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Canada is to set to ban incandescent bulbs by 2012. What do you think of this?

  • Great idea - I support it wholeheartedly.

    Votes: 11 15.3%
  • It's prematures - there are unresolved issues which should be resolved before banning incandescents

    Votes: 17 23.6%
  • I think consumers should have the choice - at least until light bulb options improve

    Votes: 32 44.4%
  • I hate the light quality of CFLs and will be stockpiling incandescents.

    Votes: 22 30.6%
  • I don't care - I prefer living in the dark.

    Votes: 2 2.8%

Canada's ban on incandescent light bulbs

6K views 54 replies 28 participants last post by  lighthouse10 
#1 ·
The CBC's Ontario Today did a segment this morning on the upcoming ban on incandescent bulbs. I think it's premature for a number of reasons - and perhaps actually wrongheaded in Canada. (WITHOUT getting into the whole global warming debate - we know who you are and what you believe in on that front - let's keep this to light bulbs, ok? ;) )

What are your thoughts?

Some reading material: Light Bulb Clarity: New Electric Politics

Ban the bulb? What kind of bright idea is that? - CBC News

I'd like to see good, reasonably priced LEDs on the market before we ban incandescents. CFLs are riddled with issues, from the poor quality of the light, long warmup times, and poor functioning outdoors to the very large disposal issue.

NOTE: sorry for the typo in the poll - apparently I cannot edit that!! :eek:
 
#40 ·
I guess I am in the minority of those who find CFLs easier on the eyes (at least my eyes) than incandescents. I don't like the idea of being forced to go one way and only one way, but that is another issue. Still, as the sun is just now coming up in the east here in St.John's, and I have the option of using either an incandescent bulb or a CFL, I chose the daylight CFL. Still, that is me, and I have no problems with people choosing what they want for their situations. Paix, mes amis.
 
#43 ·
I don't like the idea of being forced to go one way and only one way, but that is another issue.
I agree with this. I think that a nice analogy would be for me to decide that coffee filters are wasteful and coffee makers use too much electricity keeping coffee warm--therefore, we must outlaw all coffee makers and paper filters, and allow retailers to sell only French Presses.

I would also point out that disadvantaged Canadians are more likely to be able to afford a 99 cent pack of incandescent bulbs. Asking them to suddenly switch to hugely expensive CFLs which require significant up-front investment does them no favours.

If CFLs are truly great, then they will ascend in the marketplace.
 
#41 ·
I replaced all of Mom's ceiling bulbs with CFBs. Had nothing to do with saving money and difference was undetectable on her utility bills. Mainly at 80+ year I did not want her attempting to stand on whatever was handy to change burnt out bulbs.

The light quality is horrid especially for reading and I left her reading light untouched.

I did change the lights in her garage and on a recent visit left them on 24/7 as starting up at a temp of 50°F the bulbs took way too long to deliver any light. So whatever energy they would have saved in the 2 or 3 minutes a day they were needed was more than offset by leaving them on 24/7.
 
#44 · (Edited)
Only advantage of CFBs is not having to change them as frequently so suggesting that replacing an expensive toxic bulb before its time is madness. Garage bulbs need to be brighter than normal, so could not really be used indoors. Those bulbs will just have to stay on when I visit.

Does not solve the Radio Interference issue or the 60 cps on off issue. The latter has to be filtered out by the brain and gives many of us severe headaches especially in reading lights.

Not to mention that in Canada there are zero net energy savings, and the environmental footprint of CFBs is much more toxic. In my books, clean trumps energy savings every time.

Wanna really save energy hang those clothes out on the line. The savings of a 60Watt equivalent light bulb need about 110 hours of use to equal one cycle of that dryer.
 
#46 · (Edited)
The fundamental question here is 'what (if any) role should government legislation play in the development of technology?'

Without a ban on incandescent bulbs/gasoline only cars/holocaust-denying a$$holes, they will persist. There's a case to be made that they ought to have a right to persist, and if a significant number of people want that, they should be allowed to have it. I'm not taking sides here; the question is to what extent the government should exert its power to generate an economic incentive to develop new/better technologies? If they ban a poor technology too soon, they risk creating an artificial economy that promotes a poor technology; if they do nothing they risk allowing historical constraints preventing Canada from leading/exploiting emerging technologies... it's not a trivial problem.

All I can say is that I wish we had people knowledgeable about emerging technologies (rather than a bunch of lawyers) making these decisions.
 
#48 ·
The so-called energy saving aspect of CFBs has been debunked a number of times at least as far as Northern climates go. The "wasted" energy is heat and in Canada that energy is useful anywhere from 9 to 11 and a half months of the year. The other three months indoor lights can be turned off altogether as Canadians enjoy very long periods of daylight during the summer months.
 
#54 ·
Re Poll

"I think consumers should have the choice - at least until light bulb options improve"
is the most popular choice

Note the lack of logic,
which of course reflects the lack of logic of the ban itself

If light bulbs do improve, people would presumably buy them voluntarily
- no need for a ban

If light bulbs don't improve, people prefer the bulbs they have
- so why ban them

Think about it.

The ban is of course wrong for many other reasons, as Paddy's link to
Light Bulb Clarity: New Electric Politics
shows, in the lack of supposed savings,
and the questionable need to target consumers who pay for the electricity they use, when there is no present or future electricity shortage,
given all the alternative sources.
 
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