Frustrated with light bulbs - help please

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Even IF you can't find CFLs that are suitable for your recessed fixtures, LEDs are a better choice than incandescent bulbs.

LEDs are too expensive for widespread use at this point. Plus, they have a number of other problems as well. The technology is simply too new at this stage.

 

[Colonel Green]

Most of the problems relate to low temperature use, which is not an issue for indoor use.

That said, I think your opposition to CFL bulbs has more to do with your personal mercury phobia than practical concerns.

 

[John Picard]

The mercury content of CFL bulbs is far too low to bother worrying about, the batteries in your TV remote are far more dangerous to your health. Even IF you can't find CFLs that are suitable for your recessed fixtures, LEDs are a better choice than incandescent bulbs.

That said, you should probably go back to whale oil lamps just to be on the safe side

The EPA disagrees with you.

What Never to Do with a Mercury Spill

What to Do if a Fluorescent or Other Mercury-Containing Light Bulb Breaks


Before Clean-up: Air Out the Room

• Have people and pets leave the room, and don't let anyone walk through the breakage area on their way out.
• Open a window and leave the room for 15 minutes or more.
• Shut off the central forced-air heating/air conditioning system, if you have one.

Clean-Up Steps for Hard Surfaces

• Carefully scoop up glass pieces and powder using stiff paper or cardboard and place them in a glass jar with metal lid (such as a canning jar) or in a sealed plastic bag.
• Use sticky tape, such as duct tape, to pick up any remaining small glass fragments and powder.
• Wipe the area clean with damp paper towels or disposable wet wipes. Place towels in the glass jar or plastic bag.
• Do not use a vacuum or broom to clean up the broken bulb on hard surfaces.

Clean-up Steps for Carpeting or Rug

• Carefully pick up glass fragments and place them in a glass jar with metal lid (such as a canning jar) or in a sealed plastic bag.
• Use sticky tape, such as duct tape, to pick up any remaining small glass fragments and powder.
• If vacuuming is needed after all visible materials are removed, vacuum the area where the bulb was broken.
• Remove the vacuum bag (or empty and wipe the canister), and put the bag or vacuum debris in a sealed plastic bag.

Clean-up Steps for Clothing, Bedding and Other Soft Materials

• If clothing or bedding materials come in direct contact with broken glass or mercury-containing powder from inside the bulb that may stick to the fabric, the clothing or bedding should be thrown away. Do not wash such clothing or bedding because mercury fragments in the clothing may contaminate the machine and/or pollute sewage.
• You can, however, wash clothing or other materials that have been exposed to the mercury vapor from a broken CFL, such as the clothing you are wearing when you cleaned up the broken CFL, as long as that clothing has not come into direct contact with the materials from the broken bulb.
• If shoes come into direct contact with broken glass or mercury-containing powder from the bulb, wipe them off with damp paper towels or disposable wet wipes. Place the towels or wipes in a glass jar or plastic bag for disposal.

Disposal of Clean-up Materials

• Immediately place all clean-up materials outdoors in a trash container or protected area for the next normal trash pickup.
• Wash your hands after disposing of the jars or plastic bags containing clean-up materials.
• Check with your local or state government about disposal requirements in your specific area. Some states do not allow such trash disposal. Instead, they require that broken and unbroken mercury-containing bulbs be taken to a local recycling center.

Future Cleaning of Carpeting or Rug: Air Out the Room During and After Vacuuming

• The next several times you vacuum, shut off the central forced-air heating/air conditioning system and open a window before vacuuming.
• Keep the central heating/air conditioning system shut off and the window open for at least 15 minutes after vacuuming is completed.

 

[Colonel Green]

Yeah, and you're also supposed to throw out eggs that are past their expiry date, yet I still live

 

[Captain Ice]

I've been buying CFLs for almost 7 years now. I've not broken even one yet and have had only one burn out. I think you're making a bigger problem out of them than you really need to, MLB.

There is only one place where I've found that they don't work well for me. That's in the bathroom and, only because they don't give off any heat. Nothing sucks more than a cold tile floor at 6am.

 

[John Picard]

Personally, I have several CFL's in my house but will be ditching them in favor of LED lighting. I don't understand why the very people on this board who are all about energy conservation (which is a misnomer, you're actually consuming less energy) haven't clued in on LEDs.

As the French say -- Oh well

 

[Captain Ice]

^After looking at a site quickly, I can tell you that I won't touch them until they become a lot less expensive to purchase. $60 for one bulb is outrageous. If CFLs were 1/6 of that amount each, I would still be using incandesants.

 

[B.J.]

I can't stand LED lights. For some reason (maybe the frequency of the light?), they give me an instant lingering painful headache when I see them. I was at a Cub Scout campout this past weekend, and I had to avoid several of the kids because they had LED flashlights.

 

[RoJoHen]

There is only one place where I've found that they don't work well for me. That's in the bathroom and, only because they don't give off any heat.

Tell that to the lamp in my living room. It warms up the whole room!

 

[John Picard]

^After looking at a site quickly, I can tell you that I won't touch them until they become a lot less expensive to purchase. $60 for one bulb is outrageous. If CFLs were 1/6 of that amount each, I would still be using incandescent.

Shop around. LEDs can be purchased for less, plus their estimated lifespan is 30+ years. Coupled with the minimal amount of power they draw, the savings exceed the purchase price quickly.

 

[trekkiedane]

^After looking at a site quickly, I can tell you that I won't touch them until they become a lot less expensive to purchase. $60 for one bulb is outrageous. If CFLs were 1/6 of that amount each, I would still be using incandescent.

Shop around. LEDs can be purchased for less, plus their estimated lifespan is 30+ years. Coupled with the minimal amount of power they draw, the savings exceed the purchase price quickly.

I haven't paid more than ~10 $ for any of my LED lamps...

 

[Misfit Toy]

I am not sure what you mean by soft light.

It says so on the packaging ("Soft White"). I actually don't know what that means, but I know it's not halogen.

It's an informal product name for "warm white," which is a measure of what's called the color temperature of a bulb. It's represented by Kelvins and is based on the temperature required to heat a black metal body to produce a given light.

Traditional warm white (soft white bulbs) is 2700k (a yellowish tint) and produces a comforting ambience for living spaces, cool white is 4200k (slightly off-white) and is better for reading and performing tasks, and daylight ranges from 5000k to 6500k, beyond which it starts to tint blue.

What you want to ask for are cool white bulbs. They're not actually brighter, they just produce a whiter, crisper light, and as such are typically used in bathrooms, work lamps, reading lights, desks and so forth. You should be able to find them at any hardware, home, or large department store. You just need to know what to look (or ask) for.

Looks like you answered the question. Why doesn't anybody listen to you?

 

[the 4th hanson bro]

A prophet is never successful in his own land.

 

[Locutus of Bored]

It says so on the packaging ("Soft White"). I actually don't know what that means, but I know it's not halogen.

It's an informal product name for "warm white," which is a measure of what's called the color temperature of a bulb. It's represented by Kelvins and is based on the temperature required to heat a black metal body to produce a given light.

Traditional warm white (soft white bulbs) is 2700k (a yellowish tint) and produces a comforting ambience for living spaces, cool white is 4200k (slightly off-white) and is better for reading and performing tasks, and daylight ranges from 5000k to 6500k, beyond which it starts to tint blue.

What you want to ask for are cool white bulbs. They're not actually brighter, they just produce a whiter, crisper light, and as such are typically used in bathrooms, work lamps, reading lights, desks and so forth. You should be able to find them at any hardware, home, or large department store. You just need to know what to look (or ask) for.

Looks like you answered the question. Why doesn't anybody listen to you?

I think they're reenacting my junior high experience.