The Scottsman to write an article on:
"How to condition COWS to fart into a controlled plastic tube and burn the methane to heat homes."
Have a nice Day .......HANDGC
I don't know what the big deal is. I installed the CF lamps throughout my house and now pay ONE QUARTER the energy bills I used to pay. Sure, it's a different light, but if you change all, you get used to it quickly. What's that saying about old dogs? I can get the lamps to fit any fixture in my house. PS I'm an electrician and I recommend these lamps!
OOPS...almost forgot..AND THEY LAST FOR YEARS!!!!
The Sate of Clifornia is about to mandate that all State and public buildings install CF bulbs. Everyone I know here use them already. I have 86 in my home.
So why is the The Scotsman writing such triva on these bulbs. is it because candles are still the choice in Scotland ?
GC
#18 read Sate of California
#18. "...... So why is the The Scotsman writing such triva ....... "?
Two reasons.
1) It's really filler, expanded enough to turn it into a full article. All "news"papers do this when they don't have enough "newsy" material to fill the newsstand edition.
2) You're being trained (?) to have your attention pulled on to the trivia and away from the really important stuff relating to politics.
The great "Fourth Estaite" (the media) became an extension of the government years ago!
I bought one of these bulbs once. It cost at least 10 times the price of a regular bulb and lasted a small fraction of the time.
It'll never work. It's doomed to fail. Bring back matrons. They're doing it all wrong. It's political correctness gone mad. Things were better in the old days.
I installed my new home with CFL bulbs. I now have a much, much smaller electricity bill than my neighbour who lives in exactly the same type of home and seems to use the light no more often than i do. We talk about it and they've decided to swap their bulbs over to CFL ones when each of their normal ones die - which is actually very often it seems.
A ban on non-essential use is far better than a tax, don't you think?
If you think the bulbs aren't bright enough then light a couple of candles too. In fact revert back to an open fire as coal and wood give off a particularly bright flame. Stuff global warming burn more trees!
#18
What the #@&% are you doing with 86 light bulbs? At the last count I was using 15 and we have a three bedroom house. You'd do well to keep your snidey little comments to yourself. USA isn't exactly in the forefront of energy conservation.
What a bunch of losers most of you are. Energy saving bulbs give off a softer light, but just as bright, that's the difference. Off the older types, there are some which take a few minutes to "warm up", but newer ones the difference is not noticeable. I don't know the current prices because I last bought one years ago, whereas I used to be buying ordinary bulbs every month.
They use a small fraction of the energy and last for years - dick heads.
Government should should to three things:1) Subsidise the cost of CFL Bulbs2) Put Price Control on them3) Put a HUGE tax on old bulbs, making them more expensive. This new tax can help with the subsidy.
This need only last a few years until most are converted, 'cos you'll never go back.
If you know someone using the old bulbs, laugh at them. Do they still wear bell-bottoms and winkle pickers and prefer vinyl with a wind-up record player? Some of them probably do.
We replaced many of our incandescent bulbs with CF about 15 years ago, and we still use them in places like the hall and the stairs. But somehow despite the nominal wattage being the same the light isn't so good for reading and we've gone back to incandescents in the living room and the bedrooms. The lower energy consumption of CF lighting doesn't make much difference to overall energy use if you're heating a room at the same time as you're lighting it, as effectively the incandescent bulb just replaces some of heating. The idea of actually banning them is close to insane, but then many so-called "green" ideas are close to insane.
The first low energy bulb I bought cost £15, but have seen them for sale recently for £2.
I agree that the range of fitments is limited, but there are now LED clusters which are more suited to smaller applications. They are currently expensive, but are becoming more frequently used - on traffic lights and rear lighting of cars even - so the price should be coming down in the next couple of years.
We replaced our tungsten bulbs 6 year ago at a cost of £14 each and changed back after 3 months, we have since tried them again but they still don't fit inside a tablelamp. I live in Ireland where we still burn lumps of peat, it smells better than coal, and the bits of the country we don't burn we sell for plants, Irish peat moss, so what do we care about damage to the earth.
If y'all care to cast around you'll find many and various shapes of these lamps are now available for most applications. There is a short "warm up" time after switching on so a wee bit of patience helps while the light comes up to full brightness.Regarding saving the planet the jury may be out but the leeches who supply my electricity certainly get a lot less of my hard earned cash.
While you lot are banging on about light bulbs, more than 2m people a year die from lack of clean drinking water. Millions of others a year die from preventable diseases. By all means change the light bulbs but let's get our priorities right.
Where are the americans in all the energy saving business,and Global warming panic. We all have to do our bit but while the united states are one of the biggest offenders I feel trying to legislate to what light bulbs the scottish people use is just another way of holyrood telling the people what to do and no doubt a few of them will go on an expensive junket to research this.
THIS IS ABSOLUTE LUNACY.I would have thought that there were far more important matters to worry about like pensioners seriously ill waiting on trolleys in our so called state of the art New Royal Infirmary for hours on end
I've noticed a huge difference in the quality of these bulbs - even in the last few months. And thanks to the fact that they were less than £2 each (they were either £1.68 or £1.86!) at Asda we've now got them in every room in our house!
IKEA sells low energy screw in or bayonet fitting lamps for about £1 each - and they last 100 times as long as a tungsten bulb.
On another tangent - LED's = like the ones they have on Christmas lights - are COLD LIGHT technology and use a tiny fraction of the energy that fluorescents use.
The Americans seem to be leading the way in developing domestic lighting with LEDs but its a new field. Why doesn't Scotand take a lead and get ahead of the game with LEDs.
I have loads of these bulbs sitting in a drawer.
They were on special offer in our local supermarket buy one get one free.
I filled the trolley and told OH on getting home what a great saving I had made.
He then told me they dont work with the dimmers we have in every room in the house : (((
Fingers crossed someone will come up with a solution to the dimmer problem in the near future.
The government is always "trying" to promote these.How about removing the taxation from them,increasing taxation on non power saving bulbs and ring fencing any income and use it to further reduce the price of energy efficient bulbs. Of course you could do the same with junk food/healthy food etc,and theres no telling how many birds you could kill with this cloned one stone.You could also annoy many fat cats who have shares in companies which manufacture garbage and lose donations to the party.Ah I knew there was a catch ! The USA are indeed producing 50% of emmisions on their own and showing an attitude which smacks of unbeleivable arrogance.China and India are going to increase their contribution unless we can persuade them to keep it to a minimum.We cant get the USA to behave, fat chance the emerging powers listening then.
37 Indeed they can only be used as meant with no electronic circuitry such as a dimmer,and probably also a light sensitive switching device,but if you really want variation as in low luminance try using two/three of the very lowest bulbs whose consumption is only around 10kwh each ,and emit a light roughly corresponding to 50 kwh each,which is not bright by any standards and adeqate for most roomsOne will provide low light whilst three on simultaneously still only weighs in at 150 kwh which is not that much higher than your guzzler bulb you currently use,and will be if anything too bright for most rooms.Of course you could always plug them into the three pin mains socket and only use the dimmer light fittings when you absolutely need less light (which cant be that often can it)?
36
Light emiting diodes (LEDS) are indeed a very efficient and long lasting "bulb".I use torches with LEDS which are now common place,so we are manufacturing them.We could indeed put a load of them into a housing which would in effect be an ideal replacement for a bulb. The problem I suspect is that they have a life expectancy which is already almost infinite and could improve.Once everybody has them no more sales is the problem.I suspect once again decisions are taken not on fuel efficiency measures but profits to shareholders.The technology exists and has done for ages without a doubt.They can even do them in colours ,but Im afraid money/profit rules the west,not common sense.If common sense prevailed Scotland would be producing her current electricity output multiplied by at least 5 times without any problem.We only use 30% of our Hydro potential and couple wind and wave power and we could supply the entire UK quite easily,if the political will to stop playing with Nuclear crap was there. Its not!End of debate .
33You are correct,but presumptious in that because I am practicing what I preach regarding fuel consumption,that I care less for the third world and its starving. NOT TRUE. I DO BOTH!We are discussing power here,but I agree people starving is unnacceptable and should get our highest priority.
If they really save pots of money compared to incandescent bulbs, why not just let the market do its work? The reality is they're good in some applications, but not so good in others, and there's no saving on energy if the room is being heated anyway - not if there's proper control of the heating, eg through thermostatic valves on all of the radiators.
Have you tried to capture the sun beam. It is enough. NO bulbs
#43 The voice of reason at last Firozali. Thank [God/Allah/Yahweh/Vishnu/Alan Titchmarsh] that you've joined us.
One very annoying feature of the power saving bulb is they invariably use a shorter (barely long enough)length cap than the standard UK fitting,which often means they do not compress the springs in older light fittings,make no contact and dont work therefore. IF you have this problem change the socket in the ceiling to a nice new springy one)the bulb has nothing wrong with it.Either the bulb has been designed to conform to a different standard fitting (possibly used in other countries) or its been deliberately designed to make it unlikely to take off until they want it to!This difference of dimension is unneccessary here and counter productive (unless of course you dont want people to use them because you own shares in GUZZLEBULBS).I cannot see any other reason to do this.
Madmax. Simple solution for you. Get rid of the dimmer switches, use more lights, and when you want it dimmer, switch some off. Still be cheaper.
#39 you can buy CFL's with light sensitive switches on them.
#42, of course there is a saving on energy regardless of whether a room is being heated or not, or whether it is properly regulated or not.
#43 You should talk to the Gambian President. He's got a cure for AIDS. Or is it the case that both of you are in the dark?
morrisI dont like bright light unless I am actually reading something.
Have 6 wall lights in the sitting room and they are on a dimmer set at low most evenings.
Have another 5 bulb unit in the ceiling that we hardly ever use also on a dimmer.
3 Table lamps, 2 I have changed, the bulbs in the 3rd I cannot as it is a different fitting.
I have taken the dimmers out of the hall so at least thats 12 bulbs changed.
Bedrooms are the same Have changed the bedside lamps but the main lights and wall lights are all on dimmers.
Bathroom the fittings are different so they would not fit.
The bulbs came from Morrisons and they were selling 2 for 99p.
The light they give off is not an issue, I am quite happy with it and have no trouble reading with them in the table lamps.
Hoping to do some work on our roof this year and would love to put in solar panels while we are up there, anyone know if you can get grants towards putting them in ?.
A spokeswoman for the Scottish Executive said: "Product regulation is reserved to Westminster so in terms of an all-out ban on non-energy efficient lightbulbs it's not within the jurisdiction of the Scottish Parliament." Simple idea that is both practical and would save money. Guess what it does't raise additional taxes like road tolls?
I fear that we would need a few more bright lights in Holyrood and Westminster before is any hope to save our environment.
Its time to stock up on tungsten bulbs before the trendy penny wise pounds foolish, publicity craving politicians jump on this bandwaggon and ban them.Lighting costs in the uk are only a fraction of heating costs, its all bull, anything we do in this small island will make no discernible difference to global warming anyway. The same goes for recycling. Making things to last and to be repairable is far less wasteful but oh dear that would be bad for the economy.I would not like to live near anywhere that incinerated these bulbs. Mercury vapour is one of the most toxic things on this planet.If you break one when it's warm I wonder what chemicals are released into your own local atmosphere.
I tried to be environmentally friendly and buy energy saving lightbulbs to replace the standard ones we have. Guess what? I could not obtain reflector bulbs to fit, wall light bulbs to fit and ceiling bulbs to fit. I gave up and am continueing with old fashioned bulbs. About time the manufacturers got their house in order and provide low energy bulbs to fit existing holders.
We replaced all of our light bulbs with energy saving bulbs from IKEA – they are really cheap, come in lots of different fittings, watts and shapes and you can use them pretty much anywhere.
They claim to last 10,000 hours compared to 1,000 for their standard bulbs.
Low energy light bulbs are NOT environmentally friendly read this http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4039359.stm
Their light output is also crap and is nothing like what is claimed on the packing.
# 46 - an incandescent bulb uses far more energy producing heat than producing light, but if you need the heat anyway in that room then what you save on the lighting you have to make up for with more heating.
Under those circumstance whether you save energy overall must depend on the efficiency of the heating system, compared to having what is in effect a small electrical heater in the room where you actually want to be and need the heat. It could even be that burning more gas in a boiler to circulate more hot water to a radiator is more energy consuming.
Of course there are times of the year when for some hours each day you may need light but not heat, but during the seasons of highest energy use it will be more usual that whenever you need light you also need heat.
Unless this is taken into account the benefit from switching to CF will be exaggerated by some factor, probably by about four I would guess.
But that's quite normal with arguments based on environmental grounds.
I find it amazing that the Scotsman doesnt check facts before publishing!FACT 1. Scotland has one of the lowest CO2 Emissions in the world at only 3 kgs per person per YEAR at 2002 figuresFACT 2. The UK as a whole is around 19th in the emission league table with 9 kgs pers person per YEAR at 2002 figuresWhen compared with the USA average which is nearly 20 kgs per person per year
I think the environmentalists should focus more on countries that have the highest emmissions instead of bothering the countries with the lowest, or is it that Scotland and th rest of the UK is seen as a easy soft target?the Labour government in London certainly see the population as an easy target, to squeeze more revenue out of its citizens, The Scottish executive just accept and comply with the crap that is spouted from London
As Dennis (#29) says, in most UK houses switching to “efficient” lighting is just another expensive and pointless exercise, another of the great green lies that make Tony Blair look honest. A house with central heating runs at approximately the same temperature irrespective if the heat comes from inefficient lighting or from the central heating. For a house with gas heating expect your gas bill to go up as your electricity bill goes down, the heating system will simply burn slightly more gas to replace the heat that was generated by the older light bulbs. If you want to save money you have to turn your central heating room temperature down when you put these light in – FACT.
If you have a green conscience it might also be worth looking at the vastly increased amount of resources use to make these “efficient” lights – a recent investigation showed that one of these “efficient” lights consists of one fluorescent tube, BC base, moulded plastic housing, printed circuit board, 69 soldered connections, seven capacitors (2 electrolytic), six resistors, three inductors transformers, two transistors, nine diodes and a fuse. It makes the old fashioned filament bulb look quite green in comparison. Still, who cares about honesty in today’s politics?
Another piece of trivia is that apparently all farm animals (pigs, cows etc) contribute 17% to the emissionsApparently the envornmentalists would like to see us eat less if no meat at all, so we can get rid of farm animalsThis isnt far fetched, I saw something about this on the BBC's Ethics man project
Reading Public: So you like bad weather, getting stuck in snow drifts, extra heating costs?
Picking up deer tracks in the snow sounds a bit sneaky to me, learn to do it the hard way, smell the methane..
#43 Firozali. Have you ever tried living in the far north of Scotland, with a couple of hours of daylight during the day in wintertime.
As for the sun and sunbeams, I've heard stories about them, are they true?
I cannot believe this is the Scotsman's top story.
"Not All Lightbulbs Have Been Changed Shock Horror"
When my bulbs wore out I replaced them one by one but it is absolute nonsence. "Even of it costs £10 to get someone with health and safety approval and a ladder to change a bulb in a civil servant's office, library or public swimming pool" is PC posturing of the first order. Not designed to save the planet but merely to pose at ratepayer's expense.
When Ming Campbell did an interview on the importance of going for energy efficient bulbs he was asked how many he had in his home - well none, but we will change them real soom.
5% of a CF bulb's life-time energy is used in it's production. How much for an ordinary bulb, remembering that typically there are 10 ordinary bulbs used for every CF one?? So that would mean 0.5%???
The reason an ordinary bulbs % used in manufacturing would be so low is because of the high amount of waste energy it produces. And I cannot believe the arguments put forward about the loss of heat, requiring you to turn up your thermostats. Where did you read that one? Has anyone who's converted actually had to do this. All except Madmax of course. His house must be roasting.
Madmax, convert and use your overhead lights when reading.
Australia and California may suit CF bulbs but investigation into their use in UK showed that where CF bulbs were used in public rooms that heating costs went up by 5%. This was ascribed to the psychological effect of the "colder" light.We also forget that the "extra" energy used by an incandescent bulb is not lost, just like the television and everything else electrical it warms the room.However, never let the facts interfere with "Friends of the Earth" or an MP boarding a bandwagon.
No 5, thanks for that link...I especially like the quote from the inventor..."we just need governments to get out of the way and let us get on with it"...are you listening Tony Blair et al, a bit of real positive thinking?On the subject of bulbs, who the hell started the rediculous trend of recessed downlighters, bad enough in shops but in your bathroom??
Caliwag
39,Indeed they can only be used as meant with no electronic circuitry such as a dimmer,and probably also a light sensitive switching device,Sorry to dissapoint you, my garden lights are connected to a light sensitive optic also a timer, the energy saving bulbs work fine with it, also it costs me around 10 euros a year to light our driveway and garden. I have 9 of them in all, on the outside, inside are mostly halogen requiring a transformer
It's all very well talking about lighting warming a room, that's fine in the winter.
On summer nights, when it is hot and humid and the lights are on warming the room - it just adds to the cost of running the air conditioning.
Energy efficient bulbs can cost as little as £1 each - about the cost of parking for 30 minutes in the city centre.
The new T5 tubes run at 30,000 htz instead of 50 htz. They use about a sixth of the power of a standard T8 / T12. Light output is comprable with T8s. Payback time is about 10 months to 19 months.Take a look at 'ecolight8to5.com'
Thanks.
I changed from halogen 50W bulbs to CFL bulbs and saved a lot of energy - they didn't quite fit the fittings but I just thought about the money that was being saved and that added a nice warm glow.
Now I'm changing the CFL bulbs to LED bulbs which fit the halogen 50W sockets exactly, and come in different colours so you can adjust the colour of lighting in a room by having a few yellow ones to give you that yellow tint that incandescent lights have. The bulbs use 0.7w each. Amazing! they aren't as bright, but you can at that energy usage have a few more and use some accent lighting - table lamps, standard lamps etc - where necessary.
Anyone who goes on using incandescent bulbs is a twit. End of story.
# 65 - nobody said anything about turning up thermostats. The point is that to maintain the same temperature in a room, with the same rate of heat loss from the room to other rooms or to the exterior of the building, if less heat is being produced by the lighting in the room then more heat will have to be provided from other sources - most usually nowadays by a radiator fed with hot water from a gas-fired boiler. So the electricity bill goes down a bit, the gas bill goes up a bit, and overall the saving is small and maybe even negative.
# 69 - what air-conditioning?
#69 Summer nights, hot and humid? Where do you live? We're lucky if it gets to 16 degrees during summer. Then again, I suppose it's all relative.
#71 Who in Inverness sells LED bulbs?
#71 I forgot, what do you use in your mircrowave and oven, if not incandescent bulbs?
A few less flights would help as well !
Only a quarter of a million tonnes a year. Two or three large cattle farms would produce that much methane.
Maybe sombody could ask Gordon, the leader of the opposition in waiting, why he thinks upping taxes on air fares reduces use, but adding VAT to low wattage bulbs will somehow increase their use.
"Changing Scotland's lightbulbs to energy efficient models would cut annual carbon dioxide emissions by about a quarter of a million tonnes a year, according to environmentalists - and save £88 million. " Who calculates this nonsense - and how do they arrive at this figure? Pluck it out of the air?
Why don't we go the whole hog on this and use glow worms after that we won't read (the government doesn't want us to educate ourselved anyway) and we can pat our selves on the back.Absolute shite again , ban ban ban.I would ban the green party and politicians.
#69 What are you doing with the lights on in summer, only required for a very short time 56 deg North.
#68 All these outside lights are a disgrace and add to light pollution.
#72 and others - you miss the point that heat generated from lights is largely wasted at the ceiling level of a room, so you can discount a large proportion of that energy. The marginal impact on the temperature of a room when changing from one type to the other is not significant enough to affect the overall difference in energy consumption.
#77 No one change alone will save the planet. We can eat less cattle too you know.
The new "low wattage" bulbs do not work with dimmers, even the semiconductor kind which allow current for only part of a cycle of the mains; the transformer kind reduce the voltage which takes them below their strike voltage, the same for resistive dimmers as previously used in theatres. I have a dimmer on the bedside light, allows me to read without disturbing the boss with bright lights, and low wattage incandescent bulbs seem to be becoming rarer in shops.
I am not convinced by the "lifetime" arguments either. In our living room I have had to replace the expensive low-wattage high-light-output three times over the last six years. Of course, the room only has a small 1m sq window facing north, so artfiicial light is in regular use specially in NE Scotland winter. I don't think that is much different in terms of life from the incandescent bulb they replaced. The fact the bulb is kept burning for long periods probably saves the switch-on stress.
Last year I stayed at a B&B where the owner was using the new bulbs. I discovered that the fluorescence from the bulbs gives me migraines, causing eyesight problems, nausea and headache. I was unable to have the overhead light on because the bulb was completely exposed under the shade. The bedside lights also had to stay off as the new bulbs were too big for the shade and therefore gave off unshielded fluorescence. I doubt I am the only person who will find this aspect of the new bulbs a real problem, particularly if they are not properly shielded in workplaces. Much as I would like to have them in my home, I cannot live my life with a migraine! Our local library recently changed to strong fluorescent lighting and I am now unable to use the library. Surely in our homes we should have the choice. I think making offices and shops turn off unnecessary lights-particularly after hours-would save a lot of energy. Hundreds of thousands of shops leave lighting and even TVs in their windows on overnight. Lets start with things like that.
#25 Road to the Isles
F.Y.I. this is why we ahve 96 CFL bulbs, not 86 as I stated originally.
We have six bedrooms, each had seven CFL bulbs. (42)We have five bathrooms , each with four CFL bulbs (20)Kitchen has ten CFL bulbs (14)Main room has ten CFL bulbs (12)Entry hall had four CFL bulbs.(4)Laundry room has four CFL bulbs (4)
That comes to 96 CFL bulbs. We thought we had only 86 , made a mistake in counting.
Our neighbor has 104 CFL bulbs When we asked them , they also had to count and got it wrong the first time like we did.
So now you know. Oh one more thing we have 6 non- CFL bulbs on the outside of the house.
Have a Nice Day
#85 Margie
There is nothing wrong or harmful with CFL bulbs.Suggest you go and see your doctor.
You could have stayed in a crappy B&B which had mold in the walls etc
Have a NIce day
CORRECTION . Got numbers mixed up again, CFL bulbs everywhere.
We have six bedrooms, each had seven CFL bulbs. (42)We have five bathrooms , each with four CFL bulbs (20)Kitchen has fourteen CFL bulbs (14)Main room has twelve CFL bulbs (12)Entry hall had four CFL bulbs.(4)Laundry room has four CFL bulbs (4)
WHAT A CROCK! Liberals...genuflecting to the light bulb God. Just a bunch of blind followers and gasbags.
I replaced the two lamps in my sitting room with these bulbs. That was five years ago, and they're still going.
I dissagree with forcing people to do this. 1) freedom of will. If a gov can force you to change your light bulbs, whats next? Little by little is how rights are robbed.2) floresant is bad for your eyes3) I've red reported studies that suggested that many illness could be averted by good light. Unless you live where its clearly light the majority of the year, witch global effects are you gonna choose? I'd rather it be for the people.4) I'm not sold on a great deal of global warming guff. That's not to say that it ISN't waming up, thats to say that it isnt a more natural than is poplularlly believed phemnomina. Theirs more to suggest that this is happened before and that it may be entirely natural for the poles to slowly shif t(thank God we're addaptable and can move..aside from stubborness). I don't think that the human species should be looked at as "making the problem" as we should be considered "part of the natural equasion". After all. If we weren't around, then the blame would go to the Panda bears ...or something else stupid. All is as God intended. Where does it say in the Bible .."and man kind decimated all life and themselves by global warming...the RATS!".Leave the lightbulbs alone. The nearsighted need them.~Niki
What about candles?
They give off light and warm the room, you could even cook something small with one, a journalist for example. If they didn't make up stuff to write about they would be out of work.
The good 'ol light bulb is an issue here, as well! As usual, everything looks great on paper, but is it really energy efficient? NO. The cost of these "new age" light bulbs is ridiculous! They do not work any better; and the chances of purchasing even one that works close to correctly is about the same as winning the lottery. These governments tax us to death, then AFTER THEY HAVE SPENT ALL OF THAT MONEY; THEY ALL WANT US TO CHANGE OUR LIGHT BULBS TO THESE EXPENSIVE, DIM LIGHTING UTILITIES, FOR WHAT? SIMPLE, THE COMPANIES THAT MAKE THESE THINGS HAVE LOBBIISTS-WHOM MAKE A LOT OF MONEY-TO CHARGE US EVEN MORE FOR THE DAMN THINGS! Once again, who is really profitting from these? Of course the makers of the bulbs, (and the oldd sized fixtures they require), energy companies, lobbists, and the politicians who endorse these idiotic "maybes"-do you think for one minute even one of these people have ever even turned on a light for themselves? NO! They don't even pay their own bills-WE DO! And what about WE MUST HAVE BRIGHT LIGHTING WHEN READING, WATCHING T.V. and EVERYTHIG ELSE WE DO (i.e., cooking, working on our vehicles, good lighting for our plants-no, not marijuana), and let's not forget THE CHILDREN need WELL LIT AREAS FOR EVERYTHING!Also the neightborhoods HAVE to be well-lit because of the CRIME RATE being so HIGH! So, here we go again, we will need "new" glasses every 6 mos.-for those of us who need them. And those who don't WILL with this change. After all is said and done, ONLY BIG BUSINESS/POLITICIANS prosper! And who is going to check to see IF we are using the "correct" light bulbs? The "light bulb police?"-There goes even more $$$$ for people to invade your privacy, when THEY WANT TO. Everything I own is energy efficient, the credit offered to people who buy items like I have, do not get it, it goes into funding for people who cannot afford lighting-the ones who leave lights on 24-hours a day! And usuallly
Geee.......cut down on electric bill. If enough customers change to the CF bulbs the electric demand goes down. That results in less profits which would then result in raising the rates. So who pays in the end?
Go green as much as possible. Hense less carbon dioxide emissions. Plants need CO2 but with less how are they going to live? That means you will increase COk2 to save the plants. What a great way to increase sales.
Energy saving, yes; envirnmentally friendly, check 53 James. There was a short piece on NPR here in California earlier this week pointing out that these bulbs contain mercury and that the proper disposal facilities are few and far between, making the shift not quite the no-brainer it seems.
Iain Smith - Liberal Demoprat.....sorry....I mean Liberal Democrat.
According to one article, he is one of the LBGT set on Planet Holyrood - that's Lesbian, Bisexual, Gay, Transgender lot.
GREAT! Just what Scotland needs to compete in the global economy!
I'm sure it wil be a comfort to the 950 people who lost their jobs at NCR that Iain is working so hard to put things right - by prattling on about bloody light bulbs!
Never mind 'Ban the Bulb' politics - try a ban on political correctness.
Nero fiddled while Rome burned - right enough.
#100 W Smith:You wrote:"Nero fiddled while Rome burned "
We were taught that:Rome burned while Nero fiddled.
You also wrote;"According to one article, he is one of the LBGT set on Planet Holyrood - that's Lesbian, Bisexual, Gay, Transgender lot."
Mr. Smith you omitted "Hetrosexual" which make up 96% of the Holyrood brigade. Why did you do that? Are you pro Hetrosexual and anti all the others?If so, that makes you an acute sexist.
Don't forget that 99% of all rapes on women and violent abuse is commited by Hetrosexuals.
To keep my post, on the subject here, and follow the rules .CFL bulbs WAY TO GOHave a Nice Day
Just another example of the powers of Holyrood being equivolent to ti*s on a boar hog.
#89 Phocus:
You wrote:"WHAT A CROCK! Liberals...genuflecting to the light bulb God. Just a bunch of blind followers and gasbags"
That's very funny...You must have a religious background , using a word like "genuflecting" and DOG sorry I mean "god"
Another thing: "blind followers", cannot see, so how would they know if light bulbs were on or off ?.
And your "gasbags", I've never seen gas in a bag , always in a metal contained.
Like I said , you write funny stuff.
Here's a tip . try not to under-rate Liberals.
All wars were started by non-Liberals including Hitler, Bush, Napolean, etc . They were anything but Liberals.
Have a nice day in Prescot, AZ
#94 Debbra,Sorry love, you aught to live in the UK, then you would really have reason to bitch about taxes and government interference. You'd have to take three jobs just to make ends meet.
#104 Sambo
Have you succumbed to the "politically correct brigade":
What a shame as 99% need to install a backbone.
Sambo what is ti*s . Do you mean "tits" on a boar hog. If yes then say tits.
In the UK they call a hog, a pig.
Have a Nice day in Alabama (the South will rise again)
#94 Debbra.hey lady , Quit your damm bitching about every little thing. Life is too short , don't waste it with negative thoughts.
Yes, we have serious problems in the US , both social and military and economic. But you tell me what country has not.
Chill out babe.Gobble down a few valium, or equivalent, and get a grip.
#107,Greetings to the "left coast", think there is a village somewhere looking for you,Goodnight and godbless.
i am all for dealing with light bulbs but what dealing with the other 98% of emissions
i wonder what bright bulb thought up the idea of the energy efficent light bulbs
We use CF bulbs and they are great. I did not know about the mercury in them, however, so I hope there will be some legislation in the US and Scotland and everywhere to remedy this. Consumers cannot simply buy anything they want; this is our world now. No more 2-4-D, no more chloroflourocarbons, and, we hope, no more resource-squandering products.
We will be visiting Scotland for the first time soon and I enjoy this paper--you help prepare me a bit for finally seeing the land of my ancestors.
Hey Scottweb - do you live in the same world as me or are you a night rider. Your posts are crap - you comment on every news item whether you know anything about them or not. I take it you have a BSc in everything including crap.
Excuse me Scottweb and all you others who post at midnight - have you got a life, because you are potted philosophers (do not know, but will pontificate) - so what are your qualifications to comment on politics, science, humanities and everything else - have watched your posts - totally uneducated!
I have gone with energy saving bulbs in kitchen living room hall - bathroom doesn't need it because we're never there, bedroom is for sleeping.
This half effective status of the Scottish Parliament on almost everything demonstrates clearly the reason why a fully independent Scottish Parliament is necessary. (which I'm in favour of!)
Whats the point? The migration to plasma TVs will cancel all the effort.
#116,Unbiased WFLady, assuming your are one. Who are you to judge.? How do you know Scottweb is uneducated. And what is your definitation of educated .
Example : do you know what this equation represents. F? = H? -T?S And if you do not, I would not call you uneducated, unless you were Physicist.
As for Scotwebb, it has nothing better to do . And thats ok, if it wants to waste time day in day out , posting in a low grade thread like this.
Scooby what does that mean - this is about energy saving lightbulbs, de-fi what has the Scottish Parliament got to do with this. I have been voting SNP since 1968 - what have go got to say?
Galactic - YO - cant believe Scottweb posts every night at 1201 - He cannot have knowledge about every thing that is posted - I comment on things I know, not everything - no matter whether I know anything about it or not. PS yes I am a 58 year old retired female graduate which i tried hard to get. Not bought , sweat and tears, I can tell you.
#120 CORRECTION
Equation F? + H? -T?S should read.
F? = H? - T?S
Its probably that this low grade Scottsman thread , will not accept Greek symbols. The ? is supposed to be the Greek Capital Letter DELTA. in this equation.
GC -I'm not a mathematician - but know when people are talking sh??
#114 Don't forget that burning coal releases mercury into the air too. Using CFLs saves more mercury by reducing coal burning than is in the lamps. Also the mercury is contained within the lamp and can (should) be recycled.
#122 Unbiased.
You must have done something right to be retired at 58 or before.
As for Scottweb , you will find it (I don't know if its female , male, or a programmed respnse) either the 1st or 2nd post on almost every thread on this Scottsman.
Yes I would agree with you, Scottweb seems to know all things , maybe it is also omnipotentYour guess is as good as mine .
On age , I have quite away to go before I reach the so-called retiring bit .
If I ever get there.
Galactic it means "fully heavenly tits"
gc put money away - I'm not rich - am scrabbling bottom of the barrel but am happy!
#124 Unbiased.
I cannot believe the number of people who come on this thread, and avoid using common words of the English language, but use hieroglyphics instead.
What is the problem here . And try not to answer with the word "rude" , unless you can define rude in a logical sense.
So, Unbiased what does sh?? mean . If you mean shit , why not say so .
Gc
GC can I say rubbish - but the modern population all talk in txt CU 2morow on the post.
#128 Hey Unbiased;
Throught no effort on my part, all my education is paid for by my parents.
Who in turn are self made . They worked for Microsoft for 15 years as software engineers and then quit . Cashed in their stock and their options and moved to France with a huge pile of dollars.
I am not sure if I had to go the hard route through college (University) with little or no money , I would have made it. Basically unlike my parents I am lazy and laid back
Adios
gc you're lucky your parents were microsoft engineers, mine were share farmers, when you have a penny - you're a millionaire, they didn't pay for me, I worked and was a mature student. GOOD NIGHT
# 82 Duncan - but if the air near the ceiling hasn't already been warmed up enough by the lights it will just be replaced by warmer air coming up from around the radiator ... there's always a slight temperature gradient in a heated room through natural convection. Cool air sinks, and hot air rises - which is why I keep telling family members to SHUT our living room door and stop the heat escaping up the stairs ... :-)
ps when you have a total mental breakdown, you can retire on nothing - money isn't everything.
No one has broached this concern because it's rare, but I am allergic to CFLs. I am basically confined to my house with its evil bad and nasty incandescents, because all of the stores and public buildings in town and state use flourescents. Any suggestions? I'd like to go with LED's but I'd have to sell a kidney and part of my liver to afford it.
yeah - good point. How can I get out- suffering agarophobia?
Wow, doesn't anybody in the media ever, EVER think about the concepts of freedom and liberty anymore? Have these simply become quaint, outmoded concepts?
Using these bulbs sounds great. I use them--although they don't last as long as they say and they're expensive. So encourage people to use them. Place them in government offices. Set a good example. But let people CHOOSE. If you're going to dictate my light bulbs, what else will you decide for me?
De-fi - I have voted SNP for 30 years - but what has your post got to do with light bulbs?
If these light bulbs are as good and efficient as they say, everyone should be made to use them. That would mean huge energy savings and therefore no need for that hideous wind farm on Lewis.
As for Richard IV --he lives in Queensland where their contribution to saving the planet is to dig up huge areas of natural vegetation to build golf courses for Japanese hackers.
First E.coli and now rats plague U.S. fast-food companyBy Patrick Fitzgibbons
What will they write about next ?
The Scotsman I mean !!
This issue reminds me of a joke that circulated several years ago in the Bay Area. Stop me ; ) if you've heard this one: How many Californians does it take to screw in a light bulb? Californians don't screw in light bulbs, they screw in hot tubs... anyway the point of the point is, we're missing the point. If we really want to reduce carbon emissions why not give alternative energy sources the budget they need to become "feasible"? Why not implement something really radical, like certain RF or field-driven Technologies that can, in addition to lighting light bulbs, run refrigerators, TVs, washing machines, etc. Science Fiction? Hardly. Field driven motors have been around since Tesla tinkered with them about eighty years ago. It seems that perhaps the need for change is finally "recognized" but the economic powers that be don't want the change to come too quickly--not while they're making their billions leaving things just the way they are... which brings me to another exclamation point of conjecture: If we reduce energy consumption by the equivalent of one Power Plant, then the price of electricity will rise, to maintain the cash flow status quo for the Power Companies. It IS all about profit, is it not? SOLAR, WIND, GEOTHERMAL are renewable and readily accessible (with the proper technologies) but, unlike natural gas, and coal (the source fuels for most electricity), and petroleum, their "supply" cannot be owned or controlled-- not yet anyway -- and until it can (or we embrace a paradigm shift of Global proportions), they will not achieve viable status... and as far as CF bulbs are concerned, the issue of disposal is most damning, not an issue to be overlooked... meanwhile, back in California, (or Anywhere) I will put match to candle rather than curse the darkness that inhabits our global soul... Indeed, I am convinced that We can do anything we set our minds to, including powering our continued advance as a Race, wit
#85 Margie, #87 "Galactic" Carniball... CFs are a phosphor layer on the inside of a glass tube, which glows when struck by high-frequency radio waves... something on the order of 23K - 27K CPS. Although not in the audible range, the ear still picks up the sound, which can be amplified by current fluctuations... which are numerous these days, since the power companies have resorted to "stealing cycles" to raise your power bill.. simply put -- fewer cycles means fewer electrons, fewer electrons ups the draw to keep motors, TVs, etc, running-- less electrons=faster draw... which makes the meter spin 'round faster, which means you pay more... Some people are sensitive to RF/HF, and the "ringing in the wires" caused by "cycle sweeps" executed by Power Companies to up their profits... If you want to know more. read more ; ] ... but Margie, you are not imagining your malady, nor are you suffering from mold spoors... and Galactic Cannibal Person: do you hear an echo when you talk? Having your head that far up can cause ringing in the ears, you know. Yur givin' US a bad wrap for your cornspiculous consummshun... and proud of it! Ta-boot.
Hmm...First, if you are "not getting enough light" out of CFL, then get a more powerful bulb. They do make them. Second, if you "can not use them with a dimmer", you are using the wrong CFL, they make rather good dimmable versions. I have several around my flat. Third, "light does not fit in my socket or fixture", your not using the right bulb.
There are more to CFL bulbs than than those straight stick light bulbs pictured at the top of this article. I live in the US, the least energy efficient country in the world and I found them. You have to do a little looking, but they do exist.
In my bathroom, I have vanity with those styligh round clear round bulbs around the mirror. I found really cool CFLs that look exactly the same except, instead of the tungsten filament, they have this cool glowing spiral thing inside. They look real sharp and every comments on them. Oh and did I mention that I am now using 10% of the enrgy that I used when there were 8 big tungsten bulbs?
In my living room, I have 3 "can lights" in my ceiling. They take those "flood lamp" type bulbs. I replaced them with the same shape bulb that is dimmable. They take a little longer than others to warm up, but not that much. For a romantic night, I turn the dimmer down and they are very nice. No one so far could believe they were CFLs. Oh and did I mention they use a fraction of the energy of the old ones I replaced?
If you don't like CFLs, try LEDs, Halogens and whole range of other choices. LEDs come in different colours as well.
#33, the starving in the third world are not worrying about us. They could care less if big businesses exports first world jobs to them and put a lot of people out of work. They really dont give a damn if the migrants we take in from thier part of the world are completely stressing our infrastructures and schools and destroying the quality of life for everyone in the West. They continue to breed and breed and breed and expect that all of their futures depend upon what they can rob from the first world. Just imagine the energy demanded when those 4 BILLION living outside of the first world all demand to burn 15 or so light bulbs. As they choose to breed irresponsibly and totally beyond thier means, why on earth are WE to be made responsible for THEM? If we go around having billions of children we can not afford, nobody is rushing to our aid.
#147 socialmedic:Hey man about your 4 BILLION ,Dan't be stupid, Give 'em candles . That would be a luxury for them.
#146 tjinphilly;What the hell is a romantic night?. Who wants to romance a CFL bulb. Get a grip (man/woman).
#145 beyvoulffe:For 0.01% of people who suffer Margie's malady, the other 99.99% don't. So don't waste time with the 0.01%. That's how Big business operate. Like I said Margie should get help from a doctor and stop whining.
As for your tech dissertation ...Who cares. Hey man, its only a bloody light bulb. Get a grip.
Remember its not yet time for Andromeda to collide with our solar system . Another 4.5 billion years off.
HAND.... Have a Nice Day
#144 Bevyoulffe:
You wrote:"I will put match to candle rather than curse the darkness that inhabits our global soul"
What an interesting comment...but what's this crap about a soul . What is a soul ?
You wrote:"and as far as CF bulbs are concerned, the issue of disposal is most damning, not an issue to be overlooked"What a bunch of drivel you state; But if you can stop COWS from farting their methane gas, that would have a real effect in helping reduce air polution . Forget you CFL bubs. They are a joke.
hey man ponder dis...Women have all the power. If all women on the planet stopped having babies but not sex. By the year 2124 the Homo sapien species would be extinct. That's only 118 years off.
I am one of those Americans who "doesn't care about global warming" (??????) You are sooooo full of BS its not funny. CF bulbs are improving.. all the time! Obviously a few of you already know this, but for the DINGLEBERRIES out there.. CF bulbs come in different colors (temperatures in degrees kelvin)! The newest ones are spiral-wound in shape and use 13-17 watts, and are the functional equivalent of 60-75 watt bulbs. I recently purchased some on sale for about $1 each. That's about 1/2 UK POUND! I very rarely have to change them, and they've reduced my electric bill considerably. In fact, the whiners around here whose bills far exceed my own, yet refuse to replace these inexpensive jewels.. get that "deer in the headlights" look when I tell them what my electric bills are, about half of theirs for equivalent size home. You who decry this wonderful technology should consider the following.. The waste conventional bulbs generate contains the following: Toxic phosphorus, tungsten, lead, and aluminum. True, a small amount of mercury is used in fluourescent bulbs, but it can be reclaimed and recycled. In fact, around here, it is STRONGLY encouraged to recycle them at recycle centers, and NOT chunk them in the garbage haphazardly. If you like energy wasting technologies so much.. build a few nuclear plants so you can have about 1/3 of your populace (as in Byelorussia - Chernoybl) "on the dole" as you say, due to radiation poisoning and related diseases. You guys are incredibly vain and not as intelligent and informed as you purport to be. Encourage the use of these.. and maybe between wind, solar, and wave power you wont be slaves to the mideast and other nutcake regions.
I have seen a doctor. Migraines from unshielded fluorescent lights are known about medically and it is not rare. The Scotsman is a 1st class Scottish newspaper from my home city and I am not impressed that the comments being made on this subject are so offensive. 1 person in particular from the US appears to spend rather a lot of time and effort going out of his/her way to be nasty and contribute nothing of use. Methinks he/she considers theirself a comedian. However, they are just sad and an unfortunate ambassador for their country.
Q. How many social workers does it take to change a light bulb?
A One. But the bulb has got to really want to change.
#68All these outside lights are a disgrace and add to light pollution.
Alexander @81That depends, in winter at this latitude we have on average 4 hours of daylight, I live in a forested area, with 70 trees in my garden, which more than makes up for my carbon footprint, not everyone lives in brightly lit cities, some of us live in the wilds and wolf country.Whats your carbon footprint?
Would the galactic cannibal from murietta california PLEASE stop ending his posting with "Have a nice day". SUCH a condescending and trivialising sign off that went out of style at least a decade ago because it says nothing and is insincere and a sign of mental laziness.
Here in Ontario the legislation is speeding forward to get all of us using compact fluorescent bulbs. The technology has improved immensely and the cost has dropped dramatically.
I have dimmers in my place but got used to their not being compatible with compact fluorescent lights. I just turn on less lights and turn those off in rooms I am not using since I have to pay the electricity costs.
I was appalled by the stubborness, ignorance, bloody-mindedness of many posters and they are the type who do not recycle, leave the lights on in unoccupied rooms and then complain about their electricity bills, and will NEVER listen to reason.
They have a very short-term view of life and do not realise that small steps now will add up to big benefits for our children and grandchildren and beyond.
They also have the answer to everything and lack the wisdom to listen and learn and act on scientific or other findings. They may even save a pound or three if they weren't so self-absorbed and complacent.
Progress can be made to remedy the earth of its current problems if only human beings used their innate intelligence to effectuate change for the better.
The low heat of CF bulbs greatly extends the life of all lighting fixtures, desk lamps etc, as well as lasting five times as long, so levelling out the running cost of replacement bulbs. The old incandescents should be banned everywhere, not just in Canada and Australia- the argument is between sensual wasters and logical economisers, it's as simple as that!
To #151. I am not unmoved by your plight, and am in no way suggesting old-style bulbs should be made illegal. 1) Have you ried the new generation of these bulbs, especially those that mimic the light color output of the sun? I noticed you said that "uncovered" bulbs cause the headaches. 2) To stop most UV requires a very thin sheet of clear plastic. Best wishes from the US. To the rest. Use these for your own benefit and keep your electrical usage (and bills) to the minimum levels and you may be surprised the decrease in your annual utility cost. For the guy who wants the right to use 500 watt bulbs indoors. Bully for you! Pay triple the rate for electricity too! I'm sure your neighbors would appreciate you subsidizing them ;-)))) LOL
#154 TCW;
hey man I am 100% aware that saying or writing the American expression as a parting is unsincere and parott like.
But it can itrrate people and/or wake them up,as for example in your case.
It is siad everywhere in retail stores by the check out clerks here in your next door neighbor' land. The USA.
And to respect your request I will sign off Have a Stinking Lousy Day ,but only for today
#151 Margie.
hey margie , methinks your post could be referring to me . Well I am a young male homo sapien. A college grad with degree in science and mathamatics. I am all for free speech . as much as it is allowed by the hypocrites of each country (better named the politically correct wimps).
I couldn't care less about what is considered normal by the mass tide of human mediocrity, that infest most societies, including the US and the UK..
I believe you do have a problem with these CFL bulbs and I am sorry to hear that. But like I said, go see your doctor OR replace the CFL bulbs with incandescent bulbs. But stop whining about it.
You should visit CHAD in Africa or many of the other desolate countries there. And see what black homo sapiens must indure in suffering as they struggle for one day to the next in torrid heat, and blowing sand storms, and drought..And all through no fault of their own.
Like starvation, rape, floggings, killer diseases the list goes on. They never whine they are too weak.
You wrote:"Methinks he/she considers theirself a comedian. However, they are just sad and an unfortunate ambassador for their country"
I consider countries to be unnatural boundries , made by violent homo sapiens in the past. Each has its own pathetic flag, and its inhabitants believe they are the greatest country . A more appropriate name for these countries, would be artificial getthos
Thanks to my parents I have lived in, and experienced the ways of these getthosEngland, France , USA and Ireland.And have visited getthos on all four contintents, plus Australia.I found Australia to be the most attractive.
Have a nice Day
#154 TCW
A re-read of your post and comments on CFL bulbs, prompted me to add this.The single most dangerous problem facing the environment of our planet Earth.
Is over population which is escalating, and the planet's finite resources cannot sustain our ant mentality. Its not whether we use CFL bulbs or some other lighting means.
An immediate solution would be to cull the human population . Killings would be based on random selection. And the target would to reduce the population to Two billion, and keep it at that level.
We do it to Canadian seals, to whales , to dingos, to wolves etc ., etc.Why not do it to the most violent , and vicious animal predator on the planet , the Homo sapien.
Every country would have 2/3rds of their population destroyed by a painless method and on the random selection basis.
There would be no need for CFL bulbs .
The Chinese already use a mild version of population control by limiting one birth to each woman.
One more thing, religious freaks would be banned from practicing the advice, from that famous comic book "The Bible", that advice states "go forth and multiply" Some jerk in the past made that statement to the masses who lived in ignorance, suspicion, and superstition.
Have a Nice day
This thread has lasted longer than an ordinary light bulb, and with the last few posts, has turned out to be less interesting in the end.
