These bulbs were $5-6 each and three have gone so far. So much for saving us a lot of money on our bills - the electricity cost went up a bit anyway, and we were out $20 or so for those bulbs alone, and will now wait for the rest to pop in due time I'm sure. But I am not buying anymore. I am going back to the plain old regular bulbs that cost me $2 for a box of 4. Maybe I'll even buy 100 watt instead of the 40s and 60s I have bought for the past decade or so.
How much did we actually save by using those things anyway? Oh yeah, that's right, it didn't save us a penny and in fact cost us far more than regular bulbs would have. I fell off that bandwagon I'm afraid.
I found this propaganda on the web... I call BULLSH*T. I had one regular bulb in the stairwell of my old house for FOUR YEARS and it was still glowing when I moved out. And just so you know, none of the regular bulbs we put in the new house over the past year have burnt out - aside from an outside bulb that actually got busted in a wind storm. NONE.
So what is the diagram above trying to say, exactly? One of those costs the same as 9 regular bulbs but won't last as long? Yeah, I think that must be what it's trying to say.
I found this propaganda on the web... I call BULLSH*T. I had one regular bulb in the stairwell of my old house for FOUR YEARS and it was still glowing when I moved out. And just so you know, none of the regular bulbs we put in the new house over the past year have burnt out - aside from an outside bulb that actually got busted in a wind storm. NONE.So what is the diagram above trying to say, exactly? One of those costs the same as 9 regular bulbs but won't last as long? Yeah, I think that must be what it's trying to say.
Hope you left the room long enough for the mercury to settle into your carpet, to poison you for years to come!
ReplyDeleteThey are crap, typical eco-nuttery, they don't think about the consequences.
I am finding it really hard to voice a negative opinion about these bulbs - so many people jump down your throat and suggest that your wiring is wrong, you chose the wrong wattage, or you're just plain full of crap. It is really getting frustrating! I was randomly looking for other complaints about these bulbs tonight and ran into several blogs where the author was nearly torn to shreds for daring to voice concern. People talking about how they've had these bulbs in for multiple YEARS with none burning out, etc etc. I'd sure like to meet them because so far out of my family and friends, we've all had bulbs burn out already. My boss has a lot for her bonsai plants and has replaced nearly all of them in less than 3 years now, for example.
ReplyDeleteI have come across info like Jan 2009 reports from BC Hydro that the bulbs are actually causing other problems like how they are cooler than the old bulbs so people are compensating by turning up their heat (therefore expending more energy for furnaces and electricity anyway) - but the report was thrown out and discounted by environmentalists. Reminds me of when people starting voicing concern over plastic bags and environmentalists poo-poo'd that until they could not hide it anymore, and now push for fabric bags and PAPER bags again instead. Hmm there seems to be a pattern emerging here.
What concerns me though is people are being forced to change to these bulbs in other countries. Some EU ones have already started this, banning the sale of the old bulbs. How long before it happens here too and we have no choice? It's maddening when a new product is pushed while people's complaints are ignored. Oh well, I'll stockpile the old bulbs if I have to because I am certainly not convinced of the value of these new ones.
I'm with you on this one! I had my son replace the one in my hallway on Christmas Day and it burned out last night. This is the third bulb since summer 2008 for me. I'm going back to using the regular bulbs. They lasted much longer. I've also replaced the outside lightbulb (which is seldom used) twice. What a farce!
ReplyDeletePhew we are not alone! lol.
ReplyDeleteMaybe after more testing and trials they will actually come up with something that works properly from all angles, but until then the govt better not try to force citizens to use them like other countries have done.
It's also akin to the hubbub about ethanol - I read on the main Canadian site that they have not even managed to make 5% of what we use in gasoline every year here but will be 'soon'. Meanwhile, we are told constantly about the benefits of ethanol but our questions about how many food crops will have to be turned over to E-fuels productions are ignored. These new ideas are pushed through before proper testing and it is very unfair to the consumer who always foots the bill. I think they will find that many Canadians aren't as docile and compliant as others seem to believe lol.
Well you had all better start doing what the people of Tunbridge Wells in England are doing, stocking up.http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/24/world/europe/24bulbs.html
ReplyDeleteThanks to our liberal PM who went along with Ontario's liberal premier regular bulbs will be banned in Canada in 2012. What an idiot someone who didn't believe in global warming until becoming PM is now as much a believer as any warmist.
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2007/04/25/lunn-bulbs.html
Thanks for the links! I did read some about the Brits stockpiling old bulbs. I used to live over there in the 90s so I can just imagine what some of them are doing lol. Incidentally, this reminds me - one of my friends over there still has one of those old fashioned boxes outside for electricity... it's almost like a parking meter where she has to put money into it in order to get a certain amount of electricity. She changed over half her bulbs to the new ones over a year ago and has never paid less into her meter. It's been the same or more than usual. So if these bulbs really are supposed to save money, where exactly is the proof? Maybe some claim their bills are cheaper but are deluding themselves? I have no idea.
ReplyDeleteAnyway I remember talk in Canada about changing to these bulbs, then we all got a free one in the mail in late 2007, but I was kind of hoping it would not turn into a full ban on the old style. I remember hearing that my boss was going to have to change her lights at work and she was right ticked off because it will cost so much money (it's a daycare where the only income is from fees parents pay), but I was not sure about residential homes.
Maybe by then they will have come out with a bulb that really does what they say it's supposed to...??
It's not just a case of changing the bulbs, In a lot of cases the fittings are going to have to be changed as well. Is Harper and McAsswipe going to pay for them, any bets?
ReplyDeleteYeah that is going to be a big problem for businesses, even if they do it a bit at a time to be ready.. my boss opened the daycare in 1989 and was told what kind of lighting to put in, so she did. Now she would have to tear down all of them and install new, fix the cosmetic damages (which would also fall under the health and safety standards I imagine), and be out thousands of dollars --- this for a small business. I can only imagine the cost involved in larger businesses/stores/offices etc. Yikes. And to me it's like the global warming chatter - forcing people to conform based on unproven and badly tested ideas. How fun!
ReplyDelete