OMG - What is this? - Dirty Energy Light Bulbs?

This is what happens when people let the government think for them, act on their behalf and implement stupid ideas in the name of saving the earth.

Light bulbs are not causing gorebal warming, then sun is and actually as of 2008 we are in a cooling trend that hasn't been seen since the late 1880's.

The average mean temp has dropped below the 1 degree gorebal warming that is supposedly going to kill all the polar bears. So I guess we should all by hummers again to heat things up, I like it warmer anyway.

reply to post by Pilgrum


Yes florescent tubes have been with us for a very long time. Most often it was in factories or offices. It was well known that they induced seizures and migraines in a certain amount of people due to the flickering it caused. That is why companies often designed their buildings with more windows so the natural light could filter in and reduce risks.

Some of these problems might exist because of being in closer proximity to the people such as a lamp by a person.

There is really no recycling program in this area. Mercury bulbs have been thrown in the landfill here for those 40-50 years. On a firsthand basis I saw several hundred broken tubes halfway buried in the landfill 20 years ago when a factory was dissembled.

My neighbor threw a handful of these bulbs into her trash bin recently. It is kinda creepy that my dad as a kid used to play swords with burnt out tubes. When they burst they used to run through the dust. He even recalled my uncle breaking the end off one and taking the dust out and blowing it on people.




[edit on 26/1/2009 by toochaos4u]

I have an IDEA! L.E.D. Lights.... THey are bright and cheap and energy efficient. Just my 2 cents.

I wonder if the people in the OP video considered that their use of the lamps is wrong... Too powerfull, open light, sitting with your head nearly under the lamp cover, etc.

Personally I only use the covered versions because without it they're WAY to strong for my eyes (my ceiling lamp is an open one focusing down), I cant stand it. Guess I get the UV light filtered as a bonus

reply to post by ModernAcademia

Thanks for posting this info, S&F for you. I can't belive products make it out the door with hazards like this. I will let all that I know to hold off on buying these lights.

Most of the self-ballasted fluorescent lamps/bulbs are made in China. Do they have stringent environmental laws in China?
As for the recycling of these lamps; will every user dispose of them as noted on the wrapper/box? Will every user read the wrapper/box? Will many people just toss them into the trash? Yes. In fact, the landfills are already showing increased mercury levels. Mercury in the landfills can cause all sorts of future health problems.

Some local governments and power suppliers are giving the lamps away! Are they providing adequate recycling schemes too? Not always.

These lamps are also sold/given away with all sorts of wonderful claims for their longevity. However, there's no real recourse for anyone if/when they fail to attain the supposed long life. Stops working......"oh..." Into the trash, right...Cheap enough to put a new one in...These lamps are designed to be burned in a base down situation to avaid heat rising into the electronics in the base (the ballast). Many people put these lamps into fixtures base up - despite that the labels tell you not to....

An incandescent lamp, when dimmed by ten percent (you probably wouldn't even notice 10% - due to "square law dimming" and the response of the iris in your eye to lower light levels) will last twice as long. Dim it another 10% and it will last four times as long. Also, there are energy savings there in just dimming (since you are technically turning the lamp on and off 60 times a second. The longer the lamp is off, the more it is dimmed, and the more energy you save).

A spiral compact fluorescent lamp, by its very design, wastes a lot of its energy in lighting up the inside spiral (effectively cooking itself, and reducing lamp life). Also, the light it puts out is non-directional. The light hitting your - let's make something up - desk is possibly only 10% of the initial output of the lamp since the rest of the light is scattered across the room. A similar wattage of halogen, dimmed by 20%, with a parabolic reflector would deliver up to 70% more light to your desk. So what's more efficient? Which is saving the most power? Which is hazardous unless recycled properly?
Don't believe the spiral CFL hype.

I won't even get into any of the health issues as they are covered very well here and elsewhere.

LED technology has come a long way in a very short time. Where LEDs were producing approximately 1 lumen per watt just ten years ago, there are manufactures making LEDs with over 100 lumens per watt. A 65w incandescent can be replaced with about 10-12 watts of LED.

Again, those Spiral CFLs might seem light a good idea/bargain, but they are not doing anyone any favors.

Ask your local council/government about recycling plans and see if you can get a mercury level readout for the last five years on the local landfill. Once in the Bay Area (near San Francisco) had 500% increase in Mercury over the last five years.

I think LED and OLED technology is the real future of lighting. No mercury worries, no flicker. (I know with CRT computer monitors, the flicker feels aweful to me, if the refresh rate isn't high enough. Some people don't notice it, but I do. This would be similar to the flicker of florescent bulbs, I would imagine.) Low power consumption with LEDs.

You can do some amazing things with LED technology, and similar technology things that are just not possible with hotter light sources. Think about your whole wall lighting up in your bathroom for example. How cool is that? I would imagine there is less likelihood that LEDs will burn your house down. They could sit right up against plastic without even coming close to melting it. LED technology could also save space, depending on how you apply it.

LED is space age tech. It is smart technology. This is the way I think we should go.

I hope in the future you can just by OLED lighting for similar prices, like that of standard bulbs.

Troy

you know what. incandescent light gives me headaches not these. incandescent lightbulbs give off lots off heat that make my head sweat so im not buying this fluorescent thing

if you're talking about LEDs, i hope you know that the best way to use them would be a low voltage DC grid, optionally backed by batteries.

i'm currently hoarding incandescents and will rewire to DC and LEDs once i either find the willingness to concoct my own LED arrays or there's a market for LED based low voltage lamps. the advantages are numerous: no transformers, easy backup for blackouts (ie car battery), simpler connectors - many desk lights have 12V halogen lamps - and it's cheaper overall.

that way, only power sockets need AC wiring, which simplifies things a lot and 12 V is a lot safer to boot.

Originally posted by rapinbatsisaltherage
I may be in a minority but I replaced almost all of my bulbs with energy efficient bulbs (almost two years ago) and I'm fine. I've experienced nothing weird whatsoever, my electric bill is about a hundred dollars less than my neighbors thanks to them, and the energy efficient appliances I own I'm sure help as well.

[edit on 26-1-2009 by rapinbatsisaltherage]

You're not in the minority, as these videos said only a small percentage of people are sensitive to UV and RF.

Well I just learned something new about CFL bulbs...

I personally refuse to use CFL bulbs mainly because they are brittle, contain mercury, difficult to dispose or clean up (if broken, plus you can't dump them in the trash, but no one cares, they have to be properly dispose of), and in the long run more environmentally harmful and dangerous..so I currently use Incandescent bulbs at my apartment.

Unfortunately whenever I do come home, my parents have CFL bulbs all around the houses, and its because it's much saves them ALOT of money when it comes to the electricity bills. But, I'm less concern UV radiation for them as I am more concern about mercury exposure, I have no idea how my parents dispose them, how many time they reckless threw it in the trash, or broken them and know what do after they've broken the bulbs...It's frighting!!!

Anyways...I will definitely switch to LED bulbs one day. But, they're relatively new, aren't as bright, and cost a lot more. On the plus side they are pretty energy efficient, more environmentally friendly, and can last a pretty darn long time....it's just the initial cost of the bulb itself.

I'd say give it a couple of more years (1-3), and the price of the LED bulb should go down. It's probably due to popularity...a lot of people are not aware of LED bulbs, so theirs little demand, which equals to little mass production and higher cost production. Also, I'm sure as LED technology improves, the LED lightbulbs will have longer life spans and higher lumens as well.


[edit on 26-1-2009 by skyblueff0]

Sounds to me like nothing more than more sensationalist paranoid "OMG everyone's gonna die" reporting.

Originally posted by XL5
I am 100% sure that the headaches that people get are because of the high pitch SOUND they emit and/or the flickering of the light. The sound and the flicker rate are too rapid for your conscious mind to notice, but the subconscious mind sees it and is over loaded by it. It has very little to nothing to do with "dirty energy" or EMF or anything like that, you get more from cellphones, cell/radio towers, CB radios. Sure, we don't know the full effects of EMF but we get more from other sources other then CFL's but thats not why people get headaches from them.

I think you'll find alot of people who need glasses or have astigmatsim get those type of headaches from CFL's and some fast paced firstperson shooter games.

The reason that normal filament bulbs do not do this is because the filament never cools down and thus, never flickers. It also doesn't make sound and if it does, its 60hertz and you can detect it.

Um. Can you explain this. I have used these for a few years now. I see no flickering - ever. And certainly no sound coming from them.

Nobody in this house has had any negative affects from these bulbs.

So, how can some be hearing and seeing things, and others not - if we are using the same bulbls? Sounds like something else is going on.

Im not sold at all, on these bulbs being so dangerous.

[edit on 1/26/2009 by greeneyedleo]

These energy saving light bulbs are an inferior product that is being foisted upon us by the liberal eco-nuts. The horrible truth of the matter is that these bulbs are NOT a suitable replacement for our reliable Edison type light bulbs.

I put one in my room, and found that the they are NOT compatible with a dimmer... it doesn't dim, it just flickers slower! How annoying! Also, the light they put off is very harsh and gives me a headache. I prefer the GE Reveal light bulbs that give off a cleaner spectrum of light.

These energy savers are only good in areas you don't go much, such as the shed or utility room.

Originally posted by greeneyedleo

Im not sold at all, on these bulbs being so dangerous.

[edit on 1/26/2009 by greeneyedleo]

I don't think they are dangerous really. But they are definitely an inferior product and not worth the energy they save.

And the harsh light does give me a headache if I close to it for too long, such as when I tried one in my desk lamp.

Originally posted by spaznational

Originally posted by greeneyedleo

Im not sold at all, on these bulbs being so dangerous.

[edit on 1/26/2009 by greeneyedleo]

I don't think they are dangerous really. But they are definitely an inferior product and not worth the energy they save.

And the harsh light does give me a headache if I close to it for too long, such as when I tried one in my desk lamp.

Well, I notice a huge difference in my electric bill, so I think they are energy efficient. And I don't believe in Global warming or all this hug a tree stuff....I was VERY skeptical of these bulbs. But now I'm sold ON them

But these claims of high pitched sounds, flickering lights, etc. I do not believe it is coming from the bulbs. There has to be another source to that.........unless, its brands based.

As far as headaches. I actually get headaches will all the crappy bulbs that you find in offices and older type bulbs. I have never experienced headaches from these bulbs. So, obviously everyone is affected differently. *shrug*

Also, my bulbs are not harsh and actually very soft lighting. Maybe its the brand or type that causes all the differences. I love mine and would never go back to regular bulbs.

[edit on 1/26/2009 by greeneyedleo]

Well I have just started a very non scientific experiment. I just replace all the new Eco-bulbs at my business and my flat with normal bulbs. Without telling anyone.

I will see if things change.

(1) 1 staff member keeps getting headeaches and sore kidney area. But blood tests have come up with nothing.

(2) I keep getting a "hot head " start sweating for no reason while sitting still , and sinus infections.

(3) My flatmates said they cant sleep , they keep waking up for no reason. One keeps getting a headache.

(4) My mates girlfriend just left him .

I dont hold out much hope , especially on the last one , but I will get back to you all on the results , if any.

did u see what they said about banning normal bulbs by 2012??? whats up with that these freaks obsessed with 2012 or what??

Don't go out leaving those bulbs on.
They can go out burning the plastic base.

They do not shut off the electricity as a burnt out filament
bulb does, obviously, and can go out with power on in many ways but
I have seen with burning of the base and was able to
shut off the power.

So if you see flashing or dimming, its time to replace.
Consider that one to the not so surprising failure modes.

A metal and glass base like Tesla made might be better
but we don't pay attention to him any more and never did
or did we, ask the FBI.

I had to throw out my 5 year old twist type light near my computer, the flicker (that not everyone is even capable of seeing or noticing) slowly got stronger and stronger, and I realized I was always tired anywhere near that light, just getting away from the old light within moments I would start to feel better, more awake. In retrospect I realize now thats why I was always so tired sitting in school classes, or any office enviro with those tube lights.

The flouro lights flicker you see, they strobe at 60 cycles per second. The old style lights dont flicker because the little element in them that gives off light has 'persistence'.

Also? flouro lights release high frequency radiation, in the radio spectrum I beleive, not good...