Hi Joel,
(Michael, should this go to RE-Bitching or something?)
I wonder if you are encouraging your clients to use incandescents.
CFLs are not perfect, but they are a big step forward.
And there is certainly a wide variety of quality.
Saying that CFLs are poor quality is like saying
"cars are poor quality" -- ignoring the
difference between a Hyundai and a Tesla (or
something).
Also, light quality is very subjective. Some
people like light on the 2700 Kelvin end of the
range ("warm" yellow) and others on the 6000
Kelvin end ("cool" white).
Personally, I think the fact that the brighten up
slowly is a wonderful feature. I'm glad the days
of delay and blink are pretty much gone though.
If we are not promoting (good quality) CFLs (with
wattage and color temperature appropriate to the
client's situation and taste), we are promoting 3
to 4 times the energy use and PV system size. Hmm.
Best,
Ian
Some more added thoughts. I am all for reducing
lighting electrical consumption, but only if the
"improvement" is somehow better, faster, cheaper.
Almost all CFLs have poor light quality and
take time to brighten up to full intensity.
Also, if you don't like mercury, then thank the
Bush administration for changing the Clean Air
Act mercury limit from 5 tons to 26 tons per
year for power plants. Sleaze like that travels
all the way up and down the mercury supply line.
----- Original Message -----
From: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>Peter Parrish
To: <mailto:re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org>'RE-wrenches'
Sent: Tuesday, December 09, 2008 12:09 PM
Subject: Re: [RE-wrenches] CFL lighting and the mercury hazzard.
Carl is correct. I would add two thoughts. We
have been buying CFLs from Home Depot, Ikea and
we have been getting freebies from the Los
Angels Department of Water and Power. Both the
Ikea and freebies fail in 1-2 years, so the
story about 5-7 years life is a WAG. Second,
lets all hold our collective breath: LEDs will
rule the illumination market fairly soon just as
they have conquered the indication market for
many years now. It would be great if anyone has
accumulated some lifetime statistics on LED
lighting.
- Peter
Peter T. Parrish, Ph.D., President
California Solar Engineering, Inc.
820 Cynthia Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90065
Ph 323-258-8883, Mobile 323-839-6108, Fax 323-258-8885
CA Lic. 854779, NABCEP Cert. 031806-26
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
On Behalf Of Carl Emerson
Sent: Tuesday, December 09, 2008 11:58 AM
To: 'RE-wrenches'
Subject: [RE-wrenches] CFL lighting and the mercury hazzard.
Hi there,
We have for years been advocating the use of
energy efficient Compact Fluorescent Lighting
(CFL) to reduce loads and reduce system cost.
A recent study by DEP in Maine has raised the
alarm about mercury poisoning form these bulbs.
If there is a breakage the resulting levels of
mercury on the floor of the house are well above
acceptable limits. Secondly there seems to be
little serious effort to safely recycle these
bulbs in a manner that keeps the mercury out of
the eco system.
I understand that LED lamps are mercury free.
This would seem to be a much safer alternative.
While many of us have mercury amalgams in our
mouth the mercury is supposedly in a form that
is not significantly ingested, whereas the
mercury in a CFL is in vapour form when hot and
powder form when cold, and therefore can pose a
hazard to health.
Can I suggest some discussion on this and can we
do our best to keep it scientific, I dont mean
to spread emotional alarm without due cause.
Thanks,
Carl Emerson
Free Power Ltd.
Auckland N.Z.
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