Letters to the Editor
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Worry about demonizing
I use CFLs in my overheads in areas that I don't frequent often. But I have strobe induced migraines, as CFL use goes up, so do my migraines and variants (which have included partial blacking of a quadrant of my vision).
I want to be greener, but until turning on the light doesn't cause excruciating pain this debate is moot.
My big fear is that more states and cities are going to require people to use CFLs instead of incandescents without acknowledging migraines, epilepsy, and other potential issues for a significant portion of the population.
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@red-haired girl -- even physicists have trouble accepting relativity
After Einstein, Quantum theory and James Joyce's novels, one would have surmised that the 20th century would have been hard for absolutists.
1. Only lit geeks read Joyce. That's such a small population, Joyce has no bearing on how most people see the world.
2. A lot of people like to talk about quantum theory, but most of them have no idea what they're talking about. It's hard to understand without the math. Even with the math, it's not always obvious what the math is really saying.
Even Einstein himself did not accept the assault on determinism implied by quantum theory. If it was that hard for him, imagine how hard it is for most people.
3. A sizable percentage of college physics majors fail to fully comprehend and accept the basic conceptual shift from Newtonian physics to Einsteinian relativity.
The last amazing fact was discovered through physics education research. Researchers devised a way to test whether students were truly accepting the relativity of time or just doing the math without really understanding or believing the concept behind it.
They discovered that most physics students were trying to have it both ways -- doing the problems using the math of relativity but thinking about the problem using absolute time.
Even going past the PhD rank into the rank of professor, researchers were able to detect a small percentage of physicists who were paying lip service to relativity without accepting its core concept that time and space are relative.
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Migraines and forced compliance
I too suffer hideous migraines and eyestrain brought on by CFLs (and other fluorescents). I do my best by the environment though. From using greenbags to driving a vespa to NOT using an air conditioner (even when the days are 100+ deg F), I feel like I'm making more of an effort than a lot of people.
So when the Australian Government decides to ban incandescents, it really REALLY annoys me. Its a diversion. A way for the Government to be "doing something" when they’re actually just diverting attention away from the real (harder to solve) issues of climate change and energy sources.
Meanwhile, I look like the bad guy stocking up on incandescents so that I don't suffer from debilitating headaches. What a ridiculous world.
Also, on the 'incandescents providing heat' front, my partner and I keep three reptiles. Their enclosures all rely on incandescent light globes to provide both light and the required amount of heat. Using a heatpad or ceramic light fixture would eat up a lot more energy and both are less cost-effective. What do I tell them? Sorry guys, no more heat for you?
I'm so over governments using this issue as a diversion away from the real problems. Want to save some energy? Don't ban incandescents. Try taxing coal fired power plants. Try giving real subsidies to solar power. Why not raise the tax on petrol, then use that to subsidise public transport? Just piss off on the CFLs frankly. They're an inferior technology, and cause a host of problems for a lot of people (and reptiles!)
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Heating & Flicker
If I get cold this winter, in addition to keeping my incandescent light bulbs, I'm going to buy a second refrigerator. Those babies really put out the heat!
The new CFLs don't flicker.
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Which makes sense if you supply your own energy?
Consider this example: suppose you had a house that was off the grid (your own solar cells, batteries, etc.). Which one would you use? I think you'd be crazy to use incandescents, and heating with electricity is out of the question. So why is it OK to waste electricity if you're on the grid? Is it perhaps too cheap?
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When waste heat isn't wasted...
If you're stuck with electric heating (living for example in a Vancouver condo), then the 'waste' heat from light bulbs or any other household electricity consumption is just less heat you'll need to produce with your electric heating system. I've done a blog post on this; you can read it by clicking on my signature below.
Of course the shoe is on the other foot in summer, if you need to use electricity for air conditioning.
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All Hail the CFL Miracle!
@Rowyna - forced compliance
I feel like I'm being sucked into a conspiracy hole. Except - there are times when I feel like I'm going willingly.
I agree - the CFL ban smacks of "doing something". A carbon tax would raise electricity costs across the board - and for the politicians objecting, yes, this would have an effect on the whole economy. The implied idea seems to be that we need solutions to greenhouse gas emissions that DON'T affect the economy. Or - one suspects - solutions that don't affect industry. I'm not at all convinced that such solutions are even possible.
Time to cue the "government in league with big business" conspiracy theme music!
I sympathize with your plight regarding flickering. According to the earlier comments, though, the solution would seem to be for you to replace your CFLs a number of times until industry finally makes the ones you want. We're all pleased that you can afford this!
Meanwhile, I notice that nobody has mentioned the plight of children with an EasyBake oven, or what those with lava lamps are supposed to do.
The cost factors are mostly correct, although I'm nervous that *any* adjustment to match the cost factors to different conditions always seems to favour the incandescents. Vibration, dampness, dimmers, temperature extremes, rapid cycling -- each of these reduces the advantage of the CFL. We need to operate in the real world here, not just a world of dry, room temperature, upright sockets, with plain old switches.
I'm not saying CFLs are bad - we use them in over half the fixtures inside the house. But it seems clear that they have significant problems in some circumstances, and that if we are to allow people to adjust to those situations, then an outright ban is unwise.
This seemed to be Tyler's original point, but we appear to be getting close to the situation where you're not allowed to denigrate the CFL in any way.