They don't last substantially longer in the real world. I am routinely replacing them within 12 months.
They cost an order of magnitude more.
They are considered toxic waste with special clean-up and disposal considerations.
The amount of energy they save as a fraction of my total electric bill is inconsequential.
Worse, the bulbs in the lamps came from my previous home, and have been going strong for a decade now. I've been wanting to upgrade to LED bulbs when they finally burn out, but they've been too damn reliable.
There is a light at the end of the tunnel (hah) with a couple of bulbs that now won't turn on unless you tap them a bit. They're roughly a decade old and have been used for many hours, so I guess it's finally time.
Yes they do, I have a lot of them and I write the installation date on the bulb - they have failed more or less inline with what the package said.
> They cost an order of magnitude more.
They cost $1. There is no reason they need to cost more than that.
> They are considered toxic waste with special clean-up and disposal considerations.
That isn't true, it's one of those urban myths that spread by email.
> The amount of energy they save as a fraction of my total electric bill is inconsequential.
What are you spending so much on electricity on?
>That isn't true, it's one of those urban myths that spread by email.
It can be hazardous waste, you can't categorically say that it isn't true. Both of you are technically wrong. While it's correct that low mercury bulbs can be disposed of in dumpsters according to EPA, some states have stricter rules with respect to even low mercury bulbs. I believe CA, WA, and VT all require specific recycling of low mercury bulbs, for example.
Beyond that, looking at bulbs that are NOT low mercury, those DO become regulated hazardous waste after they burn out according to federal laws. So those MUST be recycled properly to comply with federal and state laws.
In any case, 100% of fluorescent bulbs contain mercury, which is really bad for the environment. So even if you're legally allowed to throw them in dumpsters, it's really not something you should be doing if you care about the environment or the people in it.
Bottom line: Depending on the bulb and jurisdiction, a spent/broken bulb might be classified as hazardous waste legally requiring special cleanup considerations, or it might legally be able to be thrown in a dumpster. But regardless of the law you should properly recycle 100% of bulbs because they contain mercury (even if in small amounts).
This is off topic but, would you mind changing your username? I get that it's mostly harmless but it's against the usual HN guidelines.
I tried to figure this out for my household... 1) The squirrel cage on the HVAC unit uses about 600 watts. 2) Couldn't convince everyone in the house to turn off TVs when they leave their rooms. 3) Laundry (gas dryer, but again there is a motor on it). 4) Dish washer 5) Fridge/Freezer.
I added up the cost of leaving lights on in all all the rooms (10 60-watt bulbs) 24x7, and that would only cost $43 a month. Typically only half would be on, and for a few hours in the evening, (5 bulbs, 4 hours a night, 10 cents/kwh), and that comes to $3.60 a month.
I have approximately 40 bulbs and I don't think I have a large house.
And I have not been able to convince people not to turn on the light during the day, so my usage is closer to 12-18 hours per day.
Master bedroom -- 2 lamps, but one is mine, which is hardly ever turned on.
Kids rooms -- one overhead hanging (swag) light each. Plus the closet light, but I'm not counting that as it is already a low voltage bulb (code requirement).
Living room -- the foyer has hanging light with 3 candelabra bulbs, which are 20 watts each. The dining room (the other side of the great room) has a hanging light with 5 bulbs, again 20 watts each. So one room is 60 watts, the other is 100.
Kitchen/family room -- overhead long tube fluorescent (120 watts total), family room had a torch light.
Bathrooms have multiple bulbs (4, 6, and 10 bulbs for the 3 bathrooms), but most of them are burned out and/or unscrewed. And they were 25 watt bulbs. So I'm counting an average of 60 watts per bathroom.
Basement has 6 bulbs total, but only a couple are used on the way to the laundry.
So slightly more than the equivalent of 10 60-watt bulbs for the lights that are used most often. At first I thought that I could save a lot with the compact fluorescent bulbs, but I really didn't see any change in the electric bill after changing out all that I could -- the chandeliers take the candelabra bulbs, and while I could get fluorescents to fit they would be way too bright. Same with the bathrooms, I didn't want 10 bulbs in one bathroom that put out the same lumens as 10 60-watt incandescents, and I couldn't readily find any fluorescent or led bulbs that were equiv. to a 20-watt incandescent.
1. How long are the bulbs going to last? 2. How expensive would they be to manufacture? 3. When could we see these in stores?
Often times there is a long road from laboratory prototype to production, and the supposed cost savings in electricity won't matter if they only last 1,000 hours and cost $100/bulb.