[ale] OT CFL cleanup / LED light bulbs starting to become affordable

Wed Jul 3 13:28:12 EDT 2013

I have gotten migraianes for dieing flourescent bulbs because they start  
flickering at a frequency I am sensitive to. I do not notice it 60 Hz.

On Wed, 03 Jul 2013 13:13:55 -0400, Pete Hardie <pete.hardie at gmail.com>  
wrote:

> I have not noticed any flicker with the newer CFLs - I have a cheap LED  
> Xmas decoration with LEDs that I do >noticed it from, so the CFLs are  
> doing something to mitigate the worst of it.
>
> Pete Hardie
> --------
> Better Living Through Bitmaps
>
>
> On Wed, Jul 3, 2013 at 1:02 PM, Sean Kilpatrick <kilpatms at gmail.com>  
> wrote:
>>
>> Another problem with CFL bulbs is the 60 cycle flicker, which matches  
>> >>the 60 cycle flicker on CRTs and (I suspect) on some of the newer  
>> >>monitors. The combination eats eyeballs.
>>
>> Sean
>>
>> On Wednesday, July 03, 2013 12:42:57 pm Jay Lozier wrote:
>>
>>> Hi,
>>
>>>
>>
>>> In a previous job I got very familiar with the EPA rules which  
>>> >>lowered
>>
>>> my already low opinion of the EPA. One problem is that the disposal  
>>> >>of
>>
>>> the CFL bulbs should be at a hazardous waste facility certified to
>>
>>> handle mercury not at a non-hazardous sanitary landfill. Technically
>>
>>> you could be charged with a federal felony if you improperly dispose  
>>> >>a
>>
>>> hazardous waste - I am not sure if there are any minimum quantity.
>>
>>>
>>
>>> While incandescent bulbs used more energy they were non-hazardous  
>>> >>waste
>>
>>> when they burnt out.
>>
>>>
>>
>>> Also, CFL can aggravate certain medical problems which incandescent
>>
>>> bulbs never did.
>>
>>>
>>
>>> Often overlooked is the manufacturing process for CFL and LED bulbs  
>>> >>may
>>
>>> be more damaging to the environment than for incandescent bulbs even
>>
>>> with the higher energy consumption.
>>
>>>
>>
>>> Jay
>>
>>>
>>
>>> On Wed, 03 Jul 2013 12:16:18 -0400, Ron Frazier (ALE)
>>
>>>
>>
>>> <atllinuxenthinfo at techstarship.com> wrote:
>>
>>> > Hi all,
>>
>>> >
>>
>>> > Just wanted to drop a note about some LED light bulbs I've seen
>>
>>> > recently. As you may know, the manufacture of incandescent light
>>
>>> > bulbs is being phased out. The best current alternative is the
>>
>>> > compact fluorescent (CFL). These work well, and use about 1/4 the
>>
>>> > energy of an incandescent. The problem is that they have toxic
>>
>>> > mercury. If you break one, you have to take special steps to avoid
>>
>>> > exposure to mercury or mercury vapor.
>>
>>> >
>>
>>> > You can find info here:
>>
>>> >
>>
>>> > http://www2.epa.gov/cfl
>>
>>> >
>>
>>> > I had the (not) fun of experiencing the cleanup procedure the >>other
>>
>>> > day. I dropped one of these and it shattered. I put on vinyl >>gloves
>>
>>> > and removed every fragment I could find. I then wiped the carpet
>>
>>> > with a damp paper towel. I then vacuumed, even though the epa >>would
>>
>>> > rather you not, since almost all the residue was gone and I knew
>>
>>> > there were shards of glass in the carpet. I then threw the vacuum
>>
>>> > bag away (it needed it anyway). Finally, I ran the whole house
>>
>>> > attic fan to ventilate the house for 1/2 hour. They recommend
>>
>>> > venting for several hours if practical. What a pain.
>>
>>> >
>>
>>> > There are no really good alternatives. However, LED light bulbs >>are
>>
>>> > starting to become affordable. I saw an ad from newegg that said
>>
>>> > they have 30W equivalent bulbs in a 6 pack for about $ 5 ea. Also,
>>
>>> > I was surprised to find that there are some interesting  
>>> >>alternatives
>>
>>> > now appearing at home depot and lowes. Home depot has two products
>>
>>> > from CREE. One is a 40W equivalent bulb for $ 10 and a 60W
>>
>>> > equivalent for $ 15. I'm waiting for affordable 100 W equivalents,
>>
>>> > but they're still about $ 45. So, we're getting there. I moved to
>>
>>> > all CFL a couple of years ago. I'm not quite ready to jump to LED
>>
>>> > yet, but maybe the prices will keep dropping.
>>
>>> >
>>
>>> > If you decide to buy some of these, there are at least three >>things
>>
>>> > you need to consider other than cost. First is size. Some of these
>>
>>> > are longer and / or wider than standard bulbs. Second, are they
>>
>>> > omnidirectional and do they cast shadows? Some bulbs have part of
>>
>>> > the bulb structure obscuring the bulb and would cast shadows in
>>
>>> > certain areas. Third, are they dimmable? Dimmability is a big
>>
>>> > advantage that incandescents have that most fluorescents don't.
>>
>>> > Some of the new LED's are dimmable. But, look at the specs. Some
>>
>>> > of them require new advanced dimmers. The CREE ones I mentioned,
>>
>>> > however, are dimmable with conventional old style dimmers.
>>
>>> >
>>
>>> > Also, the manufacturers like to play games with longevity ratings.
>>
>>> > One will say 10 years, another 20 years, etc. This is useless. You
>>
>>> > have to find how many hours per day they're figuring. Usually, >>it's
>>
>>> > 3, sometimes 6, etc. The Philips CFL's I just bought are rated at
>>
>>> > 11 years, at 3 hr / day. (The bulbs in my living room and work >>area
>>
>>> > run much more than 3 hr / day.) If you do the math, that works out
>>
>>> > to 12,000 hours. The cheaper CFL's may be rated only for 8,000 or
>>
>>> > 10,000 hours. A LED should last 20,000 hours or more. There are
>>
>>> > 8760 hours / year, so if you're running a bulb 12 - 24 hours / >>day,
>>
>>> > expect lots fewer days out of it.
>>
>>> >
>>
>>> > Home depot will recycle CFL's for you. Lowes might but I don't  
>>> >>know.
>>
>>> > I don't know of any easy way to recycle bigger circular or >>straight
>>
>>> > fluorescent tubes. I wish I did, as there are a few fixtures in my
>>
>>> > house that use these.
>>
>>> >
>>
>>> > Has anyone else had experience with the new LED bulbs?
>>
>>> >
>>
>>> > Sincerely,
>>
>>> >
>>
>>> > Ron
>>
>>> >
>>
>>> >
>>
>>> >
>>
>>> > --
>>
>>> >
>>
>>> > Sent from my Android Acer A500 tablet with bluetooth keyboard and  
>>> >>K-9
>>
>>> > Mail.
>>
>>> > Please excuse my potential brevity if I'm typing on the touch  
>>> >>screen.
>>
>>> >
>>
>>> > (PS - If you email me and don't get a quick response, you might  
>>> >>want
>>
>>> > to call on the phone. I get about 300 emails per day from >>alternate
>>
>>> > energy mailing lists and such. I don't always see new email
>>
>>> > messages very quickly.)
>>
>>> >
>>
>>> > Ron Frazier
>>
>>> > 770-205-9422 (O) Leave a message.
>>
>>> > linuxdude AT techstarship.com
>>
>>> > Litecoin: LZzAJu9rZEWzALxDhAHnWLRvybVAVgwTh3
>>
>>> > Bitcoin: 15s3aLVsxm8EuQvT8gUDw3RWqvuY9hPGUU
>>
>>> >
>>
>>> >
>>
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>>
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>>
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>>
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>>
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-- 
Jay Lozier
jslozier at gmail.com
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