Comments on: Geek Money: Switching over to Compact Fluorescents http://blog.geeklimit.com/2006/04/29/geek-money-switching-over-to-compact-fluorescents/ GeekLimit.com Sat, 04 Sep 2010 16:05:30 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 By: The Technocrat http://blog.geeklimit.com/2006/04/29/geek-money-switching-over-to-compact-fluorescents/comment-page-1/#comment-358 The Technocrat Fri, 09 Feb 2007 20:58:42 +0000 http://geeklimit.com/2006/04/29/geek-money-switching-over-to-compact-fluorescents/#comment-358 Ideally, a light turned off saves the most money, and helps the environment to the largest degree. Unfortunately, not everyone can sit in the dark. If a person lives alone, I can see them saving money because they don't need a large portion of the house lit. Unfortunately, to do the most good, an initiative like this can't afford to inconvenience people; the end user needs to continue receiving the same service they are used to, and hopefully the technology can lower the cost of that service over the long run. However, in the case of this posting, IF you need a significant portion of your home lit, then these are the way to go, at least until LED lighting becomes available. Something else to consider if your home is well lit is that a large portion (think about 95%) of an incandescent bulb's energy is transformed into heat. Depending on your usage, this may account for not only the cost of the lit bulbs, but also the energy required to keep the home cooled in the summer. I agree that CFLs shouldn't end up in a dump. That's why there are recycling programs available. Ironically, if you are concerned about mercury, CFLs are your best bet. The largest source of mercury pollution comes from coal plants in the US, and lowering energy usage prevents mercury pollution to a degree greater than the small amount actually contained in the bulbs. Furthermore, recycling CFLs recover most, if not all, of the mercury contained within. We have not yet found a way to do so with our power generation plants. Here's the info from the US EPA: http://72.14.209.104/search?q=cache:YN35CL5zVXwJ:www.nema.org/lamprecycle/epafactsheet-cfl.pdf+compact+fluorescent+mercury+recycle&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=us Ideally, a light turned off saves the most money, and helps the environment to the largest degree. Unfortunately, not everyone can sit in the dark. If a person lives alone, I can see them saving money because they don’t need a large portion of the house lit. Unfortunately, to do the most good, an initiative like this can’t afford to inconvenience people; the end user needs to continue receiving the same service they are used to, and hopefully the technology can lower the cost of that service over the long run.

However, in the case of this posting, IF you need a significant portion of your home lit, then these are the way to go, at least until LED lighting becomes available.

Something else to consider if your home is well lit is that a large portion (think about 95%) of an incandescent bulb’s energy is transformed into heat. Depending on your usage, this may account for not only the cost of the lit bulbs, but also the energy required to keep the home cooled in the summer.

I agree that CFLs shouldn’t end up in a dump. That’s why there are recycling programs available. Ironically, if you are concerned about mercury, CFLs are your best bet. The largest source of mercury pollution comes from coal plants in the US, and lowering energy usage prevents mercury pollution to a degree greater than the small amount actually contained in the bulbs. Furthermore, recycling CFLs recover most, if not all, of the mercury contained within. We have not yet found a way to do so with our power generation plants.

Here’s the info from the US EPA: http://72.14.209.104/search?q=cache:YN35CL5zVXwJ:www.nema.org/lamprecycle/epafactsheet-cfl.pdf+compact+fluorescent+mercury+recycle&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=us

]]> By: Rick Drysdale http://blog.geeklimit.com/2006/04/29/geek-money-switching-over-to-compact-fluorescents/comment-page-1/#comment-357 Rick Drysdale Fri, 09 Feb 2007 17:37:14 +0000 http://geeklimit.com/2006/04/29/geek-money-switching-over-to-compact-fluorescents/#comment-357 The numbers are fine IF you are using that much power. Are you really using all those light bulbs ? I looked at my own use and averaged 3-4 lights on at once . Most of the lights here are rarely used. Also there are 1000 hr light bulbs that I use in hard to reach places. I really question your use of lights. Sometimes we can delude ourselves to justify anything. You also fail to mention that the bulbs contain mercury, a hazardous waste here. They cannot be sent to any dump I know of. Sorry no sale, just turn the lights you have off and save 100% The numbers are fine IF you are using that much power. Are you really using all those light bulbs ? I looked at my own use and averaged 3-4 lights on at once . Most of the lights here are rarely used. Also there are 1000 hr light bulbs that I use in hard to reach places. I really question your use of lights. Sometimes we can delude ourselves to justify anything. You also fail to mention that the bulbs contain mercury, a hazardous waste here. They cannot be sent to any dump I know of.
Sorry no sale, just turn the lights you have off and save 100%

]]> By: GeekLimit » Blog Archive » Be your own barista http://blog.geeklimit.com/2006/04/29/geek-money-switching-over-to-compact-fluorescents/comment-page-1/#comment-356 GeekLimit » Blog Archive » Be your own barista Fri, 08 Dec 2006 22:21:02 +0000 http://geeklimit.com/2006/04/29/geek-money-switching-over-to-compact-fluorescents/#comment-356 [...] For me, this is adding up to about $20 per month, but I’m a light starbucks patron. $20 per month added to my savings of a programmable thermostat and my compact fluoresent bulbs. Overall, that’s about $120 per month saved, and I still have adequate light, heat and coffee! Try some of these cost-cutting ideas, and have a happy holiday! Bookmark at:StumbleUpon | Digg | Del.icio.us | Newsvine | Spurl | Simpy | Furl | Reddit | Yahoo! MyWeb [...] [...] For me, this is adding up to about $20 per month, but I’m a light starbucks patron. $20 per month added to my savings of a programmable thermostat and my compact fluoresent bulbs. Overall, that’s about $120 per month saved, and I still have adequate light, heat and coffee! Try some of these cost-cutting ideas, and have a happy holiday! Bookmark at:StumbleUpon | Digg | Del.icio.us | Newsvine | Spurl | Simpy | Furl | Reddit | Yahoo! MyWeb [...]

]]> By: stabani http://blog.geeklimit.com/2006/04/29/geek-money-switching-over-to-compact-fluorescents/comment-page-1/#comment-355 stabani Sat, 29 Apr 2006 18:31:38 +0000 http://geeklimit.com/2006/04/29/geek-money-switching-over-to-compact-fluorescents/#comment-355 we call those energy savers, use them outside the house as well as in hard to reach places. great, and save a lot of money too we call those energy savers, use them outside the house as well as in hard to reach places. great, and save a lot of money too

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