I type this under a burned out pot lamp in our family room. It's one of nine incandescent spot lamps in the room. And since it is Dec. 29, I theoretically have two days left to replace it before incandescent bulbs are banned for new sale.
When the Conservative government announced several years ago the federally-ordered demise of the grossly energy-inefficient light bulb, I applauded the move. Now that the day has arrived, I'm not so sure.
I was an early adopter to compact fluorescents light bulbs, making a wholesale switch about 10 years ago. We spent a pile on them at Costco, buying bulbs that went for $7 a piece and promised about seven years of service. Supposedly their lower operating costs would compensate for their much higher cost (about 28 timeshigher). While our power bill went down, not one bulb made it past two years.
Even so, I've tried to use CFLs as much as possible, only to be continually disappointed. Out of all the bulbs I have purchased over the years, only five bulbs have given me service anywhere close to what was promised on the package. Those five bulbs see the most use, in our kitchen, but I expect since I am writing this now, they will all die tomorrow.
In our garage we use three 100 watt-equivalent CFLs. One caused the socket to become brown, and require replacement. I noticed this winter that when -30 C air hits them when the garage door opens, their output drops immediately by at least three-quarters, maybe more.
I have had at least five CFLs not only go out, but turn the plastic part brown, as if they were about to melt down and catch fire. They even smelled like a burn out. The first set was especially bad for this. I even took them to the North Battleford Fire Department to show them. Wow, look at the energy-saving, potentially house-igniting bulbs I bought!
As for satisfactory solutions to disposing of these bulbs, despite several years to prepare, there is no widespread strategy. According to CBC, in Saskatoon you have to wait for hazardous product days, while a few select retailers in Regina will collect them. Who wants to hold onto browned, burned out, mercury-laden toxic bulbs until hazardous product days? The reality is that it's a pretty good bet nearly all the early-dying toxic bulbs are ending up in landfills, where they will be a pollutant essentially forever.
I encouraged my mom to pick up some incredibly expensive LED bulbs to replace high-energy usage halogens in her track lighting. That was a total flop. I've seen better light out of the cheapo LED flashlights my kids got as stocking stuffers that take three AAA batteries.
There is some promise in LED bulbs, I hope. The new LED mini-Maglite flashlight my wife bought me for Christmas has more throw than the three D-cell Xenon-bulb Maglite. While barbequing the other day I was able to shine that penlight two backyards over from my deck - that's impressive. But I have yet to see LEDs in widespread usage in homes.
Then there's the colour spectrum issue that no one seems to mention. I spoke to an American sleep expert the other day, and she explained that blue spectrum light - TVs, computer screens, etc., wake us up, and are not conducive to allowing your brain to shut down for a good night sleep. LEDs tend to be blue spectrum, while incandescent bulbs are yellow-orange. Based on our conversation, a wholesale switch to LED lighting might keep us awake longer, but it might also mess up our sleep.
We've had years to prepare for the end of the conventional incandescent light bulb. Unfortunately, there haven't been as many bright ideas in dealing with their disposal and replacement as one would have hoped.
- Brian Zinchuk is editor of Pipeline News. He can be reached [email protected]
