Swap Out Incandescent Bulbs With Compact Fluorescent

By

Shelyn

We have an outdoor Nativity Scene from years gone by that the uses regular bulbs. We tried the newer ones and they wouldn't fit. We went to the store and bought about 10 packages of the regular bulbs, so that when a replacement is needed, we will have it. I think these will last us a very long time. We do use the newer bulbs all over the house.

By

ginnee

Only the 100 watt incandescent bulbs are going away at the end of the year. We will still be able to buy other wattages for a few more years. I don't care for CFLs at all.

By Lynda (Guest Post)

To my recollection, I read research that indicates hazard to our vision when using JUST flourescent lighting. I was interested in it because each time I shopped in a large store with flourescent lighting I got both massive Migraines, but also "auras" until I left the store. I got to where I was asking the employees if this ever happened to them, and found about 1 in 4 said that it indeed did, but they didn't know what caused it. So, I made a mental note NOT to go with flourescent lighting although I have the SAME bulbs in my laundry area that have lasted over twenty years, used daily, and not blown out. I also read that unless a person pays for the
special design of "Natural lighting simulation" in a
compact bult, it ISN'T "natural" at all but is a dull lighting that makes folks irritable. With so little natural lighting in my home, most ANYTHING would be an improvement, so I went with 100W in most fixtures, even the ones that read 60 w. only, and just opened the fixture so heat could escape. It makes a WORLD of difference for us. I am frugle by
turning lights off in all parts of my home except the room I'm in, keeping a/c at higest setting, furnace at lowest setting, line drying all clothes that I can,
and washing only full loads once a week. I use the
grill, a table top oven, when needing to cook, for the most part, oven onlly in the winter to utilize the heat from it, and don't leave porch lights on at night, using only a tiny nightlight for safety should I need to get up and for my grandchild. We are lucky in having a lot of warm weather, good roofing/insulation, gas hotwater heater, and a smaller home, 1750 sq.ft., I believe, not including the attached garage, few windows, but with turbine vents in roof. Our elec. bill is always $125-180/yr.
and I always take the utility co.'s special offers at a lower per kwhr. contracts guaranteeing low average
billing (same cost most of the time). I no longer have a ice maker/or ice cubes, drinking only cold
liquids from fridge, which I keep on the highest temp. setting to keep food safe. We move foods quickly in/out to conserve cooling. We enter quickly in/out of home for the same reason, depending upon the season. If temp is in range, wwe turn the a/c/furnace off totally, opening screened window
for cross ventilation. Our TV and computer is the only electronic other things we use minimally daily, except an iron and curling rods/curlers once a week.

I believe the health issue is more important to me than the potential savings from irritating flourescent
bulbs, although I can tolerate them in my laundry and pantry closets. We times get even harder, I'll be moving outside. lol God bless you. : )

By

halloweenfreak

yes, theres mercury in those cfl bulbs. but theres more mercury in an old thermometer or the fillings in your teeth. heres a list i copied off another site.

Compact Fluorescent Bulb
5 milligrams

Watch Battery
25 milligrams

Dental Amalgams
500 milligrams

Home Thermometer
500 milligrams  2 grams

Float Switches in Sump Pumps
2 grams

Tilt Thermostat
3 grams

Electrical Tilt Switches and Relays
3.5 grams

By Linne Dodds (Guest Post)

We've got some of them & I am thinking More & More that this falls under the heading of No Good Deed goes Unpunished . We have Cats.We love them but they are destructive . I am trying to decide how to deal with this . Maybe only use them in bathroom sink lights Hopefully Out of Reach of my Darlings . I bought them & the package is open I don't think I can return them .
Our town has an annual Hazardous Waste disposal day .
One place I think I'll always have a flourescent is over my kitchen sink unless somebody makes an incandescent or LED in an 18 inch long tube that will also shine through the window & help light my yard at night .

By Laurie (Guest Post)

In the interest of safety, I am posting this article that came to me just yesterday. It is certainly worth investigating.

NewsTarget Insider Alert (www.NewsTarget.com)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dear readers,

As consumers rush to adopt energy efficient lighting through the use of Compact Fluorescent Lamps, no one is telling them the truth about the dangerous levels of mercury in these lights. A single fluorescent light contains enough mercury to contaminate 6,000 gallons of fresh water. If you break one in your home, you'll release mercury vapor and require a hazardous materials cleanup that can cost you $2,000 or more. The mercury in fluorescent lights is poisoning landfills and underground water reservoirs all across the country, and the more people keep buying these mercury-containing lights, the more toxic the environment will get.

Today's feature story tells the shocking truth about what consumers aren't being told: There's mercury in compact fluorescent lights, and mercury is one of the most neurotoxic substances known to modern science. Simply breaking a single fluorescent light in your home can expose you and your family to dangerously high levels of this heavy metal that has been linked to autism, Alzheimer's disease, birth defects, learning disabilities, behavioral disorders and accelerated neurological degeneration.

Read today's story for the full scoop. (See below.)

FULL DISCLOSURE DISCLAIMER: Out of frustration over all the mercury found in fluorescent lights (plus the enormous waste of energy from using incandescent lights), I recently founded http://www.ecoleds.com/, a manufacturer of mercury-free energy efficient lighting products based on LED technology. I do have a financial stake in the success of LED lighting products, but more importantly, I have a strong humanitarian interest in helping consumers avoid toxic mercury exposure while saving money and the environment through energy-efficient lighting. We've recently added a new line of more affordable LED lights, all of which are 100% mercury free and use only 10% of the energy consumed by regular light bulbs. Regardless of whether LED lighting is right for you, please think twice before buying fluorescent lights -- they ALL contain mercury. They are extremely toxic to the health of humans and the environment. If you do buy fluorescent lights, please, please dispose of them properly, through mercury recycling centers (if you can even find one in your community).

Environment: Compact fluorescent light bulbs contaminate

By

foxrun41

the 50% savings in the light bill is over a ten year span.Also as the CFL have mercury in them and should be disposed of properly, not in the household trash