60W bulb outlawed tomorrow in Europe

1 failure in 25hours of use is rare. 2 is even rarer. 4 is just bazaar. You have an underlying issue that the oldschool bulbs are probably masking. Do you live in a really old house with knob and tube wiring or something?

 

I don't think there is any question that incandescence use more power. Most businesses have already replaced their bulbs. Their are some applications like floods for film or photography that are exempted, and cf's don't really have the characteristics yet.

My problem with the law is the brutish big government non-solving of a problem. Everyone buying cf for their homes will not cause a great greening of the grid and the end of CO2. Its a baby step. I would rather have the governments taking it more slowly like the united states (efficiency slowly rising to get rid of most by 2020), but I would say bigger steps would be more productive for the united states. Higher cafe standards that are going into effect will save much more co2 and oil than light bulb bans, but a higher gas tax would speed the greening of the fleet. I don't see the will to do it. Tightening of the caps on SO2 and NOx would speed the transition from coal, but it doesn't seem to be happening. Finally a EPA that did more to stop polution from coal mining, forcing environmental mitigation, and perhaps paid for this by a tax on coal to be given back to the states to pay for medical problems. But the efficiency of light bulbs was what was palatable to the political class. It doesn't do all that much compared to education, but it let those legislators pretend they were doing something in 2007.

 

Isn't there firehouse with an incandescent that's been burning for over a century?

I've been out of the hobby for awhile, but what about the herptology trade(reptiles and amphibians)? Incandescents are commonly used for basking lamps. They are a decent heat source after all. I guess it would fall under agricultural uses, like egg incubators, assuming that wasn't overlooked.

 

Livermore's Centennial Light Facts

It's a 60 Watt bulb that is presently down to 4 Watts.

 

We have a light fixture in our entry hall that I installed in 1982. It uses 4 candle type incandescent bulbs that have a smaller than normal base. (Not sure what it is called) Anyway, one out of the four bulbs is still original and the fixture gets switched on an off several times per day in normal use. Twenty nine years and counting. Now that I have bragged on it, the bulb will probably burn out soon.

 

The aggravating issue is the government's "in your face" brute force approach in one particular area. The better way to solve this issue is to:
1) Phase in the requirements in a stepped fashion starting with:
2) All new construction installations (houses, factories, etc.) must be furbished with high efficiency lighting. Note that the technology is not specified, just the high efficiency needed.
3) Require all government offices and facilities need to be converted over in a multi-year time frame. Again, the standard should be for efficiency, not a niche technology specification.
4) Require all businesses to meet lighting efficiency standards. Something along the lines of xx kWh per square meter of office space.

At this point, the need to mandate the conventional light bulb market....and the next technology scapegoat (space heaters?, electric ovens?, electric dryers? etc.) is unnecessary. Freedom does not need to be a victim to improved efficiency.

 

Very well said, Prius Driver.

 

Yes, the law prevents producing and importing. So people can use them and stores with existing stocks of incandescents will still be able to sell them.

 

Yes, you can sell them as "heat bulbs" and apparently a German did just that.

We're in the USA so can waste as much as we like, but we don't so use a CFL for UV and a low-wattage incandescent for heat.

(My wife has a bearded dragon).

 

John, could you give us an internet source for LEDs suitable for use in regular light sockets, with comparable light output?

I bought a couple of LED lamps, both of which put out so little light that they are only suitable for use as night lights, or to turn on when I have to get up at night, and want a very dim light that won't hurt my eyes.

I have switched about half of my lights to CFLs. Two or three burned out in relatively short order; the others are fine. I like bright light in the kitchen and have not found CFLs bright enough. One of my pet peeves is CFLs that give out as much light as a 60W incandescent being marketed as "replaces a 100W incandescent bulb." They don't actually say it puts out as much light. I have an environmentalist friend who refuses to use CFLs because of the mercury.

The Prius has been such a success because it delivers twice the FE of a similar conventional car without giving up anything. When a CLF provides slightly more than half the light of the bulb it's advertised to replace, it's a big disappointment. Dim light gives me eyestrain and headaches.

Show me an LED that puts out 1,500 lumens at a comfortable color temperature and screws into my existing light sockets, and I'll happily pay $50 for it. But my internet searches have not turned up anything. Any references will be greatly appreciated.

As for the European ban, if they ban 60W bulbs and greater, I predict the rapid appearance of 59.9W bulbs on the market.

 

From my web site: http://doctord.webhop.net

"Originally we huddled in the dark.
Then we domesticated fire and used candles and oil lamps.
They were replaced by kerosene and gas lamps.
And Edison invented the incandescent bulb.

Now incandescent bulbs are being outlawed
to be replaced by Compact Florescent Lamps (CFL).
Soon CFLs will be outlawed due to the mercury in them
and they will be replaced by LED bulbs.
Then LEDs will be outlawed due to the arsenic in them
and we will be back to candles
Then candles and oil/kerosene/gas lamps will be outlawed due to carbon emissions.
and we will huddle in the dark. "

JeffD 2010

 

I can't recall UK compatability for the screw in base ... but I continue to swear by these bulbs:

http://priuschat.com/forums/environ...65-13-5-watt-par30-25k-hour-dimmable-led.html


.

 

@Hill,

The voltage would be a problem in the UK and I believe the screw bases in the UK are slightly larger than in the US

 

Really? something is wrong there, they should last much much longer than that, certainly longer than the incadesents. Once in a while maybe you get a dud, but your rate is way too high. We've been in our house over 7 years, and there are many I have never changed.

 

I have understood that on/off cycles on ordinary incandescents don't matter much until the remaining life is down to about the single-digit hour range. Then it becomes more likely to die at turnon.

Whenever the bulb is operating, its normal evaporative wearout mechanism is running down its life clock.

Does anyone know its lumens/watt, either now or when new?

It must be hideously inefficient.

 

That matches my understanding of the impending US 'ban'. It specifies efficiencies, not technologies. The bar is set high enough that regular incandescents flunk, but halogen incandescents and others can pass.

 

Which begs the question, why set the efficiency to eliminate this, and just this, specific lighting technology. Why not set it to flunk halogens, or CFLs? (We all know the answer, so it's a rhetorical question.)

Clearly the target was incandescents exclusively. That allows any number of parameters to be used to justify a ban, whether it be efficiency, heat generated, trash load on landfills, etc.

I fully support reducing the immense national waste of power. I also use LED bulbs to the maximum extent possible so I'm not a fan of incandescents at all. It's a no-brainer if you think, calculate, and evaluate. So while I make it clear that blunt government is not desired by me, I really make it clear that my electric bill is half to those that listen. I know I have had more success with local education rather than pushing for government restrictions.

As a poor analogy, let's say the government wanted to improve gas efficiency by banning SUVs. That would probably be the most contentious approach that can be selected. There are obviously more production approaches. We need to get there, but with methods that work from the top down, not dictate from the bottom up.

 

The 850 lumens from this looks just like the 60W bulb it replaced. It's quite impressive how the lamp goes unnoticed, not giving any clue the bulb is actually a LED.

The 800 lumens from this one is a little warmer light color, but the yellow of the bulb itself makes its identity harder to conceal. It's the one I've been using in closets, the front entry way, the garage, and in an outside fixture. I'm looking forward to trying brighter version (75W equivalent) coming out late this year, still illuminating a warm 2700k but the plastic is white and it's 1100 lumens.
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