Incandescent light bulbs are on the way out. But not right this second. A US law, passed in 2007, has made it illegal to manufacture or import incandescent bulbs that do not meet the new efficiency standards.
The old style 75- and 100-watt incandescent bulbs were phased out earlier this year. And this week the law hits 60- and 40-watt incandescent bulbs, as well. New incandescents that meet the new standards and generate almost the same brightness, however, have already hit the market.
People like my parents are preparing for the worst, just in case. The 2007 federal law that triggered such bulb collections actually does not favor one energy-saving technology over another; rather, it requires that all light sources such as compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs), light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and next-generation incandescent bulbs (like the GE 43W bulb designed to replace the 60-watt incandescent) meet a higher standard of energy efficiency, requiring less power to emit roughly the same amount of light.
One important point made by the linked article is the hazardous nature of fluorescent bulbs (CFLs).
Each CFL contains about five milligrams of mercury (less than one one-hundreth of the amount of mercury present in a mercury thermometer), essential to producing its light. Whirling the substance into smaller bits would send mercury vapor into the air, a bad idea because mercury is toxic and can cause neurological damage that is especially harmful to children and fetuses.
Point being, don’t throw CFLs in the trash. Recycle them at your closest hazardous waste recycling facility.
Here is another article with more info on the phasing out of the bulbs. http://www.theverge.com/2014/1/1/5263826/the-incandescent-light-bulb-isnt-dead
If you can afford the up-front cost, the Philips Hue LED bulbs are amazing – pick any colours you want via an iOS/Android app, and they only use about 8.5 watts. Also, their lifetime is measured in decades – so you can make up for the up-front expense not just in lower power bills but in not having to buy replacement bulbs all the time.
I have mostly LED bulbs in my house. We also have a few CFLs in the bathroom where the slow warm up is actually a benefit, and MR16 halogens in the kitchen’s track lighting. I initially planned more CFLs than that, but the mercury gave me pause, and a drop in LED prices sealed the deal. The MR16s just aren’t bright enough, yet.
The bit about LED bulbs only omitting light in one direction* is curious. Even the LED elements themselves don’t really have this problem; you have to build the bulb very specifically to get this effect. None of the LED bulbs in my house have it.
*-On reflection, if you defined “one direction” widely enough this is true. But the arc that gets lit by each element is certainly reasonable.
“Point being, don’t throw CFLs in the trash.”
No. Point being, don’t buy CFLs.
or
No. Point being, don’t get caught throwing CFLs in the trash.
CFLs are also bad for most people – particularly those with scotopic sensitivity – as they emit UV light.
We had to switch from CFL back to incandescents as my wife and two boys were diagnosed with this last year. LED bulbs are still a bit too pricey here in NZ. They are coming down though which is good.
Don’t care, switched to LEDs almost everywhere. A few halogens when dimming capability is required (but there are LED options for these as well now).
We now have a total of 1 CFL remaining. Zero incandescents.
We’re down to our last few incandescents, thanks to my late mother’s propensity for hoarding things like light bulbs and Brita filters.
As they too die off, we’ve been replacing them with CFLs, which have gotten better but never been great.
I love LEDs and am very happy to hear their prices are coming down.
Incandescent also emit a broad black body spectrum, like the sun, which is much healthier than the unnatural spiky lighting emitted by a cfl. I’ve tried different cfls and felt something was wrong, but never knew what was wrong with the lighting until I held up a cd to the light.
LEDs are taking the place of the CFLs in my house, but slowly, because the CFLs are seriously long lasting compared to the incandescent.
CFLs were a stopgap, nowhere near as efficient as LEDs but LEDs were, and for many still are, prohibitively expensive. LEDs have nearly completely replaced incandescent for Christmas lights, and LEDs can be used in a multitude of forms and installation styles that will revolutionize lighting in public and provtae buildings.
My CFL stopgaps are probably going to last way too long for me to avoid donating a few of them to my building’s handyman.
Related: my 1995-issue CRT television set still refuses to die.