Beginning of end for old-fashioned light bulbs

(CBS News) 

In the beginning, there was darkness.

Then came fire.

It wasn't until the 19th century that artificial light was first generated.

The big leap came in the 1880s, when Thomas Edison lit homes across America with the incandescent bulb.

For the next 130 years, incandescents ruled the nights, the roads, and especially the Christmas tree.

Let there be LEDs

But today, the last glowing filaments of that living room powerhouse are burning out.

Beginning with the new year, federal law will require all light bulbs to be 25 percent more efficient, leaving Edison's beacon of late night fun out in the dark and flipping the switch to its more frugal counterparts, such as the long-lasting compact fluorescent.

"You might install a light bulb in your foyer, when you're kids are born and that light bulb will still be working, no problem, when the kids go off to college," says Ed Crawford of the Phillips, North American Lighting Division.

But not everybody is thrilled with the change. For one thing, the alternatives are significantly more expensive up front.

Concerns over prices even reached the campaign trail, where Republican presidential hopeful and Minn. Rep. Michele Bachmann declared, "I believe in liberty for light bulbs" - meaning - continuing to give consumers a choice.

Many consumers complain the newer bulbs just don't look right.

"There's a pushback," says lighting engineer and historian Dave Dilaura, "from people who say, 'I'm sitting in my living room, I want a warm, comfortable light. And that's the word they use-- warm."

Crawford concedes that, "Some of the earlier compact fluorescent products; they were not ready for primetime. They buzzed. They had lousy color. They made everything grayish-green."

But, while compact fluorescents aren't winning any prizes, Phillips, the world's largest lighting company, recently won $10 million from the Department of Energy for work in a leading alternative - LED lighting. LEDs produce a warm glow, similar to a standard, 60 watt incandescent. They fit anywhere and are powered by a mere 9 watts.

While it will continue to burn bright in the near future, Edison's most storied invention may be headed into the night.

Says Dilaura, "It's the nature of technology. It has a lifetime, a start and an end. It's time to end."

Four-point-seven billion sockets in the U.S. alone await that future.

But, earlier this month, Republicans in Congress managed to eliminate all funding to enforce the new law - which was signed in 2007 by then-President Bush.

Still, manufacturers have already started phasing out production of the old bulbs.

[Pearlandlighting]

I am all for new tech and saving energy. Some old stuff faded away and replaced with new, it is totally fine with me. This big fuss about not able to use 100 watt incandescent light bulb anymore is telling people to break the old habits. We are living in the future and not the past.
What is this about all made in China? I see these comments everywhere. Aren't everything made in China? Is there a light bulb manufacturer here in the U.S.A.? Bad bulbs made in China and good bulbs made in China too. Please keep open minded.

[SeaWorldisLegalFraud]

Hello
For the dark of the night and to help stay warm, I LOVE solar energy best and Hate burning wood most because of its air pollution. In the middle of the scale of how we light up the house here, we enjoy the least "electrically dirty" light bulb - the incandescent. We tried the spiral shaped florescent bulbs for six months and I felt, well, how to describe it. It wasn't good. If you're electrically sensitive you'll know what I mean. Tense. Jittery etc. Look up the symptoms of "Electrical Sensitivity" and check out "Dirty Electricity" for more info if you're curious.

It's shocking to us - pun intended - to read in this article that manufactures may be discontinuing incandescents. So to help save us from the growing electrical pollutions, we're stocking up on incandescents, and we will go out of our way to find them if they disappear from our usual stores.

The cost overall of incandescents is worth it if you're electrically sensitive. After we removed all the spiral shaped florescent bulbs and replaced them with incandescent bulb I immediately felt physically more relaxed. Experiment with bulbs and see if you feel a difference too. Just remember that because you may not feel a change in how you physically feel, doesn't mean that electrical pollution is not negatively effecting you, someone else, pets, wildlife, and plants.

Keep an open mind and check out websites like www.EarthCalm.com and more.

Best of Health

[erasmus111]

"But not everybody is thrilled with the change. For one thing, the alternatives are significantly more expensive up front."


I don't give a rat's ass how much they cost. As long as they are toxic, I won't be using them. I was willing to use the CFLs until I found out they were toxic and you had to use gloves and a mask to clean them up. And they also are making people sick. They are saying not to sit too close to them. Then I was jumping for joy when I found out there were new LED lights coming out. They were more money, but I was more than willing to pay it. Then I found out that they are just as toxic as the CFLs. You have to wear a mask and gloves to clean them up too.

One of my mom's CFL bulbs started burning in the socket. The smell was atrocious. I can't even imagine what was being breathed in when that happened. And after that happened, I went around and removed all the other CFLs.

Surely someone can come up with something non-toxic. Or at least something that isn't so toxic that you have to wear gloves and mask to clean it up. Also, the LED lights give off a gas which damages the kidneys. And that goes for your LED TV as well. Until they can come up with something better, I'm sticking to the good old incandescent lights. When I run out of the ones I have hoarded, then I guess it will be candlelight!

[barbaram99]

I hate the CFLs. I really do. They are not legally blind friendly. Our apt has the CFLs. I have the daylight ones in my clip on lamps I use at the computer. My roommate likes the soft white..I have a LED flashlight I love. I use that in the house to see when needed extra light to find something.. Yet I will walk in my room and the overhead light is on and I can't see under it . There is two 23 watt soft white CFLs in the fixure. The LEDs are cleaner but dimmer. i miss the old lights..The stores does not sell the ones we grew up with. True the CFLs last longer but what good are they when they are useless to us the are sight impaired..The seniors as well. My 60 year old roommate will look for something and it where it was place. I will grab the LED flashlight and look. I have to turn off the CFLs in order to see the TV. They are not the best lighting. The soft whites I can't see under. The daylight ones some. I wonder if bush uses the CFLs that he pushed as president.

[annmac38]

I think as time goes on they will develop CFLs and LEDs that will project as much light as a 150 watt bulb. Sometimes science can't keep up with everyone's needs.

[barbaram99]

I am runng 46 watts CFLs in the over head light.That is 220 watts in the old ones they are to replace..They have some in the CFLs that block what I need to see. I was born too early in the 50s. I am runng Daylight ones in my clip on lamps I use..CFLs are bad. True they are are better..They have health issues related to them..Eye pain..I brought this up with my eye dr. I have not found the LED ones to fit in the sockets..I have used a LED flashlight and the light is clean and bright. I member the ones and they flashed/flickered..I hated that. I hate dim lights.

[annmac38]

You know, if we removed all the sarcastics remarks to each other, this comment site would be interesting. I think most of us are agreed that (1)-CFLs and LEDs are more expensive at first but because of their long life, end up costing us less--(2)-we need to use them because incandescents use too much power- and (3) dispose the new bulbs properly. OK?--Now go back to insulting each other.

[MegaProcrastination]

I really don't understand what the fuss is about. I've been using CFLs almost exclusively for nearly ten years now. I think I paid $7 for two bulbs the first time I bought them and as the incandescent bulbs burnt out I started replacing them with CFLs . When we moved six years ago I removed them and took them with me. I'm still using some of the same bulbs, have had to replace others that get more use. The last time I bought new ones I think I paid about $10 for four of them which is slightly less than they were to start with.

As far as cost goes, CFLs are extremely economical. I used to pay a couple of dollars for a box of four old-style bulbs and those bulbs would be burnt out within a month or two. I did finally start paying about twice as much for the long-life bulbs and those would last a year. So, here's the way that math has worked out:

1 box of regular bulbs that would burn out in a month or two: $2 (50 cents per bulb) Replacement of bulb for a single light over a year's time cost average $8.

1 box of long-life incandescents: $4; Replacement of bulb for a single light over a year's time cost $1.

1 box of CFLs: $10; Replacement of bulb for a single light over a year's time (because they're going to last at least five years) 50 cents.

As for "warm" light, I'm sitting here right now under two CFLs and the light is yellow.

Yes, they DO need taken some place for recycling and currently there aren't a ton of places set up to do that. At least Home Depot is, though, and I wouldn't be at all surprised to see other recycling centers set up soon.

About that whole recycling thing: seriously, people, I've driven down streets on trash day and see TWO huge garbage cans running over at the curb with one or two TINY recyclables bins. I don't have the luxury of curbside garbage pick-up. Shoot, out here we don't even have a curb! Yet we manage to recycle two-thirds of our garbage! Even with a family of five we can barely fill a 13-gallon trash can in a week's time with what can't be recycled, and then we deliver all the recyclables to the drop-off station. A person just has to be willing to make a few changes in their lives and maybe even inconvenience themselves a little bit. Isn't it worth a little inconvenience, though, if we can manage to improve this poor old planet just a little bit while we're here?

[esq777]

An Obama nanny-state law. Oh wait, it was signed by Bush.

[flexsf]

Is it controversial because it is something new that happened under the rule of one political party over another? Republicans are trivial and useless!

[Jaylah54]

But the bill was signed into law by President George W Bush, who was -- as you may recall -- a Republican. So Republicans are now refusing to fund enforcement of a law passed by one of their own.

It's just that most Republicans in Congress are so short sighted, and so bigoted, that they've already forgotten who started this. They only remember that it's due to go into force during President Obama's term and so they now oppose it.

[djseavy]

I agree with all sides to this; everyone has valid points. The CPF's do not last nearly as long as advertised, so the lifespan claim is very misleading. The only truly long-lasting lamp is the LED - which uses far less energy than the CPF, and contains no mercury. Prices will come down, but for the short-term, eliminating incandescents seems premature.

[Jaylah54]

It is just SOOOOOOOO difficult to pound a nail, or screw in a cup-hook, in an inconspicuous place in your home, hang a small bag from it, and then toss in your used light-bulbs until you have enough to justify a trip to take them to a recycling center, right? (And many stores that sell CFL bulbs also take used bulbs for recycling. So you can just take your old ones with you when you need to go buy more.)

I don't hear too many folks that live in states with "bottle bills" complaining about having to hold on to their soda/beer cans or bottles in order to get their nickels back. How many cans or bottles of soda/beer are drunk in your home, versus how often do you have to replace a CFL?

Is having to recycle a few light-bulbs per year really worth ruining our planet?