Written : Jan. 1 and 3, 2012
When my family moved into our new house in late November, 2003, I decided to try those curly, fluorescent bulbs of the future. I caused them some suffering, and I’m sorry for it. After eight years, I offer you my conclusions.
Fluorescents burn out faster than claimed - in most situations. Either rich or poor, your costs will be higher than with conventional incandescent bulbs if you use them in common areas, such as kitchens and hallways, and turn them on and off a lot on a daily basis. The same is true if you use the flood light variety, where they are recessed into a ceiling. On average I swap them out after only two years - and sometimes sooner, but their packages claim at least five years. Companies like Green Electrical Supply say they last up to 10 times longer than incandescent bulbs while using up to 75% less energy. I admit that a few of the bulbs have lasted all eight years, but, as the environmentalists themselves are fond of saying, don’t be fooled by the corporate rhetoric.
Fluorescents are quite dim when they first come on, especially when the house temperature is relatively low. We live in Colorado and notice the difference mainly in the fall, winter, and spring. In a kitchen with all fluorescents, we had to wait from three to five minutes for the bulbs to give enough light to read. This offers quite an inconvenience, especially before dawn. We used this new technology in the front of the house and the backyard for all eight years, and I can tell you that the lights NEVER fully illuminated the areas for which they were intended. After all this time I finally agreed with the family that these circumstances are unacceptable, but the environmental lobby won, and incandescent bulbs (75 and 100 watts) are now (as of 2012) outlawed from sale! Instead of letting the market dictate which kind is better - for the love of an environmental fantasy - the government is telling us we MUST buy these inferior fluorescents!
We've seen several fluorescents unexpectedly break and leak gas into the house. This is smelly, and potentially dangerous to the environment – and to our health. However, environmentalists don't care about that. Fluorescents are always more expensive than incandescent bulbs and so, we will pay plenty for this inefficient technology. Just as President Obama showed ambivalence to the high price of gasoline and wasted over a $trillion by empowering bankrupt, new technology companies like Solyndra, the environmentalists won't let you get in their way.
I stocked up at the end of 2011, but the better bulbs will vanish by 2014. Read about the frightening global phase-out here. We can only hope that when the Republicans gain power they'll reverse the insanity and let Edison's bulbs be made once again. However, as some hardware store workers have pointed out, even if the law is reversed, manufacturers will be discouraged from making them again. After the tools to make them are dismantled, there may never be enough incentive to recreate the machines which produced the instant-on light bulb. Just as we can’t drill for our own oil, this, too, is a real tragedy. What will the environmentalists do to us next?
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Keywords: Conservatism, Conservative blog, Mark A. Cohen, From The Left to the Right, Fluorescent vs. Incandescent, Environmentalist Failure, Incandescent Bulbs Outlawed, President Obama, Thomas Edison Light Bulb
Keyword Phrases: "Conservatism”, “Conservative blog”, “Mark A. Cohen”, “From The Left to the Right”, “Fluorescent vs. Incandescent”, “Environmentalist Failure”, “Incandescent Bulbs Outlawed”, “President Obama”, “Thomas Edison Light Bulb”
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1 comment:
When I was a kid, the TV took time to warm up after you turned it on, but light bulbs came on right away. Technology has improved, so my kids have a TV that comes on right away, but light bulbs take time to warm up. Meshuggeneh!
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