Incandescent Light bulbs being reformed in America

[Wingnut]

I can't say I've ever felt my life is harder because of low flow toilets.

I can. I had to replace one and will replace another sometime next year. They are disgusting. For propriety's sake, I won't go any further, I'll just repeat they are disgusting.

I agree with Dahlia. Our toilet looks like it needs cleaning after just 2-3 days.

[Vort]

Toto 6-liter 1-piece toilet. Best toilet I have ever owned. Never clogs. The one-piece construction makes it easy to clean, too.

Cost us about $400 per unit. Pricey for a toilet, you say? Maybe. Is it cost-effective? That's a judgment call, I guess. Here is an overly simplistic analysis:

A standard toilet used about five gallons per flush, so about 3.5 gallons more than a low-flow model. Tap water in the US typically costs somewhere under a penny per gallon, so we can suppose we save 2½-3¢ per flush. If your household averages ten flushes per day (probably a conservative estimate), that would translate into the neighborhood of 25¢ per day, maybe closer to 30¢. In a year's time, that comes out very close to $100. So it takes four years for the low-flow toilet to pay for itself -- less if you have to replace the toilet anyway (take off $150 or whatever for the new standard toilet, which I doubt is even sold any more).

I agree, having a toilet that doesn't flush pretty much defeats the purpose of a toilet and makes the "less-water" argument meaningless. But our Toto has no such problems. Honestly, even if you include a mid-week swish with a toilet brush, it's worth it to me.

As for the light bulbs: I hate such legislation, but I am just waiting for the price to come down a bit more on the LED bulbs before I use them instead, anyway. I have no great nostalgia for the so-called Edison bulb. But I despise the CFL bulbs -- start dim, ugly color, can't use in wet environments or in a high-cycling environment (lots of on-and-off action), have to be disposed of specially when they die, and if you break them, they spray fluorescent garbage and mercury vapor all over. Totally a scam. I do in fact have many of them in my home, but I don't like them very much.

[Dravin]

(Just tryin' to have this thread match the old one in length! )

Let me help:

Caffeine, medical marijuana, obesity, women wearing pants at church, women and the priesthood, blacks and the priesthood, gay marriage, Obamacare, temple vs. civil marriage, tithing financial transparency, and sex offenders at church.

Let's hope I didn't just break the internet.

[PrinceofLight2000]

Let me help:

Caffeine, medical marijuana, obesity, women wearing pants at church, women and the priesthood, blacks and the priesthood, gay marriage, Obamacare, temple vs. civil marriage, tithing financial transparency, and sex offenders at church.

Let's hope I didn't just break the internet.

[Guest]

Let me help:

Caffeine, medical marijuana, obesity, women wearing pants at church, women and the priesthood, blacks and the priesthood, gay marriage, Obamacare, temple vs. civil marriage, tithing financial transparency, and sex offenders at church.

Let's hope I didn't just break the internet.

What about vaccinations and big pHarma?

[Dravin]

What about vaccinations and big pHarma?

JAG mentioned vaccinations (and on this board at least that is where big pharma tends to enter the scene but my memory may be messing with me).

[Wingnut]

Let me help:

Caffeine, medical marijuana, obesity, women wearing pants at church, women and the priesthood, blacks and the priesthood, gay marriage, Obamacare, temple vs. civil marriage, tithing financial transparency, and sex offenders at church.

Let's hope I didn't just break the internet.

I'll add on:

How we wear (or don't...) our garments, gays and the BSA, cleavage, opinion vs. doctrine from the pulpit, abortion.

[Guest]

and fake breasts.

[NeuroTypical]

My daughters bought me LED light bulbs for Christmas. I'm very impressed, and quite happy. And they last forever? I'm sold.

The govt has no business doing anything about incandescents, other than through it's purchasing and procurement functions. But honestly, govt or no govt, old-timey light bulbs are a fragile, energy-hogging, heat-producing, short-lifetime thing of the past. They are going the way of the buggy whip and vinyl record industry. Buggy whips and vinyl records used to be what we all needed and wanted. Now we have better/faster/cheaper. That's the way of things.

Yes, I have a stockpile of them, because CFL's got so cheap I bought a bunch before I ran out. I hope to sell them to the conspiracy theorist people, but with deals like this still available everywhere, it might take a few years.

(In case any vinylophiles wish to find me and beat me up, I'm here in Colorado Springs. Bring your A-game :).)

[Just_A_Guy]

I ran numbers at my local Wal-mart about a month ago, and the lifetime bulb-price-per-lumen-per-hour of an incandescent was still about half of the LEDs. That didn't account for the cost-of-operation, though.

[NeuroTypical]

That doesn't surprise me JAG, since the residential market is so new and fresh. I remember back in 1994 I bought my first compact florescent for forty bucks. 5 years later they were down to five bucks each. Now, two decades later, they're two bucks on sale, as well as better/smaller/brighter. That'll happen with LED light bulbs too - but not because of anything the government is doing.

[Dravin]

That doesn't surprise me JAG, since the residential market is so new and fresh. I remember back in 1994 I bought my first compact florescent for forty bucks. 5 years later they were down to five bucks each. Now, two decades later, they're two bucks on sale, as well as better/smaller/brighter. That'll happen with LED light bulbs too - but not because of anything the government is doing.

Back when CFLs were new and they were trying to encourage people it wasn't unheard of for the local power company to subsidize them to get them into people's homes. And you still see it, I picked up some CFLs a few months back that were heavily discounted due to the local power company subsidizing them (a dozen 60 watt equivalents for $3).

Anyone seen similar subsidies for LEDs?

[Guest]

Back when CFLs were new and they were trying to encourage people it wasn't unheard of for the local power company to subsidize them to get them into people's homes. And you still see it, I picked up some CFLs a few months back that were heavily discounted due to the local power company subsidizing them (a dozen 60 watt equivalents for $3).

Anyone seen similar subsidies for LEDs?

Yes, at Costco within the last couple of years.

[LittleWyvern]

The govt has no business doing anything about incandescents, other than through it's purchasing and procurement functions.

Yeah, I'm kinda mad the incandescent bulb got banned before the penny

[NeuroTypical]

No kidding! I mean really - even Canada got rid of their penny before we did. Canada!

[Guest]

Funniest Facebook comment of the day:

If they make me take the Victrola out of my car I'm going to be (mad). How will I listen to my 45's when I'm cruisin?! Thanks Obama....

[LittleWyvern]

Thanks Obama....

[Wingnut]

Yeah, I'm kinda mad the incandescent bulb got banned before the penny

Reminds me of an episode of the West Wing where one of the staffers is educated on both the ubiquity and pointlessness of the penny, and then spends the rest of the episode making sure all the other staffers know everything about it, too.

Made me literally LOL, audibly, and to the point that my the following conversation just ensued with five-year-old:

Her: "What's so funny, Mom?"

Me: "Nothing."

Her: "Well, something is..."

[marshac]

I recently bought about $55 worth of incandescent light bulbs. Afterwards I found this information on incandescents on the Internet. But I just figure we will eventually use them anyway.

I was at Home Depot the other day and several couples were clearing out the stocks of cheap 60W bulbs... was this you I snapped a photo of?

I'm a big fan of LED bulbs- with the exception of some halogena candelabra bulbs in a chandelier (LEDs aren't there yet) nearly every bulb in our place is LED (100% of our Christmas likes this year too! 55W for all the outside bulbs!).... having said that, I also understand that not everyone has $3 (up to $15+ for a Par/R type bulb), and I'm not comfortable asserting "well, they'll save money over the long run" while forcing them into the local payday loan a little quicker because I knew that they would be better off with the more expensive energy efficient bulb. This whole "phase out" smacks of the phospate ban that went through awhile ago- ban them from the consumer products while leaving the largest (commercial) consumers unscathed. If this is simply about reducing energy consumption, than chance the economics so that there is an incentive to economize- with our utility as you move up the utilization tiers, you pay LESS per kWh, not more.... if we want to save energy, fix that first- don't force everyone into more expensive bulbs in a meaningless feel-good gesture.

[Just_A_Guy]

Just for kicks and giggles:

Industry, not environmentalists, killed traditional bulbs.

[marshac]

Just for kicks and giggles:

Industry, not environmentalists, killed traditional bulbs.

Well played GE, Philips, Sylvania...

[bytebear]

[LittleWyvern]

Just for kicks and giggles:

Industry, not environmentalists, killed traditional bulbs.

Darn, I had all these "Thanks, Obama" gifs that don't make any more sense now.

Thanks, Obama.

[Guest]

Just for kicks and giggles:

Industry, not environmentalists, killed traditional bulbs.

JAG, you owe me. You just gave the kick without a giggle. I want my giggle!