Bulb Becomes a Flashpoint as the Sun Sets on Incandescent Lights (nytimes.com) 292
A ban on most kinds of traditional bulbs renews a cultural squabble between regulatory efforts to curb energy consumption and the very American impulse to do whatever one wants in one's domicile. The New York Times: The switchboard at Lightbulbs.com, a (pretty self-explanatory) e-commerce website, lit up with panicked callers on Tuesday, who all wanted to know if the news was true. Had the government just banned the sale of incandescent bulbs? Yes, mostly. Was this decision part of an elaborate political plot? No, mostly. Just what were fans of incandescent lighting supposed to do now? EBay, maybe?
Much like its cousin, the gas stove, the humble light bulb has become a flashpoint in a cultural squabble between environmental regulatory efforts and the very American impulse to do whatever one wants in one's domicile. But unlike the gas stove debate, which grew so heated (sorry) that it drew legislation from Republicans hoping to protect the noble but possibly dangerous appliance, the ban on the sale of most incandescent bulbs went quietly into effect on August 1. (The Biden administration denied trying to ban gas stoves.)
The response to the bulb ban was more of a whimper than a battle cry. "Thomas Edison brought the incandescent light bulb to the masses, and in 2023 Joe Biden banned it in America," officials with the Republican Party of New Mexico wrote in a tweet. "The Biden administration's government overreach continues." Other critics were more concerned about the quality of light affecting their quality of life: "I often stay up late at my desk, and the warm glow of the lamp is like company as I read and write. Ugh. There are people in power who are dedicated to sucking all joy out of the world," Joseph Massey, a self-described "not woke" writer, tweeted.
Much like its cousin, the gas stove, the humble light bulb has become a flashpoint in a cultural squabble between environmental regulatory efforts and the very American impulse to do whatever one wants in one's domicile. But unlike the gas stove debate, which grew so heated (sorry) that it drew legislation from Republicans hoping to protect the noble but possibly dangerous appliance, the ban on the sale of most incandescent bulbs went quietly into effect on August 1. (The Biden administration denied trying to ban gas stoves.)
The response to the bulb ban was more of a whimper than a battle cry. "Thomas Edison brought the incandescent light bulb to the masses, and in 2023 Joe Biden banned it in America," officials with the Republican Party of New Mexico wrote in a tweet. "The Biden administration's government overreach continues." Other critics were more concerned about the quality of light affecting their quality of life: "I often stay up late at my desk, and the warm glow of the lamp is like company as I read and write. Ugh. There are people in power who are dedicated to sucking all joy out of the world," Joseph Massey, a self-described "not woke" writer, tweeted.
Joseph Massey (Score:5, Funny)
This dude really needs to get out of the house occasionally. Maybe make some friends.
Re:Joseph Massey (Score:4, Insightful)
What could be more American than politicizing light bulbs?
Re: Joseph Massey (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Joseph Massey (Score:4, Funny)
I guess the right can't stay out of your bedroom and the left can't stay out of your kitchen
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Hardly comparable, since what you do in your bedroom is between you and your partner/porn site, and burning gas affects everyone.
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I guess there's too much coverage of half the world on fire and the other half being flooded away due to the massive amounts of CO2 we're still pumping into the atmosphere every day. We need distractions!
Re:Joseph Massey (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Joseph Massey (Score:5, Informative)
Well, politicians banned them
Not really. It's an energy efficiency requirement. If you can manage to make a household-purposed incandescent light bulb that generates better than 45 lumens per watt? Then no problem. (Most of the older ones generate 15 lumens or less per watt, which is just ridiculous.) If you can find some still in the supply chain or you have some lying around? Feel free to use up your supply. It's a manufacturing-to-sale regulation, not a use regulation.
Incandescent bulbs are inefficient, and inappropriate disposal causes problems. That's the thing. Like leaded gasoline, like polychlorinated biphenyls, like DEET, there are multiple reasons it's a technology that has outlived its usefulness (save for some edge cases, see below) and should be phased out. They were a great improvement over gas or kerosene lamps, but we've made even better options in the many decades since.
In a few years, as CFLs reduce in production and the regulations move up, CFLs will go by the wayside too (which is good since, we probably shouldn't be making light sources that require a wash of mercury inside glass tubing that people will probably toss into a trash can rather than properly recycling).
But there are still edge cases where there's a reason for use, and like all sensible legislation, this is accounted for. A few examples that the legislation specifically exempts: Appliance lamps (such as fridge and oven lights, where the temperature extremes may make incandescent a better case), Black lights, Bug lamps, Colored lamps, Infrared lamps, Plant lights, Flood lights, Traffic signals, and Marine lamps.
The people screaming about this are the same scientifically-illiterate zombies who scream every time Fox Lies and Moron Radio tell them to be mad. They don't have any idea what they're talking about and nobody should pretend that anything they scream is of value.
Re:Joseph Massey (Score:4, Informative)
How do you know you don't have problems with air quality?
If you have a range hood which vents to the outdoors and remember to turn the fan on while cooking, the risk of any kind of health issues from using an electronically ignited gas stove is minimal. The old beasts which burn a pilot light all the time, though, might be something to be at least slightly concerned about.
Also, most types of high-temperature cooking methods (grilling, frying, searing, etc.) produce indoor air contaminants, even if you're using an electric stove. Which is why, again, proper ventilation is important.
Re:Joseph Massey (Score:4, Insightful)
I'm old enough to where if it were a problem for me, I'd have medical issues.
Particulate pollution has been shown to be a major risk factor for dementia.
I'm doing fine this long
Yeah, I had a family member who also thought she was still doing fine even as her dementia kept getting worse.
Re:Joseph Massey (Score:5, Insightful)
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Banned in the EU since 2009 (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Banned in the EU since 2009 (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:Banned in the EU since 2009 (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Banned in the EU since 2009 (Score:5, Insightful)
And nobody in the US is complaining either, due to the exact same market mechanics. LED bulb prices came down and the message got out that LEDs last way longer while also using a small fraction of the energy. And guess what - the market for incandescent bulbs began shrinking fast.
Now that this regulation is back from the grave the former guy tried to put it in, basically nobody cares other than people that just want to bitch about literally every single thing this administration does, or does not do. So I'm guessing that the parking lots at Walmart are filled with F350 Super Duty trucks loading up on 100+ year old lighting tech before "Sleepy Joe" can take away their god given right to waste electricity.
Things that Incandescent Bulbs do Well (Score:2)
I love LED bulbs and install them where ever I can, but I have found a number of situations where I've been warned against using them. Here's a list off the top of my head:
Re:Things that Incandescent Bulbs do Well (Score:5, Informative)
Incandescent bulbs work well as heat lamps. Many people have easily installed them in small enclosures that need to be kept warm and they tend to melt off ice and snow during a large storm.
I live in the Pacific Northwest, and have a sailboat that is kept in the water year 'round. To keep the mildew and condensation at bay over the winter, we hang a rugged duty 100W appliance bulb in the main part of the boat. It adds just enough heat to help circulate the air and keep the boat a little bit dryer and less smelly.
The good news? these bans do not include the rugged duty, or other specialty bulbs. These are the bulbs that are intended for places like commercial ovens or saunas, or anywhere else exposed to extreme conditions.
We could go to a dehumidifier or a purpose built heater, but the reality is that a simple bare bulb hanging in the middle of a space, is probably the safest way to achieve what we want.
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I have an unheated stairwell where pipes can freeze without a bit extra heat help. Incandescent bulbs do the trick nicely and are safer than the excessive heat output of space heaters (and heat tape isn't enough/too much coverage). The irony would be having to switch to a more wasteful heat source.
Re:Things that Incandescent Bulbs do Well (Score:5, Informative)
You can get little ceramic elements that screw into light sockets that will provide heat, without having a hollow glass tube and giving off light. A lot of people use them for reptile enclosures, as well as what you're talking about. I don't think any new ban will affect those.
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Re:Things that Incandescent Bulbs do Well (Score:4, Insightful)
Translation: I have this bizarre edge case, so regulation bad.
Re:Things that Incandescent Bulbs do Well (Score:4, Insightful)
What's abhorrent are climate change and all its resulting suffering and death. A little whiny bitch not getting a 100w bulb is not abhorrent.
Re:Things that Incandescent Bulbs do Well (Score:4, Insightful)
No, it's math. One step among many towards a climate-neutral way of life.
Re: Things that Incandescent Bulbs do Well (Score:3)
Youâ(TM)re a pathetic crybaby moron.
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Hmm? The regulation doesn't affect the bulbs I use, as I mentioned in my original comment. Appliance/harsh duty bulbs are explicitly exempted.
Re: Things that Incandescent Bulbs do Well (Score:5, Insightful)
Yes, dehumidification is an edge case... right...
It's the very definition of an edge case. Go ask 100 people, right now, how many have used a light bulb for de-humidification. I'll be shocked if it's more than two, and know you are a liar if it's more than three.
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"Under the newly finalized rules, “general service lamps” will include not only pear-shaped A-type bulbs, but also five categories of specialty incandescent lamps (rough service lamps, shatter-resistant lamps, 3-way incandescent lamps, high lumen incandescent lamps, and vibration service lamps), incandescent reflector lamps, and a variety of decorative lamps (T-Shape, B, BA, CA, F, G16-1/2, G25, G30, S, M-14 of 40W
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On the one hand....if LEDs really are the superior choice and it really does make sense for us to move forward with them, then we don't need a ban. People will naturally prefer them, and the market will carry us forward.
On the other hand, if this ban will actually deliver on the promises of significantly reducing pollution, then I fully support it. "What can individuals do to reduce their carbon footprint" is a common topic of discussion, and everything that comes up is immediately rejected as unlivable.
Re: Things that Incandescent Bulbs do Well (Score:4, Insightful)
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I'm not confident on that first point of "people will prefer the better option naturally".
You can confirm this by the continued existence of McDonald's, the Mazda Miata, and some of the modern McMansions that are built. In general, people are fucking stupid and shouldn't be trusted until proven otherwise.
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I smile when I see a Mazda Miata on the road. It means someone has chosen not to drive a huge, heavy, gas-guzzling tank of an SUV.
Re: Things that Incandescent Bulbs do Well (Score:5, Informative)
Highway diesel and offroad diesel are the same. The difference is whether road taxes have been paid. They add a dye to the offroad fuel to indicate that it has not been taxed. When a truck driver's fuel is being tested during an inspection, it is to look for the dye, not to test the quality of the fuel. It is all about making sure they're not skipping out on paying the taxes.
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People will naturally prefer them, and the market will carry us forward.
If only people were that rational. It's nice to imagine.
More often people choose products based on what they're used to. Or what their friends use. Or a cool advertisement with catchy music. Or a politician trying to whip their followers into a frenzy about the evil authoritarians trying to take away your freedom.
If we ever manage to create a species of beings who are actually rational, then rational markets theory might begin to work in the real world.
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LEDs have improved dramatically over the past 20 years, since this legislation was passed. This was not a happy accident- the manufacturers knew the ban was coming, and worked to commercialize the technology which was in its infancy. If the government hadn't gotten involved, I suspect you would still see the poor CRI, expensive LEDs that we had back then, and so conservatives and oil executives would have a valid reason to not use them.
Actually, the main driver of LED technology is computer and TV display backlights, which have color reproduction as a hard requirement. There's no reason to believe that a hypothetical government ban on incandescent bulbs that only affects a subset of incandescent bulbs, at a time when CFLs were already more than 20% of the market and growing rapidly despite their ghastly color accuracy, had a substantial impact on color accuracy. Most people do not actually care when it comes to light bulbs. It's the pe
Re:Things that Incandescent Bulbs do Well (Score:5, Insightful)
A nontrivial part of the population has been conditioned to believe any information that did not come directly from their chosen idol is not just incorrect or misguided, but must be actively fought. Exhibit A: Coal-rolling douchenozzles. Costs them money, damages their engines, pollutes their local environment, but they take great joy in doing it to people on bikes or in electric cars because...
100% chance that there will be people bragging that they light their entire house with incandescent appliance bulbs to "own the libs".
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Bulbs are easily available and cheap as heat sources ... they obviously suck at it on every other metric though.
For longevity using something which doesn't need to run at a couple thousand degrees is preferred.
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I agree with you. As long as you can still get them for niche uses. I have replaced 95% of the bulbs in my house with LED lights.Lower energy use, customizable light colours, lower heat in the summer. The benefits are well know and i take advantage of them. However there are a few places where i have gone through so many LED or CFL bulbs that i had no chouice but to use halogen/incandescent.
- lights on a fan in the dining room. I think the metal base gets too hot and cooks the balasts. They die after as lit
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In the problematic fixtures, i have tried every type of led bulb available. cheap ones, $20 a bulb ones.. all failed.. i dont like paying 10x more in running costs but i have no choice.
Well, you could replace the problematic fixtures...
LED bulbs are just better (Score:2, Insightful)
They last longer, use vastly less power, and have light that's just as good if not better than incandescent bulbs.
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There are a lot of special circumstances out there where your last point fails.
For example, I keep a 200 watt incandescent bulb in my garage for the 2-3 months each winter when it is too cold for LED bulbs to operate correctly. During that time, the light from the LEDs is nowhere near "just as good".
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That's weird. I live in Ottawa, which can get pretty cold in the winter (-20C or colder) and the LED bulb in my garage is still fine under those conditions.
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the 2-3 months each winter when it is too cold for LED bulbs to operate correctly.
Did you confuse LED and CFL lights? CFLs will be very dim when they first start in the cold, and may not start at all in extreme cold (far below -18C / 0F), but that generally isn't a problem with LED lights that aren't cheap pieces of junk.
Re:LED bulbs are just better (Score:5, Insightful)
They're cheaper. (Score:2)
LED bulbs are very vulnerable to heat and aren't really appropriate for use in every place incandescents are used. Enclosed light fixtures kill LED lifespan quickly, for instance.
The LED bulbs you can buy in stores also emit poor quality light in comparison to incandescents. If you go online you can get expensive higher quality ones, but those are bulky and usable in even fewer scenarios.
Better? In energy cost, yes.
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They don't always last longer. I bought a couple of LED fixtures that should have lasted my lifetime. Had to change both fixtures. One within a year and the other 6 months later. I couldn't get them replaced because they were no longer produced. Had a hard time getting my money back.
I also changed a few LED bulbs as well. Meanwhile there are 5 incandescent bulbs left that were installed by the previous owner and still running 25 years later.
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It's a real shame they don't come in other colors....
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So the problem isn't technology, it's poor labeling and idiots.
Re:LED bulbs are just better (Score:4, Informative)
Now only if LED lights came in a wide spectrum of color temperature choices, including some models that have a god damn switch on the side so you can select what color temp the light output is.
Wait a minute...
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It's entirely possible to get LEDs with a good CRI, they just cost more.
Buddy is a professional architectural photographer, at this point all the supplemental lighting he brings to a shoot is LED. Why? He can put a "hot light" behind a bush or pillar or whatever with an attached lithium power pack, and it will run for hours and hours. But they weren't cheap lamps, as they actually do have a good CRI.
Stupid people bitching yet again. (Score:4, Insightful)
Yes, I could add a thermostat and a small heater. I tried this when I first bought the house The thermostat stuck closed and I ended up with another $200 of extra use on my electric bill. Now I just do it the way the old guy I bought the house did, since the early 1950's
Re:Stupid people bitching yet again. (Score:5, Informative)
Incandescent bulbs don't cause cancer like others (Score:3, Funny)
Before I retired, other chiropractors and myself noticed a huge increase in the count and criticality of vertebral subluxations of the spine in our patients that worked in office environments where these fancy new bulbs were put into use. Fortunately these people received proper chiropractic care and their subluxations were dealt with. But those poor people who don't know they should have these life-stealing subluxations attended to are dying of cancer at huge rates. All because of "progress" and fancy new cancer-causing light bulbs.
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Thanks for the laugh! Sorry I don't have any mod points right now.
Re:Incandescent bulbs don't cause cancer like othe (Score:4, Insightful)
Oh noes, not the CHEMICALS! How do you feel about the fybrosis-causing tunsten carbide?
Aside from the rest of your kookiness... office environments have been using fluorescent tubes for many decades, and that largely hasn't changed (there are LED replacements but they're more expensive, so most offices will stick with fluorescent as long as they're available).
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A few more years and they'll be terrified not to switch because of the mercury vapor in EVERY fluorescent bulb.
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Offices have been switching out for years. Led crossover bulbs are cost competitive and you just replace as you go. No one notices as you can more easily color match florecsents to led
The company o work is very cheap and have been switching out for years.
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The city came through a couple years ago and replaced all the ballasts on our fluorescent lights for free. Using LED now. Its actually nice because things are a little brighter, and half of the lights are still behind the translucent plastic coverings.
He's Taking the piss (Score:2, Insightful)
Seriously this guy's post deserves a slow golf clap for being one of the greatest examples of Poe's law I have ever seen
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I knew that chiropractic could cure cancer and refute germ theory, but I didn't realize it could save us from LED light. Thanks for the great info "Doctor!"
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They also cooked my sister's brownies and cakes!
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IKR? What will happen to all the Easy-Bake ovens?
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Nice try, there are probably even some rubes that believe you. Lots of SuperKendalls here, after all. But if you want to pretend to be an expert, don't tell anyone you're a chiropractor and learn the difference between "unconscious" and "subconscious".
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And yet people stared at CRTs for decades without complaints.
Before the bitching starts (Score:5, Informative)
This was signed into law in 2007.
Re:Before the bitching starts (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Before the bitching starts (Score:4, Funny)
Yeah, but the king of grievance politics tried to kill it a couple years back, as well as other things that are just wasteful for no purpose such as toilets that use half the output of Niagara Falls to flush, because he couldn't flush government documents down the White House toilets.
Now it's back, and by the time any regressive grievance-politics asshat can do anything about it, everyone will have switched and realized that it doesn't make a single god damn difference other than their utility bills will be lower.
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My first thought was... "Didn't we do this 20 years ago?"
I guess I was close. Almost 20 years ago.
Re:Before the bitching starts (Score:4, Interesting)
This was signed into law in 2007.
So the president at the time was George W. Bush - who even initiated this IIRC.
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Inefficient bulbs were banned, not incandescents (Score:5, Insightful)
Of course wasting energy and money is one's right and it is better if the government did not do this for bulbs. The free market has already spoken and people are voluntarily moving away from the incandescent bulbs.
We should not be wasting our political capital on battles we have already won.
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The tech for very efficient incandescent bulbs is ready since 2016: https://news.mit.edu/2016/nano... [mit.edu]
I wonder why no one put them into the market yet. Maybe now this tech get the push it needs.
It's not a flashpoint (Score:3, Insightful)
Christ I get it when kids fall for this shit but it's mostly adults falling for it. We're old enough to know better
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Hard to forget the panic over hidden messages in heavy metal records played backwards (that never existed anyway).
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lol lightbulbs are not a culture war. It's most of society wanting to do something about energy use, and a minority of conservative people getting there snowflake, easily offended followers to lash out at anything that changes. Especially to do with the environment, that they for some reason hate. Well things change all the time. This particular change was enacted in 2007 and only came into full effect now (in america). Plenty of countries have already done this including canada in 2014
"New technologies" (Score:2)
You know, at one time there must've been dozens of companies makin' buggy whips. And I'll bet the last company around was the one that made the best goddamn buggy whip you ever saw. Now how would you have liked to have been a stockholder in that company? You invested in a business and this business is dead. Let's have the intelligence, let's have the decency to sign the death certificate, collect the insurance, and invest in something with a future.
-Lawrence Garfield
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I tip my hat, sir. No way I'd "steal" that part of the speech without credit, but had slight tiny hope someone would recognize it!!
A non-issue (Score:2)
When the original incadescent ban was being enacted some 15 years ago, the only alternative was the "daylight"/fluorescent bulbs. Personally, could not stand them due to the narrow/unpleasant emitted light color and the flicker (which gave me headaches).
But, technology soon caught up, we got LED lights that had no flicker (and, to boot, x10 or more lifetime and no glass to break), the only issue was their light color. They started as daylight only, but soon we got 2700K which emit exactly the same light as
Tax, don't ban (Score:2)
Rather than outright ban, why not just gradually tax them more? That way if somebody really wants one, they can always get one. And the change is gradual, which usually ruffles fewer feathers. Further, our coffers can use the tax revenue.
They did it wrong!
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Rather than outright ban, why not just gradually tax them more? That way if somebody really wants one, they can always get one. And the change is gradual, which usually ruffles fewer feathers. Further, our coffers can use the tax revenue.
They did it wrong!
People can still but "Rugged" type incandescent bulbs, which are more expensive. So pretty much the same thing, just without the difficulty of dealing with another tax.
They did it RIGHT!
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That way if somebody really wants one, they can always get one.
This is a ban on sales of new bulbs by companies like Home Depot. LED bulbs are an alternative. Other than very niche applications, LED bulbs can replace these bulbs and there are still a few specialty bulbs that can be purchased.
And the change is gradual, which usually ruffles fewer feathers.
This ban was signed into law in 2007. That does not include the time it took to be passed into legislation. Over 16 years notice is gradual enough for me.
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Collateral Damage... (Score:4, Funny)
Thus endeth the Easy-Bake Oven.
snark aside (Score:2)
Not everyone fundamentally believes that the federal government is entitled (nor has the power) to control every little detail of our lives.
To be clear, I like LED bulbs. I bought them before they were mandatory. They don't last nearly as long as claimed, the latter 1/3 or more of their life their light output is shit. They don't tolerate power flickering very well. But all in all they're still overall better than incandescent or CFLs by a good margin.
This isn't a hill worth dying on, imo. You don't ha
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They don't last nearly as long as claimed, the latter 1/3 or more of their life their light output is shit.
Yeap because the LED "bulb" manufacturers are hypocrites still trying to make a buck by making us waste resources and intentionally design the bulbs to last a shorter time. The problem is that the circuits inside the bulbs overheat and fail earlier.
I drill holes in the plastic bulb and in the metal base so the circuit has a chance to stay cooler and they last for ever! Seriously, that simple! Why they don't sell them with ventilation openings already there is a shame!
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Why not just shift the price? (Score:2)
Tax the bejesus out of it instead of stopping. Problem (kicked down the road enough?) solved. Then the few people who require it can buy it, and the people who don't won't.
Survey says... (Score:2)
Bright ideas (Score:4, Interesting)
And incandescent bulbs were 50 cents not that long ago and lasted for months or years. Are the power savings that much cheaper with LEDs in a standard house with a few bulbs lit?
I now see people lighting up the outside of their houses all over the neighborhood, all night, with LEDs. So much for saving the planet.
There are folks like me who find their light harsh, distracting and annoying. I know my eyes are sub-par. Are we just forced to deal with this the rest of our lives?
When a single Google search consumes 100 watts for 17 seconds, is residential lighting our biggest problem right now?
And what about our retinas; [nih.gov] are we risking our health?
Politicians always have grand ideas about what's good for us, but also grand is the law of unintended consequences.
Go Back to Torches and Candles (Score:4, Funny)
Overreach (Score:3)
Here's a better idea, fix the electricity source. (Score:3, Interesting)
Is the problem electricity use? Or that our electricity is produced largely by CO2 emitting sources? The problem is that our electricity largely comes from CO2 emitting sources. So, fix the real problem and don't worry about such minor details as what light bulbs people use.
I like LED lights. They light up quickly, have a good enough color, keep cool, and last a long time. There's places I still prefer incandescent, and it is these specialty applications that there will not be any ban on incandescent lights. If people want an incandescent bulb for there lamps, or wherever, then they can still get them. How? Buy an "appliance" bulb. These are moderately different than the common incandescent bulbs sold for lamps and such, and will likely cost a bit more.
Just so I'm clear, there is no ban on incandescent light bulbs. This is a lie. They are still available, and any store carrying incandescent lights yesterday will still carry them in the future. All the manufacturer has to do to keep selling them is call the light an "appliance" bulb or claim some other specialty application.
Now, if the government were truly interested in lowering CO2 emissions then they'd be doing whatever they could to get more nuclear power plants built. Nuclear power has the lowest CO2 emissions of any energy source available today, with possible exception of hydroelectric, and is the safest energy source available. We should see more investment in nuclear power based on its safety record alone, with lowered CO2 emissions being just a bonus. Fix the CO2 emissions at the source then the kinds of light bulbs being used is a nonissue. Would less heat from lighting resolve some issues of keeping spaces cool in summer? Sure, but it's not like people didn't already know LED lighting produced less heat. Also, there was no ban on incandescent bulbs so this is a nonevent.
People can easily circumvent this so called ban by buying light bulbs made to be put in refrigerators and ovens and using them wherever they please. There is no ban so this does nothing to reduce CO2 emissions. This is all a farce and I'd hope that members of a technology oriented forum like Slashdot would know better. This "ban" should be mocked mercilessly for being so ineffective and pointless.
Stay Away From My Gas Stove (Score:4, Interesting)
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Until you can make an electric with instantly-adjustable heat level
lol wut.
Your gas stove isn't instant. It's pretty quick but the heat has to propagate through the metal to the food. An induction hob heats the metal directly. And because they're nearly 100% efficient the effective power is higher than almost all domestic gas stoves, especially for smaller pans.
and all the nuances of cooking with gas,
Why do you even want those? Is there something especially good about the sides of a pan getting excessively
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I just dump it into the river after dark now. That, or pour it into the gas tanks of trucks at the gas station.