GE to Stop Production of the CFL

[roberth]

Now, the industrial giant General Electric (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/business/companies/general_electric_company/index.html?inline=nyt-org) is saying farewell to the compact fluorescent light, or CFL. The company said on Monday (http://www.gereports.com/say-goodbye-say-hello-ge-stops-making-cfls-says-go-go-go-to-leds/) that it would stop making and selling the bulbs in the United States by the end of the year.

YEA!!!!!

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/02/business/energy-environment/ge-to-phase-out-cfl-light-bulbs.html?_r=0

[UncleDave]

Hallelujah!!!

[sic_semper_tyrannis]

Bout f'n time

[KestrelBike]

Maybe I'm missing out on something: why were these apparently hated so much? The light quality?

[roberth]

I don't like them because a - i like incandescent better; b - cfl contains mercury and cannot be easily disposed of; c - liberal environmentalists used the government to attempt to force us to buy them.

[Aloha_Shooter]

Getting rid of CFLs doesn't mean they will restart production of incandescents. More likely it means they are shifting to LEDs as a more viable, less toxic product in the long-term.

[Erni]

Some of my complaints about cfl: poor light quality, do not last like advertized, can't use most of them in enclosed fixtures, anoyingly long warm up time.

[roberth]

Getting rid of CFLs doesn't mean they will restart production of incandescents. More likely it means they are shifting to LEDs as a more viable, less toxic product in the long-term.

Yup, article says that.

[rondog]

LED's have ran right over the CFL's and left them in the dust. LED's are brighter, last longer, start instantly, are dimmable, and cost more so they make more profit.

[newracer]

LED's have ran right over the CFL's and left them in the dust. LED's are brighter, last longer, start instantly, are dimmable, and cost more so they make more profit.

Just because they cost more doesn't mean they make more profit.

I replaced almost all the lights in my house with LEDs at a very reasonable price. Still trying to find some for the many ceiling fans I have.

[HoneyBadger]

And then there's this: http://fee.org/articles/mit-incandescents-now-more-efficient-than-leds/

[roberth]

Don't LEDs "blink" at a very high rate?

[buffalobo]

Getting rid of CFLs doesn't mean they will restart production of incandescents. More likely it means they are shifting to LEDs as a more viable, less toxic product in the long-term.
And higher profit margin.

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk

[CobaltSkink]

... Still trying to find some for the many ceiling fans I have.

If you want candelabra base LED bulbs in flame tip/torpedo shape, 25W or 40W, and warm white,
Walmart and Home Depot probably have what you want at a decent price.
If you want 60W daylight globes in candelabra, you are SOL for now.

[SideShow Bob]

Don't LEDs "blink" at a very high rate?


All AC powered lights do this. If you could high speed record any AC light source then slow the play back you will see tha they all "flash" at a 50 - 60 Hz rate.

[HoneyBadger]

Costco still has some very affordable dimmable LEDs (60W replacement), but they only come in the traditional lightbulb size and shape. They do have very good light output and I replaced all the BR30s in my cans lights with them, as well as the lights under each of our fans.

[newracer]

The Costco here has other types as well but the ones I am looking for are still $18 for 3 bulbs.

[hatidua]

Maybe I'm missing out on something: why were these apparently hated so much? The light quality?

I can't speak for others but the quality of fluorescent light, regardless of which temperature bulb (daylight/warm white deluxe, cool white, etc), is awful. LED's, while still not <yet> nearly the quality of incandescent/halogens, are much more tolerable.

A decade ago, the various bulb companies and enviro-weenies were all pushing CFL's. Now the same people are pushing LED's. It will be interesting to see what bulb technology is being pushed in 2026. While I've converted 90% of the house to LED's for economic reasons, I bought two cases of incandescent spot bulbs for my office - if I have to sit in a room for hours at a time I might as well like how it's lit.

[Irving]

Very glad to see LEDs becoming cheaper. Light quality is really the only (valid) complaint about CFLs. CFLs save a ton of energy, but LEDs are better in every way.

[William]

Very glad to see LEDs becoming cheaper. Light quality is really the only (valid) complaint about CFLs. CFLs save a ton of energy, but LEDs are better in every way.

CFLs containing toxic material is a valid complaint for me. Every time I need to replace an existing bulb I use LED.

[Irving]

What is the amount of mercury in a CFL? I see complaining about toxins in CFLs from people who use that as an excuse to keep buying incandescents, or people who fell for Al Gore's concerns about a minute increase in Co2. How dangerous are having CFL's around compared to reloading for example?

[Ridge]

Maybe I'm missing out on something: why were these apparently hated so much? The light quality?

Full of poisonous chemicals, takes a while to warm up to full brightness, and doesn't cut down on energy use as much as the brighter, longer lasting LED bulb.


What is the amount of mercury in a CFL? I see complaining about toxins in CFLs from people who use that as an excuse to keep buying incandescents, or people who fell for Al Gore's concerns about a minute increase in Co2. How dangerous are having CFL's around compared to reloading for example?

You can't just throw away mercury, it has to be disposed of by legal means, which means you have to pay to dispose of them. Powder you can just burn, primers you can douse in water to make them inert. Lead can be melted down and reused yourself, or sold to a company that will do it.

[Irving]

I've personally never broken a CFL. Between handling a CFL and handling lead, which is more dangerous? Is either even dangerous enough to even matter? In the long run, none of this matters. The popularity of CFLs was 10-20 years, tops? CFLs are going to be regulated to history in such a way that will only hear about them during trivia contests, Buzzfeed videos, and forwarded emails titled "You know you grew up in the 2000's if..."

[HoneyBadger]

Breathing the dust from a broken florescent light bulb is significantly more hazardous than shooting in an enclosed space with no ventilation. The mercury in the bulbs affects the efficiency and effectiveness of your nervous system.

[SAnd]

Let's see...
I have come home to the smell of electric fires three times. All three times I found pigtail lights with black scorch marks around the base. Another time I was reading and looked up to see flames coming out around where the pigtail joined the base. One time I bought an 8 pack of the latest brightest pigtails. I installed two right away. Within a couple days the pigtails popped out of the base when I switched them on. Popped out as in they flew 4 or 5 feet. Home Depot gave me a full refund on those. I haven't had either of those problems lately.

The early pigtails were cycle limited, they were only good for a specific number of on / off cycles. I found that out when I was going through pigtails in some rooms in only about 4 months when the incandescent bulbs would last at least a year. After I found out about that I started leaving the lights on all day in those rooms.

I never have figured out which lights put out the light like I like. They always seem dim or irritate my eyes.

The older they are the longer they take to get up to full output. Another reason I tend to leave them on all day.

I'm not too impressed with the three LED 'bulbs' I have right now. They seem dim even though the lumen ratings are high. On the other hand the 4 foot long LED tube lights in my shop are great. They are instant on no matter what temperature and bright without bothering my eyes.

[Bailey Guns]

Good riddance.

[HoneyBadger]

Let's see...
I have come home to the smell of electric fires three times. All three times I found pigtail lights with black scorch marks around the base. Another time I was reading and looked up to see flames coming out around where the pigtail joined the base. One time I bought an 8 pack of the latest brightest pigtails. I installed two right away. Within a couple days the pigtails popped out of the base when I switched them on. Popped out as in they flew 4 or 5 feet. Home Depot gave me a full refund on those. I haven't had either of those problems lately.


Dude, your house may have some major electrical problems. Are you wired for DC or something? [Dunno]

[ruthabagah]

Good riddance! i replaced all of mine with LED a while back and never looked back. Newer Led bulb are now on par with some of the last halogens I have (warmth and output) and these will be replaced soon.

[SAnd]

Dude, your house may have some major electrical problems. Are you wired for DC or something? [Dunno]
I have never had any problems with incandescent bulbs or LED bulbs in my house. I had it checked by an electrician. He couldn't find anything wrong. I have talked to other people that have had the problem of fire in the pigtails. Home Depot hinted that the exploding pigtails were that specific batch of bulbs. I read about some of the early pigtails being cycle limited in a national magazine. I also read that the LED bulbs were going to be out in in a couple years so I gave up on the pigtails.

The LED bulbs I have are some of the early expensive bulbs. I decided to wait on experimenting any more until they had been around longer. Now that the price has come down and the tube LEDs being great I figure I'll try some more LED bulbs out.

[Gman]

What is the amount of mercury in a CFL? I see complaining about toxins in CFLs from people who use that as an excuse to keep buying incandescents, or people who fell for Al Gore's concerns about a minute increase in Co2. How dangerous are having CFL's around compared to reloading for example?
The biggest thing that irks me about them is that they're exchanging plant nutrients (CO2) for a known toxic heavy metal (Hg).

They cause me eye strain is another reason. They also don't seem to last worth a damn at this elevation. They build up carbon at the base of the bulb and the starter fires over and over producing heat to the point of melting the plastic base. CFLs (compact fluorescent lamps) eyed for fire danger (http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2011/12/cfls_compact_fluorescent_lamps.html)

I have soft white LEDs in most fixtures and much prefer the light.

Didn't this news come out a couple of weeks ago?

[Irving]

From what I understand, power production from coal has mercury as a by product, on a greater scale than the amount that goes into CFL bulbs. This could be seen as a reduction, or not a trade at all, depending where the numbers fall. Kind of like the argument that hybrids aren't any better than normal cars due to what goes into creating the batteries and using coal power to charge them.

I will say that fixtures with only one socket are the worst for CFLs because the light quality is both low, and poor. My mother in law has a single CFL in a fixture on a tall ceiling and I want to tear my eyes out when I'm over there because it's like being in a cave. She won't let me change the bulb either.

[Gman]

Biggest problem with burning coal is the radioactive ash. If you want to use coal as an argument, it won't change the state for anything powered by it. Coal is used less here in the US, but is being used quite a bit in China. Does the lightbulb in your house get its power from China?

[Irving]

Less than what? Isn't coal still a majority of our electrical? I really don't know that. Also, I'm not arguing anything, except that light output and quality was really the only decent argument against CFLs. Although if I had all the issues that SAnd had, safety would also be a major concern.

As of right now, I have enough CFLs to last me for probably the next 50 years (I got most of them for free). Now I'll NEVER be able to get rid of them!

[Gman]

Coal still has the largest percentage for electrical generation, but check out the trends; https://www.eia.gov/electricity/monthly/epm_table_grapher.cfm?t=epmt_1_1

Coal in the US is shrinking while natural gas is growing.

[Irving]

Oh right, that will only last as long as cheap natural gas does though.

[Gman]

We'll probably be fueling everything with unicorn farts by the time we run out of natural gas. [Coffee]

[Great-Kazoo]

All AC powered lights do this. If you could high speed record any AC light source then slow the play back you will see tha they all "flash" at a 50 - 60 Hz rate.

you really see it with them on a rheostat .

[Great-Kazoo]

Maybe I'm missing out on something: why were these apparently hated so much? The light quality?

What roberth said. They were a greenie, carbon footprint scam that will cause more "ecological" damage in the long run than incandescents will .
BUT it made people feel good about them self. Those same folks who CONDEMN BIG OIL, texting their kids while driving around in that lease Escalade.


I don't like them because a - i like incandescent better; b - cfl contains mercury and cannot be easily disposed of; c - liberal environmentalists used the government to attempt to force us to buy them.

[brutal]

Fawk CFL's right in the p*ssy.

So glad affordable LED's are here to stay.

[Aloha_Shooter]

What roberth said. They were a greenie, carbon footprint scam that will cause more "ecological" damage in the long run than incandescents will .
BUT it made people feel good about them self. Those same folks who CONDEMN BIG OIL, texting their kids while driving around in that lease Escalade.

Nah, that crowd would never drive an Escalade. Range Rover, Beemer, or Benz for those yahoos.


64039

64038

64040

To suggest they drive something as plebian as a domestic -- even a Cadilac ... (to be fair, I refuse to buy Government Motors anymore myself but for reasons other than pretensions)

[Zman]

The Costco here has other types as well but the ones I am looking for are still $18 for 3 bulbs.
Costco currently has a 4 pack of LEDs 60W equivalent for $4 after instant rebate ... Pretty sure another thread here on them. Got a box ... Good so far.

I do have a large box of dead CFLs I am willing to let go cheap to an interested buyer. [Coffee]

Z

[Gman]

Nah, that crowd would never drive an Escalade. Range Rover, Beemer, or Benz for those yahoos.

64040


Hey, I drive a GL and I'm no greenie. When a similarly outfitted Tahoe costs the same, what would you do?

I think you meant to say "Tesla". [Coffee]