Dim Bulbs Promote Dim Bulbs

The dim bulbs in our government have just passed the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007. If you have a week to spare, I highly recommend that you read the entire 822 page monstrosity. It serves as an excellent example of how the idiots in our government are micromanaging our nation to death. The sections on spa drain covers and the regulation on where the U.S. Coast Guard can and cannot use incandescent bulbs are especially enlightening.

Of of the more annoying features of this bi-partisan bullshit is that incandescent lightbulbs are going to be made effectively illegal by 2020. Yes, your old friend the soft-white is now getting the same government treatment as absinthe and crack cocaine.

The best technology to replace incandescent bulbs is CFL (Compact Fluorescent Lighting) . I have plenty of CFL’s in my home already. They last a long time, but they have some serious disadvantages. They are expensive to purchase, but that cost can be justified in terms of energy savings — if you use the lights properly.

Fluorescent lights have a high start-up cost. If you turn the light on and off frequently, a fluorescent light will cost more than an incandescent light. Do you have outside lights that turn themselves on automatically at dusk and off automatically at dawn? Have you ever noticed how they flicker on an off during the dawn and dusk periods? Get rid of them. It costs as much to turn a fluorescent light on as it does to run an incandescent light for 15-45 minutes. Those few minutes of dusk and dawn can really crank up your electricity bill.

You may need to replace many of the lighting fixtures in your house. CFL’s are, in a word, dim. You may need to replace your old 4 bulb fixture with a new 6 bulb fixture just to get the same amount of light.

Worse, CFL’s give you a lower quality of light. As almost everyone has noticed, fluorescent lighting is cold and unnatural. Frankly, it makes your home feel like an office or a hospital. The cure, once again, is new lighting fixtures to filter the light to give it a warmer color. Of course, this will once again require larger bulbs or more bulbs. This law is like a gift to the home remodeling industry.

Another industry that will benefit from this new law is the recycling industry. Fluorescent light bulbs contain a small amount of mercury and cannot be disposed of in the trash.

When you do break a fluorescent bulb, never use a vacuum to clean it up. The vacuum will spread mercury contaminated dust throughout the area. Instead follow these rules for handling the broken bulb:

• Keep people and pets away from the breakage area so that the mercury in the powder inside the bulb is not accidentally tracked into other areas.
• Ventilate the area by opening windows.
• Wear appropriate personal protective equipment, such as rubber gloves, safety glasses, old clothing or coveralls, and a dust mask (if you have one) to keep bulb dust and glass from being inhaled.
• Carefully remove the larger pieces and place them in a secure closed container, preferably a glass container with a metal screw top and gasket seal like a canning jar.
• Next, begin collecting the smaller pieces and dust. You can use a disposable broom and dustpan or two stiff pieces of paper to scoop up pieces.
• Put all material into the glass container. Pat the area with the sticky side of duct, packing or masking tape. Wipe the area with a damp cloth or paper towels to pick up fine particles.
• Put all waste and materials used to clean up the bulb in the glass container and label it “Universal Waste - broken lamp”.
• Take the container for to a recycling center which handles hazardous waste.

Welcome to a whole new world of annoyance for most Americans. But remember, you voted these dim bulbs into office.