US Congress bans Incandescent bulbs by 2014...

[K Frame]

"They last about as long as incandescents, 'round here."

If you are having that kind of track record with CFLs, it's time to stop looking at the lights, and time to start looking at possible power issues in your home.

I, and numerous other people here, have reported great success with CFLs lasting far in excess of their rated lives. If you are seeing problems with CFL that consistently, it should be a clue that it's NOT the bulbs.

As for low-flow toilets, come on, folks, design and evolution didn't stop on those on day two of the high capacity flush.

There are many low-flow designs on the market today that are as efficient in their flush capabilities as the waterhogs of years past.

[Headless Thompson Gunner]

I will NOT switch to CFLs.  I'll burn candles before I use crappy fluorescents in my home.  I'll import incandescents illegally before I buy CFLs locally.

Here's to hoping they develop viable alternatives to incandescents before the ban begins.

[Paddy]

President Bush signed the 822-page measure into law today after it was sent up Pennsylvania Avenue in a Toyota Prius hybrid vehicle.

heh.

The House passed the bill by a 314-100 vote after approval by the Senate last week.

How many Republicans in that 314?  And signed by a Republican president. 

You wanna tell us more about the 'party of liberty', HTG?   

[Ben]

Black market in toilets?

Wouldn't it more correctly be brown market toilets??? 

[Headless Thompson Gunner]

President Bush signed the 822-page measure into law today after it was sent up Pennsylvania Avenue in a Toyota Prius hybrid vehicle.

heh.

The House passed the bill by a 314-100 vote after approval by the Senate last week.

How many Republicans in that 314?  And signed by a Republican president. 

You wanna tell us more about the 'party of liberty', HTG?   

I don't support any parties any more, remember?  I support Ron Paul, the most effective member of congress and our next President.  He wouldn't have let this bill pass if he were in office.

[Desertdog]

By the time this comes to pass I will have a lifetime or two of incandescent lamps on hand.  Let's get rid of this Congress.

Congress bans incandescent bulbs
Massive energy bill phases out Edison's invention by 2014
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=59298



In addition to raising auto fuel efficiency standards 40 percent, an energy bill passed by Congress yesterday bans the incandescent light bulb by 2014.

President Bush signed the 822-page measure into law today after it was sent up Pennsylvania Avenue in a Toyota Prius hybrid vehicle. The House passed the bill by a 314-100 vote after approval by the Senate last week.

Rep. John D. Dingell, D-Mich., chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, said the legislation will boost the energy efficiency of "almost every significant product and tool and appliance that we use, from light bulbs to light trucks."

The phase-out of incandescent light is to begin with the 100-watt bulb in 2012 and end in 2014 with the 40-watt.

All light bulbs must use 25 percent to 30 percent less 2014. By 2020, bulbs must be 70 percent more efficient than they are today.

Australia was the first country to announce an outright ban by 2010.

Critics of Thomas Edison's invention argue it uses more energy to produce light than the compact fluorescent, or CFL, bulb.

While standard light bulbs cost about 50 cents, the spiral CFL sells for about $3. Advocates argue, however, the CFL lasts five years longer and uses about 75 percent less energy.

But as WND reported, the presence of small amounts of highly toxic mercury in CFLs poses problems for consumers when breakage occurs and for disposal when bulbs eventually burn out. The potential environmental hazard created by the mass introduction of billions of CFLs with few disposal sites and a public unfamiliar with the risks is great.

Consumers generally are unaware of the risks of CFLs, and recycling experts say the solutions are at least five years away.

The Department of Energy, nevertheless, is encouraging citizens to take a pledge to replace at least one incandescent bulb with a CFL.

[Manedwolf]

You can't have an idea with a CFL appearing over your head. It just wouldn't look right.

[Scout26]

There are many low-flow designs on the market today that are as efficient in their flush capabilities as the waterhogs of years past.

It's not so much the toilets any more as it is the sewer lines that weren't designed and built to move the HAHA on such a small amount of water.


Yep, add Festung Scout to the list of houses with out a 3-way bulbs or a dimmer switch.  We have CFL's in every fixture except for over the sinks the bathrooms, because they would just look goofy.  However to keep the costs down, they are only 25 watt bulbs (so that's a 125 watts total in Master Bath and 100 watts in the kids) 

I have yet to replace a CFL and we've been using them since they first came out 10+ years ago.  And not because I'm some long-haired, hemp wearing, tree-hugger.  No, I'm a cheap SOB.  I'm in the Chicagoland area and Commonwealth Edison had the highest rates in the nation.  So, Hmmm 100 watts of light for the cost of 27 watts of electricity = No brainer.

My electric bill runs < $50 per month and I could probably get it under $40-45 if I could get the kids to turn off the lights when they leave a room.
 
jfuser, you have a power problem, not a CFL problem.

Wouldn't it more correctly be brown market toilets??? 

I sit corrected. 

[mtnbkr]

Another observation from the photographer standpoint...

Congress mandated getting rid of mercury based batteries, making life difficult for photographers that used cameras designed around those batteries (most cameras made before the 80s).  Now, they're forcing us to use bulbs that put the mercury back into the landfill. 

Chris

[zahc]

legislation will boost the energy efficiency of "almost every significant product and tool and appliance that we use, from light bulbs to light trucks."

I find the attitude that legislation can actually do anything to be funny. Like legislation is a magic ethereal spell or something. Heck, why can't we just write some legislation to stop global warming?

[Manedwolf]

Another observation from the photographer standpoint...

Congress mandated getting rid of mercury based batteries, making life difficult for photographers that used cameras designed around those batteries (most cameras made before the 80s).  Now, they're forcing us to use bulbs that put the mercury back into the landfill. 

Chris

They also eliminated the production of mercury-filled instruments such as blood pressure gauges that were far more accurate than the current electronic ones. In fact, many hospitals keep an antique mercury one to calibrate the electronic ones against.

[charby]

Another observation from the photographer standpoint...

Congress mandated getting rid of mercury based batteries, making life difficult for photographers that used cameras designed around those batteries (most cameras made before the 80s).  Now, they're forcing us to use bulbs that put the mercury back into the landfill. 

Chris

They also eliminated the production of mercury-filled instruments such as blood pressure gauges that were far more accurate than the current electronic ones. In fact, many hospitals keep an antique mercury one to calibrate the electronic ones against.

Mercury free?

http://www.metaefficient.com/lighting/ecoleds-mercury-free-led-bulbs.html

[Desertdog]

My electric bill runs < $50 per month and I could probably get it under $40-45 if I could get the kids to tune off the lights when they leave a room.

Buy a 15 minute manual timer for their bathroom. At least then it won't stay on all the time.

I put a 7 watt CFL (40 watt equiv.) in my bathroom that is on all the time.  For normal use of the bathroom there is no need to turn on the overhead light, and you can find your way at night.

[Hugh Damright]

I gotta ask ... what part of the US Constitution delegates federal authority over light bulbs? It kind of reminds me of the US setting a national 55 MPH speed limit to conserve energy (and the SCOTUS striking it down as exceeding federal powers).

[Desertdog]

I gotta ask ... what part of the US Constitution delegates federal authority over light bulbs?

Sounds to me like they are interferring with Interstate Commerce.  Now we need some incandescent light company to file suite.

[Rocketman56]

HD

I gotta ask ... what part of the US Constitution delegates federal authority over light bulbs?

Good question!!  I haven't read the whole bill, yet, so I don't know if this is a "Recommendation" or "Requirement"..
(The media is making it out to be a requirement, but they have been known to be wrong about the content of bills before..)

A "Requirement" would definitely be worthy of a SCOTUS Review for constitutionality..  I'll bet there's a LOT of other
areas of this bill which should be reviewed..  (but that's another can of worms and a lot of threads, I'm sure!)

I sure wish Congress would be required to cite the part of the Constitution/Federal Code that gives them the right
to write a new law..  Might slow down some of these massive bills that nobody can read or debate! (and the abuses, therein!)

Later,
Steve

[Tallpine]

It's time to turn off the DC power

[Scout26]

Buy a 15 minute manual timer for their bathroom. At least then it won't stay on all the time.

Mrs Scout shot down my idea of putting a motion sensor switch in their bedrooms and their bathroom.  No movement for x number minutes and the lights go out  (I wanted to set them to 15 seconds..... )

The problem is not just their rooms however.  They think that the light switches only go UP.  They haven't learned that they can go DOWN also.....

[K Frame]

Time to start slashing allowances.

If you come into a room where you know they've been, they're not there, and the lights are on, 10% of their allowance goes bye bye.

Not just one of them, but ALL of them. That will not only make them police themselves, it will make them police each other.

If they burn through a week's or a month's allowance, they start losing the next one.

Lots of different things you can do this with.

[GigaBuist]

I gotta ask ... what part of the US Constitution delegates federal authority over light bulbs? It kind of reminds me of the US setting a national 55 MPH speed limit to conserve energy (and the SCOTUS striking it down as exceeding federal powers).

Not sure... though when I first took a peak at the light bulb section of the passed law they didn't actually ban them.  They just set efficiency requirements.  Unfortunately I'm pretty sure they're designed so that incandesents will be phased out.  My 'logic' behind this:  When I saw what they were looking to obtain out of a 75 watt bulb it was really close to the lumen rating I saw on the 100 watt bulb I had just installed the day pervious.  Around 1100 lumens I think.  Then again, perhaps there's very little lumen output between 75 and 100 watt incandescents.  I don't know... I just buy high wattage bulbs where I want it bright.

I'm already using CFLs here and there, but it's hard.  The original owner of my house was an electrician.  He put lights everywhere in this house.  I only need one lamp in this place, next to the bed, so it can be turned off while lieing down.  The rest is built in, and I'd say about 80% of this place is on dimmer switches.  A dimmable CFL is about $15 right now.  It'd cost me about $450 to replace every bulb in this place with a CFL.

Low-flow toilets bug me too.  I have them here and they're the cheap models that don't work well.  Every time I see a hunk of my fecal matter floating after a flush I'm reminded of the federal government.  I find the bathroom a great place to ponder the direction we should take in the future with regards to our government.  After all, it's a room dedicated to washing away filth and flushing waste. 

[Headless Thompson Gunner]

...they didn't actually ban them.  They just set efficiency requirements.  Unfortunately I'm pretty sure they're designed so that incandesents will be phased out.  My 'logic' behind this:  When I saw what they were looking to obtain out of a 75 watt bulb it was really close to the lumen rating I saw on the 100 watt bulb I had just installed the day pervious.  Around 1100 lumens I think.  Then again, perhaps there's very little lumen output between 75 and 100 watt incandescents.  I don't know... I just buy high wattage bulbs where I want it bright.

Is this really the case?  I ask because lumen measurements are highly subjective.  Could the manufacturers simply revise their measurement system so that the measurements read high enough to satisfy the law, without actually changing their bubls any?

[Paddy]

Every time I see a hunk of my fecal matter floating after a flush

That just means you need more fiber and less fat in your diet.

[Pb]

 My thoughts

[Scout26]

Time to start slashing allowances.

If you come into a room where you know they've been, they're not there, and the lights are on, 10% of their allowance goes bye bye.

10% of 0 is still 0.

However, the oldest one is now making babysitting money, so maybe "fines" and other penalties are in order.

[K Frame]

No allowances?

Then there are priveledges.

Computer time.

Game console time.

Time with friends.

Desserts.

There are LOTS of things that you can use