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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:
 
#5 ·
Yep. The CFL's buzz. They take too long to warm up, they don't always work properly with rheostats, they cat an ugly light, and they are an environmental hazard. Under any other circumstances than a drive toward a nutty version of environmentalism, these bulbs would not be approved for sale.
 
#6 ·
I am concerned about the mercury contained in these bulbs, and thus, how does one properly dispose of them, but I do use them. I really like the daylight bulbs, especially at night during the winter.
 
#7 ·
I've bought these at costco many times. I've found they certainly don't live up their claims of greater longevity. In fact I've found them worst than traditional bulbs. Anyone else finding they're replacing these things way too often? Maybe its just the brand Costco is selling.

Cheers
MacGuiver
 
#8 ·
I've bought these at costco many times. I've found they certainly don't live up their claims of greater longevity. In fact I've found them worst than traditional bulbs. Anyone else finding they're replacing these things way too often? Maybe its just the brand Costco is selling.
No. I find that all of the brands have very short lifespans. I have stopped using them entirely.
 
#9 ·
Dumb Dumb Dumb idea.

CFBs are not green because of the poisons such as Mercury and Phosphors that are essential to making the bulb work.

In Canada all that "wasted" energy goes into aiding in heating our homes so net energy savings are zero. The three months a year that additional heat is not required, we don't need anything but the sun to illuminate our homes and lights can be turned off altogether during normal waking hours.
 
#10 ·
The CFL's seem to be less tolerant of minor current fluctuations than the incandescent bulbs. I find myself replacing them more often in certain sockets, while others do seem to last considerably longer - but nowhere near the 7x (or whatever) longer the boxes proclaim.
 
#11 ·
I used to be a big fan of CFL's. When they first came out they worked as advertised and lasted for years. Ever since governments have decided to ban incandescent bulbs the CFL's are crap, lasting no longer than our old bulbs but triple the price. I've tried every brand from cheap to the most expensive and found no difference.

The mercury content really bothers me. Lets face it, a good portion of used CFL's are going to landfill. There is no quick and easy way of properly disposing them. I no longer feel that the energy savings out way the hazards of these new bulbs. My mind has completely changed.
 
#14 ·
This is where we're at, too.

I have some CFL's I purchased Stateside, advertised to be dim-able. They are and 2 of the 5 still work, after being used for nearly 13 years. One crapped out in a year or so, the other two died last year. I recall paying quite a premium for them ($19 USD) at the time. I don't know if we saved any electricity or money or what...

Since then, we've been putting them here & there, & not getting much life out of them. The originals were also near max output at startup, we have one in a fixture in the dining room that needs to be fired up 5 minutes before you need the damn thing in order to see anything.

Have a little plastic bucket in the garage with a half dozen or so burned out CFL's in it, still trying to decide if I should call up HazMat to dispose of them or just dump 'em in the trash. I really don't know the "proper" place to dispose of them and, frankly, after the snow job, I just don't care...

That & the price will be going up after the gov't subsidies end, anyways...

Spoke to the spice about this a couple of weeks back, next trip to Montana we're going to pickup a case or so of incandescents & to hell with CFL's, LED's, ABC's & XYZ's.
 
#13 ·
because the mercury content is what bothers me, I displose of them by taking them to the local Canadian Tire store or to my local recycling depot.

But for how long they last for me , they have lasted forever. I have one that is one for 8 hours a day 365 days a year, and its has been going for 6 years now. Actually all of the CFL's I put in my house when I moved in 6 years ago are still going and I haven't replaced one. I don't know if a incandescents would last this long but the cost savings to me and my pocket book is what matters to me as well.
 
#16 ·
From the US Environmental Protection Agency site:

Cleaning Up a Broken CFL

What to Do if a Compact Fluorescent Light (CFL) Bulb Breaks in Your Home: Overview

1. Before cleanup
* Have people and pets leave the room.
* Air out the room for 5-10 minutes by opening a window or door to the outdoor environment.
* Shut off the central forced air heating/air-conditioning system, if you have one.
* Collect materials needed to clean up broken bulb.

2. During cleanup
* Be thorough in collecting broken glass and visible powder.
* Place cleanup materials in a sealable container.

3. After cleanup
* Promptly place all bulb debris and cleanup materials outdoors in a trash container or protected area until materials can be disposed of properly. Avoid leaving any bulb fragments or cleanup materials indoors.
* If practical, continue to air out the room where the bulb was broken and leave the heating/air conditioning system shut off for several hours.
 
#18 ·
Depending on the brand I find CFLs acceptable in service / utility areas that are not in constant use, and in the basement. However everywhere else in the house I prefer incandescent bulbs, and low watt ones at that (I like it kind of dark much of the time).

I don't believe the longevity / reliability claims - I've had a few CFLs go bzzzt! in the first ten minutes of use, while others just get more and more annoying over time as they take longer to reach maximum brightness as they age.

I've tried a couple of LED lights but they're not ready for prime time yet and I've yet to see one that provides a true white or even a warm light. To my eye most of them have kind of a violet cast. They're okay in cheap flashlights though.

Overall I think the incandescent ban is a farce.
 
#21 ·
Our current favorites are silviana soft white micro-mini instant on.

They have 11 year warranties, so we can take them back if they fail.

These are new enough that none have failed yet. We keep all the packaging and receipts, writing on the package where they are used.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
#23 ·
Our current favorites are silviana soft white micro-mini instant on.

They have 11 year warranties, so we can take them back if they fail.
They are rated for 11 years of service life--and not 11 years straight. You do not have an 11-year warranty on these bulbs.

It was this product that was the last CFL bulb I purchased, by the way. Family members noticed how unpleasant the light from one flood looked. Also, it did not respond to a dimmer switch--it stayed lit at full power by design. It wasn't a defect.
 
#22 ·
What with the lousy performance and hazardous disposal potential I flatly refuse to use CFL's.
I've been trying some Halogen bulbs, so far so good.
I like the instant start and the light quality is very similar to what I'm used to with incandescents.
As a bonus the price is much better then led's also a better size-power range.
 
#24 ·
I don't mind them in certain areas, but if they're not any better / worse for the environment, what's the point? I found areas I like "daylight" light bulbs I go for the incandescent ones, as well, for my spotlight type fixtures the CFL's just don't fit due to length and girth. The only place I put the CFL's is in the stairway and in a lamp that has a shade that blocks and changes the actual light. Don't get me started on LED lights, they're so harsh on the eyes they make me cringe.
 
#29 ·
The point is that some manufacturers are providing kickbacks to the government if they endorse only one product. It's criminal, really, like the way Apple is currently shut out of the computer offerings of many school divisions at the moment. So much for freedom of choice for the consumers. Besides, if 90% of the energy of an incandescent bulb is in the form of heat, that's less heat you need from your furnace to heat your home. Also some people are extremely sensitive to the light that CFL's produce, resulting in headaches and such. Me, I just don't like 'em. Too cold and whitish/bluish. Much prefer the warmer, yellower end of the spectrum that incandescents are known for.

And one more thing: they are terrible for recording studios due to noise interference.
 
#26 ·
I use them in my basement where I work. They go on in the morning and go off at about 9:00 or 10:00 at night. In that use, I may actually be getting some energy saving.

They are a flourescent light, so they must have some sort of built in balast. Placing them in a location where the light goes on and off all of the time could actually use more power.

I bought some cheap ones (the offending brand was Sunbeam) that were downright dangerous. They over heated in the socket.

I do not like the fact that they have mercury and the longlevity from my experience is over rated.

They have a ban in Europe on incandescent bulbs. It is being circumvented by importing them as enery efficient heaters:

Light Bulbs Marketed As Heaters Avoid Ban In Europe « Light Bulb Central


No one has mentioned it, but (a) I worry about the effect of not having full spectrum light over time and (b) I am not that crazy about having all lights in my environment flicker at 60 cycles per second. I remember in high school playing basketball in the gym and the flourescent lights disorienting me once I started really running around.

I really do not like the lack of choice. The insulation technology is there pretty much such that you could have a home heated by the sun during the day and the incandescent light bulbs at night. Safe, affordable high tech maintenance free. If you are using all of the energy that your house produces, it does not smatter if it comes from a dedicated heater or from a bulb. One is just as efficient as the other.

I am seeing a lot of "green initiatives" that really boggle my mind. It is bumping up cost for no good reason and are really short sighted...umm ... I should quit ranting about now or I'll be into McGuinty and destroying capacity ...Quitting now.
 
G
#28 ·
Hmm let's see .. mercury in the water table due to improper disposal of CFL bulbs ... or bulbs that use more electricity but are better for the environment. Since electricity is a renewable resource and our environment is not .. I think they are a bunch of a$$hats for enforcing this on us.
 
#32 ·
I've found that the CFLs do last longer than incandescents, but I have been trying LED bulbs in a fixture in my dining room. The bulbs are visible, so I wanted a clear glass finish, and, after the incandescent bulbs I bought started burning out, I found them at Home Hardware and Wal-Mart. They are less than $9, give off a warm white light that matches the remaining incandescent bulbs, and only use 1.5 watts, while giving off the light equivalent of the 40 watt bulbs!

Not all LED bulbs are so reasonably priced (and these ones are pushing the financial limit for me), but they do seem to be coming down in price, and are becoming more widely available, so my intention is to start phasing them in as the CFLs (slowly) burn out.

Oh, and I take my burned out CFL bulbs to Canadian Tire, Home Depot or Rona for proper disposal. I do the same with dead batteries!
 
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