Re: Dimmable CFLs and UK government ban

["Andy Whitfield" <andywhitfield2002@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Personally I'll be buying a loft full of ordinary bulbs + halogen
ones.
I have to use high wattage bulbs to test the UPSs I sell!   So I've
got no choice.

I did try a couple of 11watt energy saving bulbs in my home to
replace 60watt bulbs.  Even after they had warmed up, they were so
dim I could  barely see the floor.  And they only lasted twice as
long as an ordinary bulb, compared to the claim they can last up to
8 times as long.  Maybe they last 8 times as long if you never
switch them off but where is the energy saving in that.

That's my only experience with the energy saving type but I guess in
reality, if I want to replace an ordinary 60watt bulb I will need
about a 30watt energy saving bulb?
What's other people's experience?

And I read an article which said it takes more energy to manufacture
and recycle the energy saving bulbs.  Also you can't use them in
fridges, freezers, cookers, microwaves, etc because of the extreme
temperatures.  And I guess there isn't a low energy version to
replace low voltage down-lighters?
Personally I'm not a fan of energy saving bulbs.   :-(
Regards
Andy

--- In ukha_d@xxxxxxx, "David Gumbrell"
<david.gumbrell@...>
wrote:
>
> What with the UK government announcing a ban on incandescent light
> bulbs, either we all need suitable alternatives or we're going to
have
> to bulk buy a hangar full !
>
> So I was quite interested to see this Uk supplier coming soon:
> http://tinyurl.com/2og2g8
>
> I wonder if these suffer the same problems as the GE ones that have
> been commented on before ?
>
> One of the things that has put me off CFLs is that early on it was
> recommended not to switch them on and off frequently since this
> drastically reduced their life. But none of the greenie sites ever
> seem to mention this, so it's not clear to me whether this problem
has
> been fixed or merely swept under the carpet on the basis that it's
> better to leave 25% of the energy consumption on all the time than
> light it 25% less.
>
> Cheers,
> David
>
> PS: Apologies if this has already been posted, Gmail/Yahoo have
been
> bouncing posts for the last few days.