CFL: You light up my life (greenly)
By jmara
Friday, October 5th, 2007 at 2:00 pm in General.
If you’d like to see what it’s like to use an energy-saving compact flourescent bulb, here’s a chance to do so for free. Pacific Gas & Electric is giving away a cool (and we do mean cool, as in “help slow global warming by saving electricity”) million of the little puppies in October, which happens to be Energy Awareness Month. The first giveaway was in Berkeley this week, and on Saturday, 1,500 bulbs will be available at Emma Prusch Park during the Multicultural Harvest Festival. Another 1,500 will be given out at Lake Cunningham on Saturday as part of the same event. More giveaways will be announced as the month rolls along.
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October 10th, 2007 at 3:18 pm
We should all tell PG&E to sponsor CFL take-back programs for recycling. See http://www.recycleabulb.com. It looks like Wisconsin, Maine and Illinois is ahead of California.
October 16th, 2007 at 4:12 pm
Boy, I wish I’d seen this before plunking down about $40 on CFL bulbs at the local drugstore. Free is always the best price. I’d've put that money into oil futures — my car’s gas tank.
November 5th, 2007 at 1:10 pm
Anything as toxic as a fluorescent light bulb [Global Minamata Disease!] is not green! LEDs are not only green, they use even less energy, last longer [our grandchildren will inherit them] and don’t cause migraines. Obviously, since white LEDs and CFLs were developed at the same time, LEDs were the better choice. Only bioluminescence is greener. Why, then, did PG&E and others go with CFLs? Money. They’ll still make money for PG&E, et al…both through energy use and recycling charges, which are just another way to belly up to the government trough. Last month I went through the garbage [not the recycling] at my sister’s apartment building in Ashland: 11 tube types and 8 CFLs.Mercury poisoning is very ugly-worse than lead! LEDs don’t break as easily, either. They are already in our vehicles, traffic signals, holiday lights, and electronics. Unlike CFLs, LEDs are dimmable. SAY NO TO CFLs DEMAND YOUR LEDs!
December 10th, 2007 at 1:02 pm
The building codes act against efforts at efficient lighting. For example, in San Jose,
the first light switch into the kitchen has to be for fluorescents. BUT, because the govt
doesn’t want you to pass inspection with CFLs and swap in incandescents, the only
acceptable fluorescents are long tube, separate ballast style. AND, LEDs are not
acceptable (it HAS to be a separate ballast fluorescent). In Vermont, CFLs are
considered toxic waste, and you can be fined for putting one into your trash. BTW, in
California, you have to have a special state permit to transport more than 125
pounds of toxics. If you have more than this weight of fluorescent bulbs (new or used)
and/or batteries (say, collecting them from your neighbors to take to the fire department)
in your vehicle, you can get a big-time fine.
December 11th, 2007 at 3:01 pm
Yow! Sounds like something should be done about those codes. Seems like it often takes a while for legislation to catch up - the right hand doesn’t know what the left is doing, you know?
December 21st, 2007 at 5:32 pm
If you would like to look at an example of the state of the art in efficient lighting, go to
http://www.llfinc.com
(LED Lighting Fixtures, Inc).
Full disclosure: I assisted in a small way in the engineering of this product.
December 21st, 2007 at 5:44 pm
Hey, cool Web site, thanks! That point about mercury in CFLs is a good one. How can I safely dispose of my used CFLs?