This week, in a budgetary move, Congress voted against the Department of Energy’s proposed phase-out of traditional incandescent light bulbs. However, while this plan toward energy efficiency is put on hold, it looks like the switch from incandescent to compact florescent lamp (CFL) bulbs is inevitable.
- Sarah Mirk
- Light Bulb Lady on her throne
To get the insider’s scoop, I called up the infamous “Light Bulb Lady” Kay Newell at Mississippi Ave’s Sunlan Lighting.
How will this phase-out affect your line of work?
Light Bulb Lady: Everything will change! First of all, it takes a long time to shut down a plant, leaving these companies sitting on a lot of stuff they can’t sell. Second of all, I think Congress underestimates the intelligence of the American people. We don’t need them to phase out these bulbs, really. When people understand the options, they will make the best choice.
So you don’t think these CFL and LED lights are all that great?
LBL: No, not really. I think all light bulbs serve important purposes. I’ve got customers who cannot see under the new light bulbs. Just the other day, an 80-year-old couple came in wondering what to do because the woman could no longer see in her kitchen with the new bulbs. When I told her that the bulbs she needed were discontinued, she turned to her husband and said, “Honey I can’t cook for us anymore.” Also! Chickens who use incandescent red lights as a heat source will be threatened by this change. The new laws disregard these peoples’ needs.
How does this affect your business directly?
LBL: Well, I’m a small business, we’ll simply adjust to what people need. We’ll probably get more customers asking about different fixtures and watts and bulbs — they’re lucky we’re here. People who don’t have someone like me around face a big problem.
What’s the future of light bulbs?
LBL: I think that in ten years, bad things about CFLs are going to come out regarding the mercury in them. But I’m just going to sit back and do my job until then.
I got some LED lights for my living room last week. Ugh, the lights are so white, it really brings out the pasty in my skin. The bright side of this is that these light bulbs will probably outlive me.
Manufacturers are already prepared for the change, resulting from the Bush era EISA legislation. The industry has been preparing for several years now. The work is done and will continue.
The mercury in CFLs is only an issue if you:
1) Break them (if you do break your bulb, open a window. Do not use a vacuum to clean up the shattered glass. Use duct tape to clean up the shards and put everything into a glass jar. Take glass jar to metro to recycle).
2) Don’t recycle them properly (Home Depot, Lowe’s and IKEA all have CFL recycling kiosks)
Even imagining that you break your bulb, the mercury released into the atmosphere is still a fraction of the mercury that’s released into the atmosphere from, say, burning the 3/4 more coal you’ll need to burn to operate an incandescent bulb. CFLs, literally, use 1/4 less energy than an incandescent equivalent.
That said, I agree with the light bulb lady in that a CFL is not perfect for every socket (they don’t dim well, and likely never will). LEDs are still cost prohibitive (and will be for some time).
However the rest of her statements are ill-informed fear mongering. There are various color temperatures available in CFLs for task-functions (like cooking). She could have suggested a higher wattage bulb, or different color temperature, for the elderly couple.
And I disagree that Americans will choose better alternatives absent legislation. In the end, this change is no different than capping the amount of energy a refrigerator or clothes washer can consume to be imported in the country.
Tell lightbulb lady that her windows are the bestest. <3
How many incandescent lightbulb opponents are also against prohibition? In what contexts is it acceptable to dictate someone’s behavior for their own good? The fact that “LEDs are still cost prohibitive (and will be for some time)” indicates that that there is waste, which is precisely what this and similar legislation are ostensibly designed to address. The Left are just as bad as the Right when it comes to bullying people to get their way. The ends don’t justify the means and often have unintended consequences that are ultimately counterproductive. As disgusting as right-wing anti-intellectualism is, the presumptuous condescension of left-wing busybodies is equally galling. The Right’s stances on morality are equally intrusive and similarly grounded in the idea that some privileged minority class of priests or politicians knows what is best for everyone else and somehow has the right to coerce them into aligning their behavior to ridiculous expectations.
For someone called “the light bulb lady,” she doesn’t seem to know what she’s talking about:
http://www.ca.uky.edu/poultryprofitability…
“A 23-Watt CFL will emit the equivalent
lumens (brightness) of a 100-Watt incandescent bulb. CFLs are currently
available in sufficient wattage for all poultry houses, drop and open
ceiling.”
@4, So. Let’s be clear here. Your using a “THE LEFT IS BAD AND HORRIBLE” to argue against the implementation of Bush era legislation?
Right. Go on with your bad self. So long as you understand what you are.
Your = You’re. Fruit Cup seriously regrets this error.
Oregonmetry – it’s not about lumens, it’s about heat. You need an incandescent infrared bulb to rear chicks (absent a mother hen that can sit on them and keep them warm).
In addition, people will suffer if they can’t choose the appropriate light bulb that isn’t cost prohibitive. CFLs irritate migraines for some people, regardless of the color temperature. I use CFLs in my basement where I am exposed to them for less than 10 minutes at a time. But, if I didn’t have the option to use incandescent bulbs in my living areas (I use some LEDs, we’ve been switching slowly as we can afford it) I would probably have to switch to candles.
@8 Check the link I posted. It’s a university study specifically on different types of bulbs for poultry houses. Forgive me if I take their word over the light bulb lady’s.
An elderly woman who can only see near incandescent lightbulbs sounds like the lamest Grimm monster yet.
Come on people, this whole article and many of the comments miss the point completely. Incandescents were NOT being banned. Efficiency standards are being implemented. You can still by incandescent bulbs, they just have to output more of their wattage as light rather than heat.
A number of stores have carried the new bulbs (which are NOT CFL or LED) for over a year. They’re cheap, shaped like bulbs have always been shaped, output an attractive color spectrum just like they always have, and noncontroversial.
The fact that we’re even having this conversation shows the effectiveness of the distortionary propaganda powers of the right-wing.
Also, let’s be clear that at the time this wasn’t a Left/Right political issue:
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d1…
Tea Party wackadoos have seized the issue of the light bulb, which is a component of a bill that passed with largely bipartisan support and signed into law by a Republican President.
@8, please link peer-reviewed scientific study linking CFLs to migraine headaches.
Fruit Cup, I didn’t imply any support for Bush-era anything. I thought it was pretty clear that I dislike both sides of the political spectrum. I am equally opposed to bullying from Republicans and Democrats, or anyone else for that matter.
Shorter me: Nobody will be forced to buy CFLs or LEDs. Incandescents will still be available, just better ones.
Yes. What Bob R. said.
Echoing @11, EISA compliant halogen bulbs are readily available (and inexpensive). All EISA has done is set an efficiency standard for bulbs being imported. Anything currently available may still be purchased.
Ya’all can go out and buy cases and cases of incandescents until stores run out, just like they did when similar rules were put in place in other modernized countries.
@13, my point being it was not a L/R political issue until the Tea Party decided to not let the gov’t pry the incandescents out of their cold, dead hands.
For F’s sake, even the EZ Bake Oven has released a new model removing the light bulb as the heat source.
Also. Sorry. I’m bored and over-caffeinated.
Fruit Cup, you’re on my team at Trivia Night.
In the EU they are called thermal devices now.
The LED’s don’t hold up to dirty power and heat still breaks them down. I am now putting LED Chistmas light strings into fixture because they last longer, are cheaper, and throw more light then LED light bulbs.
You people really don’t have lives do you?…on the flip side I’ve learned something ( albeit of slight value), so I thank you, and now you may return to raising chickens or making Paper Mache airplanes, or what ever it is that you do
he should cook for her then
As this post states, CFLs do contain mercury, but they are a better solution, both economically and environmentally, than incandescent bulbs. The mercury is not high in quantity, however, it is still important for consumers to realize that they require special handling. The mercury vapor can be detrimental to handlers’ health—from those involved with handling new bulbs to people involved with storing, packaging and shipping used lamps. Mercury vapor, which can be absorbed through the skin or inhaled, can cause neurological damage, and when it gets into water, it can enter the food chain through fish. Read more about the dangers of mercury exposure here: http://vaporlok.blogspot.com/2010/05/preventing-health-and-safety-hazards.html.
If a bulb is broken or burns out, it should be properly cleaned up and recycled—it should not be disposed of in landfills. To reduce the risk for mercury vapor exposure, CFLs and fluorescent lamps should be safely handled, stored and transported to recycling facilities in a package that is proven to effectively contain hazardous mercury vapor. Find out more about how to minimize environmental risks and safely package CFLs here: http://vaporlok.blogspot.com/2010/05/layers-of-protection-packaging-used.html
If a bulb breaks, consumers can learn more about clean-up procedures here: http://www.epa.gov/cfl/cflcleanup-detailed.html