EU putting the lights out all over Europe
By Eskimo
@Eskimo (2315)
March 10, 2007 4:48am CST
The EU has just decided to ban all normal (filament)light bulbs from 2009, so everyone in Europe will have to change over from the lightbulbs first invented by Tesla ( or Eddison depending on which history book you read) in the 19th century and kept the world bright since then. Only low wattage fluorescent bulbs will be allowed, these however cost between 5 & 10 times the amount of money, so will cost a lot more to buy.
There has never been any mention if there is any additional carbon cost for producing these fluorescent light bulbs, although the actual running costs of the light bulbs will be smaller.
4 people like this
7 responses
@nrnotrare (631)
• United States
10 Mar 07
Hello Eskimo.......
Aside from the energy savings there is another reason for the need for a new lighting system. "Light Pollution" is a huge problem for anyone interested in astronomy. Most people who live in cities have no idea what the night sky really looks like. In many places very few stars can be seen on any given night. I live in Southeast Nebraska and even on poor nights I can see millions of stars, on really clear nights I can see many millions of stars. At times I can even find the Andromeda Galaxy without optical aid except my regular glasses.
How many stars can you see on an clear night where you live ?? How many constellations can you see/identify ??
Tom
2 people like this
@irisheyes (4370)
• United States
10 Mar 07
Just curious, Eskimo, do fluorescent bulbs last longer than the filament ones?
I expect that if there is a big changing of the guard in Washington in 2008, we'll start becoming more ecologically aware too. (I hope) One thing for sure, this Texas oilman president won't be instituting anything that could be remotely construed as pro-ecology.
1 person likes this
@Limey73 (161)
• Canada
15 Mar 07
Yeah, these new bulbs are pretty good, but they are not as bright as the box suggests. For instance, they claim that a 13 watt fluorescent is equivalent to a 60 watt incandescent, but we find that it only gives the light of about a 40 watt in reality.
So we use the ones that claim to be 100 watt, and they are about equivalent to the old type 60 to 75 watt, and there is still a considerable power saving.
1 person likes this
@Alexandria37 (5717)
• Ireland
10 Mar 07
I heard thid on Sky news to-day. I suppose it is a good idea if you are still young but I think my bulbs will last me a lifetime. As a matter of fact I am just looking around my house now (I have only been here 12 months) and I think all the bulbs are low wattage fluorescent except the ones in the bathrooms. I wonder what will happen with regard to all the lights that we use to decorate our homes at Christmas. Will we have to use fluorescent ones?
1 person likes this
@Eskimo (2315)
•
10 Mar 07
Knowing our friends that rule the EU (or whatever it calls itself these days) then I'm sure they will ban Christmas Tree lights because of the amount of power they consume. (perhaps the heat from the lights are what is causing much warmer temperatures over the winter time?)
1 person likes this
@gdlakshmi (89)
• India
10 Mar 07
I feel that is correct. But we need to go further than that, to contrl global warming
1 person likes this
@trinidadvelasco (11401)
• Philippines
12 Mar 07
We are using flourescent tubes. These are more energy efficient and last many years. Those who have experienced using both types of lighting equipment must have noticed how much longer the lifespan of a good flourescent tube is over that of the light bulb. The flourescent tube therefore, costs much less than the light bulb in the long run. This is aside from the fact that flourescent tubes give us much, much brighter light at a much less energy consumption. These shall tantamount to cost and energy efficiency which we all desire.
@killahclaire (3665)
•
14 Mar 07
I think it a brilliant idea for everyone to mkae the switch to these ligth bulbs but do you know what I really wish - they could make the lights come on bright quicker. There seems to be this warm up period that drives me up the wall as it means my room is dimly lit for ages.
The other thing to think about is that then there is going to be millions of lampshades that are going to have to be flung out as some of lamps cnat take bulbs of that size.
1 person likes this
@Eskimo (2315)
•
16 Mar 07
It may be that these lightbulbs are not as valuable in saving the planet as some people are telling us, they use more raw materials, contain mercury, take a while to warm up, and become less reliable if you switch them off and on like you can do with the old cheaper bulbs. As they contain mercury they should not be disposed by putting them out with the normal rubbish but should be taken to a proper disposal site.
1 person likes this
@killahclaire (3665)
•
16 Mar 07
But i don't think normal lightbulbs should be put in the bin. I dont know why though. In canada I done it and I got the dirtiest looks and someone had to take me aside and explain we dont put them with normal rubbish.
1 person likes this
@drakan291 (817)
• Ireland
22 Mar 07
That's good news. Our house already switched to the energy saving lightbulbs a couple of years ago. They're a little more expensive and take awhile to fire up fully but they last forever.
